By the Re: team
At the 2023 Voyager Media Awards, Re: News won four awards.
We love ourselves so we’re going to show off our work.
Here’s the full list of winners so you can take a look at some of the best New Zealand journalism from last year.
Best news, current affairs or specialist publication
The judges said: “Re: News is a fresh, new voice in our media landscape, delivering stories that you just don’t see anywhere else. Cross-platform journalism is not an afterthought for Re: News, it’s their DNA, and the impressive new talent they have attracted produces news that is perfectly tailored for an audience of under 35 year olds.“
Video journalist of the year - Baz Macdonald
The judges said: “This was a very strong portfolio of work. Through clever storytelling Baz Macdonald humanises some of the more challenging issues society is grappling with. The stand out was Top Surgery. A beautifully crafted story which captured a level of intimacy and vulnerability that is rare to see. This issue is a complex and contentious topic in societies worldwide and this story broke down the complexity and politics with the most intimate of insights.“
Here were the videos Baz submitted for this award:
I’m getting top surgery to finally feel comfortable in my body
We follow Stevie in the days leading up to their top surgery - a gender-affirming procedure to remove breast tissue. Subscribe to Re:
As a non-binary person, ever since puberty they have felt uncomfortable in their body and this top surgery will allow them to overcome the largest contributor to that.
Kiwi doesn’t represent everyone in Aotearoa
“A Kiwi is a bird. I am not going to get up and say “Kia ora everybody. I'm a bird. Because I'm not a bird."
How our dead bodies can be good for the planet
The way we bury our dead is unsustainable, with cremation creating emissions and burials using too much land.
Cremating one person requires the same energy as the average New Zealand household uses in a month.
But there could be a better way, like cremating people in water that then fertilises our native forests.
Baz Macdonald talks to some burial experts about how we can give back to the planet when we pass on.
Best video documentary series
WINNER: Still Here – Re: News / TVNZ with Litia Tuiburelevu, Torisse Laulu, Ursula Williams, Tim Flower and Joshua Yong
Through the eyes of Pacific youth and their families, this four part docu-series celebrates the small but mighty Pasifika community in inner-city Auckland who have remained despite decades of rampant gentrification.
Each episode weaves intergenerational stories of family, community and culture dispelling the myth that “all the Islanders have left”.
The judges said: “This beautifully structured series captures Pasifika history in Auckland’s well heeled, gentrified inner suburbs. The judges were particularly impressed with the organic observational documentary approach which enables viewers to walk in the shoes of local residents. These intimate portraits are a rich intersection of the past and present that conveys with nuance what it means to be Pasifika in New Zealand.”
Best original podcast - seasonal/serial
WINNER: True Justice – Tommy Doran, Ana Chaya Scotney, Melody Thomas, Kirsten Johnstone | Popsock Media, JustSpeak, Re: News / TVNZ
New Zealanders love true crime.
But real life isn’t that straightforward.
True Justice is a five-part podcast series that shares the stories of those who have been through our prisons, and advocates for a more just justice system in Aotearoa.
The judges said: “The judges felt that True Justice brought nuanced insights into the justice system as told by people with first hand experiences. It did so with real journalistic rigour to provide credibility to those voices. It felt fresh, original and genuinely aimed at podcast audiences.”
Re: News was also finalists in other award categories. Watch and read here:
Best feature video (single video journalist)
Re: News journalist Zoe Madden-Smith - My Christian fundamentalist upbringing in Auckland
Content warning: This video mentions mental health, sexual themes, and Christian fundamentalism.
Growing up, Rhesa Simmons was taught girls do not make decisions for themselves.
Once they leave the care of their fathers, they would be under the care of their husbands.
“I’ve never been to school,” she says. “I was told it would be a waste of everyone’s time if I did further education because the plan was for me to have as many children as possible and stay at home. Basically, you don’t need an education to breastfeed so why bother?”
Rhesa’s Christian fundamentalist upbringing might remind you of those documentaries about extreme religious groups in the United States. But Rhesa grew up in Auckland.
