The Rural Press Club of Victoria has saluted some of the state’s best journalists and news photographers during its prestigious annual awards in Warragul last week.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary on the very same day, ABC Gippsland was named Media Outlet of the Year at the 2025 Rural and Regional Journalism and Photography Awards.
Central Victorian photographer Darren Howe at the Bendigo Advertiser was crowned Photographer of the Year, while Chris Earl at the Loddon Herald was awarded Journalist of the Year.
ABC journalist Charlotte Wilkes was named the Ray Frawley Young Journalist of the Year.
The club received more than 250 award entries from journalists and photographers working for newspapers, television, radio and online in Victoria and Tasmania for the 2025 awards.
The winning entries covered everything from primary production to regional health care, natural disasters to fatal accidents.
More than 100 people attended the Warragul event, presented by ABC journalist Jonathon Kendall and supported by the Baw Baw Shire.
RPCV president Alex Sinnott said the 2025 awards were the first time the club had awarded a journalism scholarship, which was presented to ABC journalist and presenter Bec Symons.
He said Bec was set to use the scholarship to travel to the United States and attend the International Reporters and Editors Conference in Washington DC.
“It is the first time the Rural Press Club of Victoria has offered such a scholarship and one of the few examples of its kind nationwide,” Mr Sinnott said.
“Judges determined that Bec ably described ideas about how she would share her American learnings with the broader RPCV community – beyond her own ABC newsroom, via mentor sessions, social media posts and forums.”
Marking its 90th anniversary on the very same day, ABC Gippsland was judged to be regional Victoria’s Media Outlet of the Year for 2024-25.
Judges said ABC Gippsland was “at the peak of its game” with breaking news, special investigations and beautifully-written feature pieces were a hallmark of the team’s efforts.
“Throw in the nation’s most gripping saga, the mushroom murders, unfolding in its patch and expertly covered by ABC Gippsland editor Jarrod Whittaker, and you have a clear winner of Media Outlet of The Year,” the adjudicators said.
A newsroom veteran, Chris Earl is not only a journalist and photographer at the Loddon Herald, he’s also its owner and managing editor.
The RPCV judges said of Chris: “not only keeps his geographically diverse readership in touch with what is happening, he actively advocates on their behalf.
“The Loddon Herald is a shining example of what even the smallest of local papers can achieve if it keeps a clear focus on its purpose: serving its readership.”
ABC Landline journalist Tim Lee was highly commended in the Journalist of the Year category.
Charlotte submitted a portfolio of outstanding, well-crafted stories, which showcased her versatility and ability to take local issues to state and national audiences.
Judges said Charlotte’s stories exemplified strong rural journalism with her “language curriculum piece highlighting how rural students from Punjabi and Vietnamese backgrounds feel excluded when schools prioritise “prestige” languages, giving voice to under-represented communities.”
ABC Rural’s Faith Tabalujan was highly commended in the 2024 Young Journalist of the Year category.
The award is named after the late Ballarat Courier journalist Ray Frawley, who was a longstanding RPCV board member and supporter of upcoming journalists.
Darren Howe’s portfolio exemplifies the craft of news photography at its finest — where sharp instinct meets smart composition and storytelling detail. His drought image was meticulously framed to draw the eye from the cracked earth to the weathered face of its subject, each element deepening the narrative of endurance.
RPCV judges said: “From the depths of hardship to the heights of celebration, Darren’s work doesn’t just document events; it invites us to feel them.”
Not only was Chris Earl named Journalist of the Year, the Loddon Herald’s owner-operator was also the second recipient of the Community Champion award.
Judges said Chris was a “shining example of a journalist who not only reflects his community’s concerns but influences change on his community’s behalf”.
“His paper has its finger on the pulse of the community and its highs and lows, and illustrates Chris’ commitment to the local people and an understanding of the importance of local knowledge and networks.
