THE Loddon Herald is again rural Victoria's top newspaper following the 2023 Rural Press Club of Victoria annual awards.

From more than 360 entries - a record - received for the awards this year, the Loddon Herald was recognised by media peers at the awards dinner in Geelong last night.

We were named winners of the best online news story for our series of live video updates during the October 2022 flood emergency. 

Judges said: "It was urgent, factual, well-informed and of utmost value to the Loddon Herald audience. Chris showed he was not afraid to get his boots muddy and was willing to improvise to keep his audience up to date with the latest news on the floods in October 2022. His reporting via Facebook live videos showcased his deep knowledge of his local community and the news that was most important to that audience."

The Loddon Herald also won best sports photograph for an Upper Loddon cricket shot.

Judges said: "If sports photography captures a single moment that epitomises a sport, it’s hard to go past Chris’s work at the local cricket. Stumps falling back yet to hit the ground, ball still in front of the bails as they fly through the air and a batsman still not yet realising he’s about to walk back to the rooms."

The Loddon Herald, winners of the 2022 RPC Media Outlet of the Year, was again a finalist. Your local newspaper received the highly commended (runner up) award for 2023 presented to ABC Central Victoria for its coverage of the Rochester floods and Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre crisis. Other finalists The Shepparton News, ABC Country Hour and ABC Gippsland were commended.

And in the best news story, your Loddon Herald was highly commended for its story 24 Hours of Bridgey Spirit published in our edition following major floods first hitting the region. The section was won by the Warrnambool Standard's Andrew Thomson for his reporting of the Kirkstall double murder/suicide.