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Connecting Sebastopol Newsletter awarded top honour!

16 January 2025

We are excited to announce that our Connecting Sebastopol Community News was recently awarded “Best Newspaper 2024” at the Community Newspaper Association of Victoria annual awards! Held in Bendigo on Saturday 12 October, the awards saw dozens of Victorian community newspapers compete in nine categories. The Best Newspaper category is the top honour of the night, recognising excellence in layout, style and content. Judge Jeanette Severs was impressed with our “wonderful and interesting compilation of news, profiles, history and community features,” and commended us for providing a QR code on the front page to enable readers to access newsletter content in full colour online.

Amongst the 26 entries for Best Newspaper, equal third place was awarded to The Westsider and North and West Melbourne News and equal second place to Traf District News and Manningham and Nillumbik Bulletin. Judge Jeanette noted that the ultimate decision to award first place to Connecting Sebastopol Community News was based on our front cover photos for the issues we submitted, which were “alive, showed movement, engaged the reader, and were very relevant to the community.”

This award is recognition of the amazing contributions from Sebastopol residents, groups and organisations that bring the newsletter to life and keep it going. To everyone who has been part of the Connecting Sebastopol Community News journey so far – whether you have written an article, sent us a photo, shared an event, volunteered to deliver the newsletter, placed an advert to support us financially, or simply read and enjoyed the newsletter, we say congratulations and THANK YOU! With your support, passion and contribution, we hope the Connecting Sebastopol Community News will continue long into the future!

Connecting Sebastopol Community News is a project of the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre. The publication is compiled, edited and designed by volunteers, community contributors and Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre staff. Contact us if you would like to make a submission or get involved as a volunteer: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / (03) 5329 3273.