Reflecting on the best of our work in 2023

As we compile stories looking back at the year that is almost gone, it prompts discussions about the events we have covered and the stories we have published.

As the year comes to a close you will see the results of this work, with stories published looking back on what made news in 2023.

At the start of the week I got to look back at the year of the best news stories across the ACM network of news sites when I was in Sydney for the company's annual ACM Excellence Awards.

I was proud to see Daily Liberal journalist Allison Hore recognised for her work covering a marathon court case.

Allison received a highly commended in the Court Story of the Year category.

For eight weeks Allison covered the Robert Dickie murder case, taking 53 pages of notes in the process, which was more than 20,000 words.

Allison's efforts produced a very compelling read that explained the case exceptionally well.

The judges commented that while there was national and international interest in the case, for much of the proceedings Allison was the only journalist in the courtroom, which meant she was able to share a lot of detail with Daily Liberal readers, including witness testimonies from the victim's family.

Another winner on the night was Ben Doherty, a print producer who is a key player behind the scenes in putting the print edition of the Daily Liberal together.

Winning the award for best print producer, the judges noted that Ben has been instumental in pioneering ACM's new way of producing daily mastheads in Central West NSW.

Working with Aaron Lakin, ACM's head of subscriptions, and the newsrooms here at Dubbo and at Orange and Bathurst, Ben has ensured the papers have an efficient print process that frees up editors and the journalists to focus on the website and our digital audience. He writes great headlines for the print editions too!

Congratulations to both Allison and Ben. We're proud of their work.

Laurie Bullock

Editor, Daily Liberal