She says her extremely conservative childhood restricted her healthcare, education, and even what she could or couldn’t wear.
Reflecting on her childhood, she says cutting herself off from the religion and most of her family felt terrifying and vulnerable. But it means she now has choices she never thought she could have as a young girl.
Re: News journalist Baz Macdonald - I’m getting top surgery to finally feel comfortable in my body
Video journalist of the year - Re: News journalist Zoe Madden-Smith
I’m 23 and I want to remove my uterus
When Taylen Heremaia told her doctor she wanted a hysterectomy to try and help with her endometriosis, the doctor asked if she had a boyfriend and what he thought about this.
"This hypothetical boyfriend doesn’t have a uterus that’s in pain,” Taylen told her doctor.
Experiencing chronic pain since she was 15, a painful condition where the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, Taylen has been on an exhausting journey to get a hysterectomy.
Despite being clear about never wanting genetic children, Taylen says the expectation and pressure for her to want children in the future feels dehumanising and she feels it has gotten in the way of her having her uterus removed.
"It felt like people were saying if you have a uterus, how could you not want children? What’s wrong with you?
This Taranaki couple on $165k want to live with their parents
Tama and Gina are mortgage free and collectively earn $165k a year. But after grinding through their 20s they have realized what matters to them most is being close to whānau.
Tama’s mum and nan live across the fence and Gina’s parents live five houses down the road - but their goal is to buy a larger piece of land so more of their family can live together.
“We are in a real privileged position where we can leverage them up by purchasing a large property, possibly building papakāinga styles,” says Tama.
This video is part of our series called Show Us Your Money where a range of New Zealanders get candid about their money.
We’re stripping away the secrecy around our bank accounts, and showing the reality of life in Aotearoa at different income levels.
My Christian fundamentalist upbringing
Content warning: This video mentions mental health, sexual themes, and Christian fundamentalism.
Growing up, Rhesa Simmons was taught girls do not make decisions for themselves.
Once they leave the care of their fathers, they would be under the care of their husbands.
“I’ve never been to school,” she says. “I was told it would be a waste of everyone’s time if I did further education because the plan was for me to have as many children as possible and stay at home. Basically, you don’t need an education to breastfeed so why bother?”
Rhesa’s Christian fundamentalist upbringing might remind you of those documentaries about extreme religious groups in the United States. But Rhesa grew up in Auckland.
She says her extremely conservative childhood restricted her healthcare, education, and even what she could or couldn’t wear.
Reflecting on her childhood, she says cutting herself off from the religion and most of her family felt terrifying and vulnerable. But it means she now has choices she never thought she could have as a young girl.
Best video documentary series - 2000s Baby by Re: News journalists Maggie Shui and Liam van Eeden
You’re invited to Misha, Rāwhiti, Poe Tiare, Alison and Tristan’s 21sts.
We join five 2000s babies at their 21st birthdays, getting a snapshot of what it looks like to become an adult across different walks of life in Aotearoa.
Best first-person essay or feature - Sara Qasem, Forgiveness is Not a Tidy Grave: A journey through loss, hope and healing
"I rang my father exactly 27 times in the course of five minutes. A paramedic picked up my call on the final dial and told me to stop ringing this number. Bad news. Bad, bad news.
In the late afternoon hours of March 15, 2019, I realised my dad was gone."
Read Sara’s story here
Best reporting - general - Baz Macdonald
I’m getting top surgery to finally feel comfortable in my body
Her best friend died at a flat party. Now she's calling for change
Best reporting - lifestyle - Baz Macdonald
We fell in love in a VR chatroom
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‘Forgiveness is not a tidy grave’: A journey through loss, hope and healing
Three years ago today, Sara Qasem lost her father in the Christchurch terror attacks.
Brown Pride: The South Auckland gym ‘by the people, for the people’
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‘Don’t limit what you think Africa is’: Africa Day in Tāmaki Makaurau
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