Winner: Jeanette Severs, Dairy News Australia
Highly Commended: Fiona Sheean, The Weekly Times
Commended: Carlene Dowie, The Australian Dairyfarmer
Commended: Fiona Myers, The Weekly Times
Commended: Sue Smethurst, The Weekly Times
Winner: Fiona Myers, The Weekly Times
Highly Commended: Tim Lee, Peter Healy & David Christie, ABC Landline
Commended: Annie Brown, ABC Victorian Country Hour
Commended: Alastair Finlay, Sunraysia Daily
Commended: Jonathon Kendall, ABC News
Winner: Julia Bergin, ABC Wimmera
Highly Commended: Harrison Tippet and Bec Symons, ABC News
Commended: Charlotte Wilkes, ABC Ballarat
Commended: Darren Chaitman, The Euroa Gazette
Commended: Chris Earl, The Loddon Herald
Winner: Danielle Pope, ABC Gippsland
Highly Commended: Harrison Tippet, ABC Geelong
Commended: Emily Bissland, ABC South West Victoria
Commended: Mim Hook, ABC Gippsland
Winner: Andy Burns, Charlotte King, Jess Davis, ABC Landline
Highly Commended: Eden Hyninen, ABC Ballarat
Commended: Julia Bergin, Darryl Torpy and Ivan Dodin, ABC Wimmera
Commended: Tim Lee, Peter Healy and David Christie, ABC Landline
Commended: Shannon Schubert, ABC Central Victoria
Winner: Andrew Mole, Riverine Herald
Highly Commended: Tim Lee, Peter Healy and David Christie, ABC Landline
Commended: Julia Bergin, ABC Wimmera
Commended: Daniel Miles and Eden Hynninen, ABC South West Victoria and ABC Ballarat
Commended: Bec Symons and Danielle Pope, ABC Gippsland
Winner: Jean Bell, ABC South West Victoria
Highly Commended: Dale Webster, The Regional
Commended: Tamara Clark, Andrew Kelso and Rebekah Lowe, ABC Wimmera
Commended: Shannon Schubert, ABC Central Victoria
Commended: Dan Batten, The Geelong Advertiser
Winner: Yvette Brand, The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
Highly Commended: Erin Somerville, ABC Goulburn Murray
Commended: Mim Hook, ABC Gippsland
Commended: Qiyun (Gwen) Liu, The Ballarat Courier
Commended: Tavleen Singh, ABC Gippsland
Winner: Bendigo Advertiser news team
Highly Commended: Chris Earl, The Loddon Herald
Commended: Lauren Henry, The Weekly Advertiser
Commended: Warwick Long and Jane McNaughton, ABC Country Hour
Commended: Benjamin Silvester and Andrew Thomson, The Warrnambool Standard
Winner: Lachlan Bence, The Ballarat Courier
Highly Commended: Bonnie Collings, The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
Commended: Darren Howe, The Bendigo Advertiser
Commended: Alan Barber, The Geelong Advertiser
Commended: Nicole Cleary, The Age
Winner: Paula Mastrippolito, The Sunraysia Daily
Highly Commended: Barry Murphy, Stock and Land
Commended: Annie Brown, ABC
Commended: Darren Howe, The Bendigo Advertiser
Commended: Zoe Phillips, The Weekly Times
Winner: Chris Earl, The Loddon Herald
Highly Commended: Jessica Greenan, The Warrnambool Standard
Commended: Emma Ballingall, The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
Commended: Danielle Kutchell, ABC Gippsland
Commended: Harrison Tippet, ABC Geelong
Winner: Charlotte Wilkes, ABC Ballarat
Highly Commended: Faith Tabalujan, ABC Rural
Commended: Sophia Baker, The Warrnambool Standard
Commended: Bonnie Collings, The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
Commended: Olivia Sanders, ABC South West Victoria
Winner: Darren Howe, The Bendigo Advertiser
Highly Commended: Kate Healy, The Ballarat Courier
Commended: Alan Barber, The Geelong Advertiser
Commended: Nicole Cleary, freelance photographer
Commended: Paula Mastrippolito, The Sunraysia Daily
Winner: Chris Earl, Loddon Herald
Highly Commended: Tim Lee, ABC Landline
Commended: Ben Silvester, ACM
Commended: Harrison Tippet, ABC Geelong
Commended: Angus Verley, ABC Rural
Winner: ABC Gippsland
Highly Commended: The Warrnambool Standard
Commended: ABC Rural – The Country Hour
Commended: The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
Commended: The Weekly Times
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