It is the oldest continuous media awards in Australia, and this year attracted almost 240 entries competing for honours.
The PT will go up against the Broken Hill Times in the Best Editorial Coverage award.
The entry chosen as a finalist by the judges for this section was our coverage of the Deniliquin High School fire in November 2025.
Our coverage started with ‘live’ reporting online and via social media as firefighters still worked to extinguish the deliberately lit blaze, to full coverage in print and regular follow-ups on the impact on the school and students and recovery and rebuild news right up until June 30 (the end of the eligibility timeframe).
Coverage has continued since then, including the report last week that plans to rebuild the damaged section of the school will soon begin.
The PT editorial team has also been nominated for Best Opinion, with our entries covering the Federal Farrer By-election and the Federal Government’s approach to water policy.
In this section, other finalists are The Gundagai Independent and the Tumut and Adelong Times.
An advertisement created for our brand new Year in Review publication has been nominated for the Best Locally Produced Advertisement.
The publication highlighted significant news and events from the 2025 calendar year.
The ad judged as a finalist was a double page spread conceptualised and designed on behalf of Edward River Council, highlighting its own achievements for the year.
Joining us as a finalist in this category is the Forbes Advocate.
The fourth section being contested by the PT is Best Digital Presence, which considers our website and social media presence, expansion into audio and newsletter briefings and the rise in digital advertising.
In this section, we go up against our friends and neighbours at The Riverine Grazier in Hay.
Pastoral Times general manager Nigel Lutton said all four nominations are a source of pride for the team, but said the Best Digital Presence nod was testament to a new focus on how to deliver the news and meet the needs of our readers and clients.
"The NSW Country Press Association is Australia's oldest newspaper industry association, and to be finalists across multiple categories is a great achievement for the Deniliquin Pastoral Times."
"It is very pleasing to be named as a finalist in the new media categories of Best Digital Presence and Best Locally Produced Advertisement, as it recognises the significant investment and transition to alternative digital platforms that we have made.
"We pride ourselves in being the trusted, fact-checked source of local news for our community.
“To be named as finalists in both the Best Editorial Coverage and Best Opinion is extremely pleasing and speaks to the quality of our editorial team."
This year’s judging panel included retired publisher Wanda Dunnet OAM, leading photographer Zenio Lapka, editor, journalist and digital news expert John Thistleton (Canberra), publisher and marketing consultant Bob Holland and award-winning journalist and editor Andrew Fisher.
The 2026 winners will be presented at a gala dinner in Orange on Friday, October 23.
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