New Zealand Football Media Association
August 2, 2013
The NZFMA media award winners for 2012 have been decided. They are:
Programme of the Year - Petone, edited by Steve Minogue
Publication of the Year - Strength In Unity, edited by Jeremy Ruane
Writer of the Year - Michael Burgess (Herald on Sunday)
Regional-Community Writer of the Year - Phillip Rollo (Waimea Weekly)
Photographer of the Year - Andrew Cornaga (Photosport)
Audio Broadcaster of the Year - Jason Pine (The Radio Network)
Television Broadcaster of the Year - Gordon Glen Watson
Attached are four of the top football photos of the year and below is information which elaborates on each category, including judges' comments and recent winners. Further enquiries can be directed to NZFMA awards convenor Simon Kay, email [email protected]
Programme of the Year
Winner: Petone.
Highly Commended: Auckland City, Ngaruawahia, Cambridge.
This is the first time Petone have won this category. First awarded in 1980, Programme of the Year was won by Gisborne City for the first eight years (1980-87) and then Napier City Rovers for the next 11 (1988-1999, shared with Hutt Valley United in 1992). Napier also won last year for the 12th time, extending the club's record in this category.
Judge: Simon Kay (Former Writer of the Year)
Judge's comments: "All programmes should supply most, if not all, of the following: Team lists, results, league tables, columns from the chairman, coach and/or manager. I looked for programmes which did the standard things better than most and then delivered even more. Some entries were particularly strong in certain areas - Western Springs, for example, was extremely well designed. Massey University's entry was notable for the only programmes which included a quiz and a map from the ground to the pub for the after-match.
"Auckland City produced a quality programme, with all the usual content done to a high standard, plus a player poster and profile. Ngaruawahia had plenty of photos, including of the opposition, and historic results and photos from previous games against that weekend's opponents, plus a quirky column from Ryan Kerr-Bell. Cambridge again submitted a strong, well edited entry, continuing the concept of focusing on sides other than the first team, complete with pen portraits of each player as part of a good editorial mix.
"But Petone ticked all the boxes with their 24-page programmes: good covers, quality paper, action photos, well edited, a chairman's column that steered clear of the usual cliches. It had things most or none of the other entries had: informative profiles of each weekend's opponents and of Petone life members, plus an entertaining column, Sam Boyd's From The Balcony. This category is notoriously hard to judge but Petone are worthy winners."
Recent Winners
2000 Otago FA
2001 Island Bay United
2002 Island Bay United
2003 Lower Hutt City
2004 Lower Hutt City
2005-09 No award
2010 Cambridge FC
2011 Napier City Rovers
2012 Petone
Publication of the Year
Winner: Strength In Unity, edited by Jeremy Ruane
Strength In Unity was published to mark the 50th anniversary of Auckland's Central United football club. Jeremy Ruane is a previous winner of the publication category, having won in 2000 for his Three Kings United tribute.
Judge: Glen Price (Former owner and editor of Soccer Talk magazine, former Publication of the Year winner)
Judge's comments: "Strength In Unity, which charts the history of one of New Zealand's most successful and well-run clubs, is a thoroughly professional and in-depth read. The book flows through the timeline of both Central United and Auckland City, taking the reader from the club's humble beginnings to today's Oceania powerhouse. This is a tool for both research and a fine read. Strength In Unity deserves praise for keeping a record of a wonderfully successful and ambitious football club."
Recent Winners
2001 Stand Up If You Love The Kingz, by Grant Stantiall and Michael Stephen
2002 Sitter magazine, edited by Bruce Holloway
2003 Canterbury Centenary, by John Small
2004 Spikes History, Rangers FC
2005 Soccer Talk magazine, edited by Glen Price
2006-08 No award
2009 Ricki Herbert - A New Fire, by Russell Gray
2010 Ryan Nelsen's Road to the World Cup with Tony Smith
2011 The Waikato Chronicles, by Bruce Holloway
2012 Strength In Unity, edited by Jeremy Ruane
Writer of the Year
Winner:Michael Burgess (Herald on Sunday)
Highly Commended: Michael Brown (APNZ), Gordon Glen Watson (FIFA World Magazine, FIFA.com), Andrew Dewhurst (Yahoo.co.nz)
This is the first time Michael Burgess has been named Writer of the Year. Among his entry were stories on Tim Payne http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10780248 and Kosta Barbarouses http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10786489. First awarded by the NZFMA in 1980, Michael Brown holds the record for most wins in this category, with five in a row between 2005 and 2010.
Judge: Bob Pearce (A football writer since 1960)
Judge's comments: "The standard was uniformly high and an indication of the rise in quality of football writing in the past 10 years. Choosing a winner was challenging and my only criticism of some who missed out is that their entries would have benefitted from some constructive editing to lift them from contenders to winners.
"I was impressed by Michael Brown’s comprehensive coverage of the stuff-up in the Solomons and Gordon Glen Watson’s magisterial delineation of some foreign affairs. Andrew Dewhurst writes well-informed criticism and his prescient piece on Benji Totori stood out.
"But the top award goes to Michael Burgess for a portfolio which ranges from news breaks to a fascinating reminder of Kosta Barbarouses and his strange existence in a remote Russian City. He writes in an easy-to-read style that sustains interest."
