Once a year the industry comes together to celebrate excellence in New Zealand journalism by recognising and rewarding the best in the craft.

It’s been another challenging year dominated by the pandemic and the role of quality, fact checked journalism has been at the forefront of keeping New Zealanders up to date and informed yet again.

Entries for the 2022 Voyager Media Awards will open next month, so you can use your summer break to start thinking about your best work from 2021 and which awards you can enter.

Entries open on Monday, January 17, 2022 and close on Friday, February 25, 2022.

The Voyager Media Awards recognise the work of journalists, reporters, feature writers, columnists, cartoonists, reviewers, photographers and video journalists, culminating in a celebration of the winners in Auckland, late May or early June next year.

There is a large range of awards on offer with 61 awards across four categories: Print/Text Journalism, Broadcast Media, All Media and Photography. Five new awards have been introduced in response to industry feedback, including an ‘All Media’ award for Best data journalism and three more specialist reporting awards: arts and culture; lifestyle; and local government. The existing Broadcast Reporter of the Year award has been split into two separate awards: ‘Broadcast Reporter of the Year – News’ and ‘Broadcast Reporter of the Year – Current Affairs’.

In addition to the new awards, we welcome back the Peter M Acland Fellowship. The Fellowship is open to all journalists and visual journalists working across all media and covers travel, accommodation and the recipient’s salary during the term of the Fellowship. The current recipient, Fiona Connor, is spending 6 months working for The Sun Newspaper in London as an investigative reporter.

You can view the full list of 2022 categories and awards here and entry and judging criteria for all awards here.

Key dates:

  • Monday, January 17, 2022 – Entries open
  • Friday, February 25, 2022 – Entries close
  • April 2022 – Finalists announced
  • Late May or early June 2022 – Winners announced at a celebration in Auckland

A huge thank you to our 2022 sponsors; Voyager Internet, Canon, Google News Initiative, Māori Television, Media Chaplaincy NZ, NZ On Air, PMCA, RNZ, Science Media Centre and Sky Sport.  Without their generous support these awards would not be possible.*

Aotearoa’s 49th National Media Awards have celebrated excellence in New Zealand journalism since 1973. Originally known as the Qantas Press Awards, then the Canon Media Awards, Voyager Internet has been the premier sponsor since 2018. The awards are managed and promoted by the News Publishers’ Association which champions the news media industry of New Zealand.

*There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities still available for 2022 if you or your organisation would like to support the celebration and recognition of quality New Zealand journalism.


For further information:
Please contact Brook Cameron, General Manager, News Publishers’ Association on brook.cameron@npa.co.nz or visit npa.co.nz/voyager-media-awards