NBR journalists Tim Hunter and Kate McVicar have picked up major prizes at the 2024 New Zealand Shareholders’ Association journalism awards, with Hunter also named the overall Business Journalist of the Year for the third time.
It’s the fourth successive year NBR has won the overall award, following Nicholas Pointon’s win last year, Hunter’s win in 2022, and Maria Slade’s win the year before. Hunter also won the top gong in 2019.
Hunter won the business commentary section for his Hunter’s Corner column, The hidden treasure in a Du Val share offer, and was also picked the overall winner for a portfolio of entries that included two more columns: Absolutely fabulous fees and The house price disease is spreading unchecked.
The judges described Hunter as a “cold, forensic bugger”.
Simplicity head of communications and education Jennie O’Donovan and Kate McVicar.
McVicar, meanwhile, was named emerging journalist of the year – a category open to those with less than three years’ experience.
Her portfolio included: ‘Nearly died of shock’: complaints against prefab builder Nook; The ‘bee addict’ businessman and his crumbling honey conglomerate; and Complaint filed with NZRegCo, FMA over Warehouse trading.
The business news category was won by the NZ Herald’s Matt Nippert while the features category was won by BusinessDesk’s Cécile Meier.
NZSA chief executive Oliver Mander said journalists were facing an increasingly difficult environment, given the headwinds relating to social polarisation, the rise of alternative media sources, and ongoing fragmentation of media channels.
“NZSA continues to support a strong business media that creates transparency and holds business to account,” Mander said.
This year’s awards – the seventh edition – were supported by Simplicity and the NZX, with Gyles Beckford, Jenni McManus, and James Hollings the three judges.