Recent Winners
2003 Simon Kay
2004 Terry Maddaford
2005 Michael Brown
2006 Michael Brown
2007 Michael Brown
2008 No award
2009 Michael Brown
2010 Michael Brown
2011 Tony Smith
2012 Michael Burgess
Regional/Community Writer of the Year
Winner: Phillip Rollo (Waimea Weekly)
The NZFMA introduced this category last year. Phillip Rollo, who also features in the photography category, won with a portfolio which included stories on Jermey Brockie's future in the MLS http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/football/205782/football-brockies-future-revolves-around-all-whites, a death-defying Nayland College player http://nelsonweekly.co.nz/freak-accident-ends-hopes-for-nationals/, a former Waimea player winning the national schools title with Mt Albert Grammar, Waimea's New Zealand under-17 defender Emily Jensen, and former Waimea College and New Zealand Knights player Mike White.
Judge: Bob Pearce
Judge's comments: "The entry for the regional/community writer was select but strong and the vote goes to Phillip Rollo, whose portfolio covered a good range of topics with a local connection. He writes in a shorter format that demands a skill of its own that is often underestimated."
Previous Winners
2011 Anendra Singh (Hawke's Bay Today)
2012 Phillip Rollo (Waimea Weekly)
Photographer of the Year
Winner: Andrew Cornaga (Photosport)
Highly Commended: Shane Wenzlick (Phototek), Hannah Johnston (Getty Images)
Best Single Image: Phillip Rollo (Waimea Weekly)
This is the fifth time Andrew Cornaga has been named Photographer of the Year, following his wins in 1991, 1997, 2006 and 2010. That matches the record set by Eric Jelly, who won five times between 1982 and 1994. This award was first made by the NZFMA in 1981.
Judge: Dean Treml (Former Photographer of the Year, now based in Europe working as head of photography for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series)
Judge's comments: "Andrew Cornaga has been doing this far too long to not know how to put together a good portfolio. Andrew's is an example of well selected action, reaction, mood and the future of football, all well shot and well presented. The images are a collection from four games and show the diversity from international fixtures to junior grade.. Despite the All Whites and ASB Premiership champions being on display here, the shots which clinch the portfolio for me are the 9th grader's determination and commitment, and the atmosphere of the Football Ferns v China goal under a colourful twilight.
"Shane Wenzlick showed a nice variety of moments, the strongest of which is the crowd reaction to the goal, a super nice shot which was probably the second-best single image of this year's submissions. The keeper with the ball in her face also grabs attention but suffers a little, as it appears to be quite a crop.
"Hannah Johnston made the bold decision to submit her entire portfolio in black and white. While a good selection of moments, especially the facial expressions of the women's under-20 clash and the Chatham Cup tangle, for me the overall feel was let down by the lack of emotion of the celebration images.
"The best single photo was Phillip Rollo's image of the Westlake Boys' High players celebrating. This leapt out from all the images submitted - it was immediately engaging and a cool moment. The combination of jubilation, dejection in the background and the sprinkling of rain work together to make this photo an emotional sports moment and quite different from the rest. Phillip's portfolio is more about reaction than action and is entirely made up of schoolboy football and therefore needs a bit more variety for a portfolio but nice work all the same."
Recent Winners
2003 Shane Wenzlick
2004 Shane Wenzlick
2005 Michael Bradley
2006 Andrew Cornaga
2007 Shane Wenzlick
2008 No award
2009 Hannah Johnston
2010 Andrew Cornaga
2011 Shane Wenzlick
2012 Andrew Cornaga
Audio Broadcaster of the Year
Winner: Jason Pine (The Radio Network)
Highly Commended: Yellow Fever podcast In The Zone
Jason Pine has now won this award a record five consecutive times and was also judged overall media winner in 2003. His portfolio featured commentary from New Zealand's World Cup qualifiers and Phoenix games.
Judge: Dennis Katsanos (Sky TV presenter)
Judge's comments: "I was impressed with the professionalism of the Yellow Fever guys and the relationship they’ve fostered with the Phoenix players. If there was a non-commercial category or a best fan piece, they'd be definite winners. But I kept coming back to Jason’s entry, which was sharp, polished, concise and covered everything most football fans would want to know. It wasn’t an easy call but in the Voice of the Fans versus the Voice of Football, I’m going with Jason Pine."
Recent winners
2006 Andrew Dewhurst
2007 Jason Pine
2008 No award
2009 Jason Pine
2010 Jason Pine
2011 Jason Pine
2012 Jason Pine
Television Broadcaster of the Year
Winner: Gordon Glen Watson
Gordon Glen Watson has successfully defended the title he won for the first time last year. Watson's winning portfolio featured commentaries from the Oceania Nations Cup tournament in Honiara. The four wins for TV3's Andrew Gourdie (2006-10) is the most in this category. A broadcasting category was first introduced by the NZFMA in 1986.
Judge: Bruce Holloway (Former Writer and Publication of the Year winner)
Judge's comments: "The best television football commentaries don’t have to use incredible language or be particularly clever with a pre-rehearsed repertoire of phrases, they just capture the moment as it unfolds, and that is what this portfolio of commentary packages from the Oceania Nations Cup in Honiara does. Gordon Glen displays sound football knowledge, passion, spontaneity, consistently good pronounciation of some challenging names and generally adds to the enjoyment of the viewer. His call of New Zealand's loss to New Caledonia is particularly commended."
Recent Winners (TV and radio combined)
2003 Michelle Pickles
2004 Michelle Pickles
2005 Michelle Pickles
Recent winners (TV only)
2006 Andrew Gourdie
2007 Andrew Gourdie
2008 No award
2009 Andrew Gourdie
2010 Andrew Gourdie
2011 Gordon Glen Watson
2012 Gordon Glen Watson
