2015 PANPA Newspaper of the Year Awards finalists announced

Ahead of September's awards ceremony, industry body The Newspaper Works has announced the finalists for its 2015 PANPA Newspaper of the Year awards. Over 700 entries were submitted across print and digital newspaper publishing, including photography, publishing innovation, print and production. The winners will be announced next month as part of The Newspaper Works' annual Future Forum.

“Feedback from the panel of judges suggests that this has been the most competitive awards for daily and weekend newspapers for a very long time. Newspapers this year have been forthright and courageous, and mixed with their various approaches to entertaining provocation,” The Newspaper Works CEO Mark Hollands said.

“I don’t think there can ever have been a more challenging time to be an editor – polarising social and political issues, commercial pressures, social media that mostly feeds off your work, great stories to chase and break and a million micro-decisions to make every day."

Newspaper of the Year NON-DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

Community Finalists

•  Mt Druitt-St Marys Standard
•  Parramatta Advertiser
•  Macarthur Chronicle
•  Central Coast Express Advocate
•  Namoi Valley Independent
•  The City
•  Whitehorse Leader
•  Penrith Press
•  Whittlesea Leader
•  Canterbury Bankstown Express
•  St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
•  The Riverine Herald
•  The Northland Age

Regional Finalists

•  The Land
•  Queensland Country Life
•  South Western Times
•  Albany Advertiser
•  Mandurah Mail
•  Surf Coast Times
•  The Burdekin Advocate

WEEKEND NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

•  The Weekend Australian
•  AFR Weekend
•  Sunday Herald Sun
•  The Saturday Age
•  The Sunday Age
•  The Weekend Sydney Morning Herald (Saturday)
•  The Weekend West
•  Sunday Mail (Queensland)
•  Herald on Sunday
•  Sunday Mail (South Australia)

DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

Community Finalists

•  The Gympie Times
•  The Maitland Mercury
•  Kalgoorlie Miner
•  Manly Daily

Regional Finalists

•  Newcastle Herald
•  Geelong Advertiser
•  The Mercury, Hobart
•  Gold Coast Bulletin
•  Sunshine Coast Daily
•  Townsville Bulletin
•  NT News
•  Otago Daily Times
•  Fiji Times

National/Metropolitan

•  The Australian
•  Daily Telegraph
•  The Age
•  The Sydney Morning Herald
•  New Zealand Herald
•  The West Australian
•  Courier-Mail
•  The Australian Financial Review
•  The Advertiser
•  Herald Sun

For the full list of finalists in all categories click here