ONE of Australia’s most prestigious media awards has been won by The Examiner’s deputy editor Mark Baker.
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Baker, 34, was last night awarded the Hegarty Prize at the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association awards in Sydney.
The prize was established in 1987 in memory of PANPA former chief executive Patrick Hegarty and recognises and celebrates the outstanding management potential in young news media executives under 35.
The Hegarty Prize funds an overseas study tour up to $10,000 to examine any aspect of newspaper and/or digital operations.
Baker has been with The Examiner for 11 years and became deputy editor of The Sunday Examiner 18 months ago after stints as chief of staff and chief political reporter.
He has finished studying a masters in arts and has been instrumental in The Examiner’s student mentoring and placement program.
The Examiner’s editor Martin Gilmour said that Baker’s success reflected The Examiner’s program of rewarding and advancing young talent and showed that people do not always have to move interstate to be recognised as the best in their field.
Fairfax Tasmania’s general manager Phil Leersen was a previous winner of the Hegarty Prize in 2001 when he was group advertising sales manager.
‘‘This is a prestigious industry award and the international recognition that Mark has received is a career opportunity provided to few executives,’’ he said.
‘‘Mark is a worthy recipient of the Hegarty Scholarship. It is a great opportunity to study contemporary international media trends and bring this knowledge back to our Tasmanian businesses.’’
The Examiner was also a finalist in the best digital news website category, and photographer Phil Biggs was a finalist in the portrait and sports photography categories.
■At the PANPA advertising and marketing awards on Wednesday, The Examiner won the best digital campaign for a client – regional for its campaign for the Tasmanian Turf Club.