Press Releases11 May 09

Church of Ireland Communications Competition 2009 Results Announced

The winners of the Central Communications Board 2009 Communications Competition for the best newsletters/magazines, websites and innovative use of new technologies by individuals, parishes and dioceses were announced today, Sunday 10 May, by the Archbishop of Armagh at the General Synod in Armagh City Hotel.

The competition was independently judged by external media professionals.

In the Parish magazines/newsletters category, the judges said that they recognised that all of the entries in this category were of a particularly high standard and that it was extremely difficult to choose between them. They went on to say, ‘The winner had an imaginative use of graphics and space while the runner up provided particularly good production and good use of colour and pointers to both events and prayers.’

The best parish magazine was won by the Parish of Castledermot and Kinnegh, Narraghmore and Timolin (‘Four Churches One Parish’), which was praised for being packed with news and information along with a very readable exposition of Lent in its March issue. It showed good evidence of imagination and creativity.

The runner-up was ‘The Columban’, the magazine of St Columba’s Parish, Knock, Belfast. The judges praised its good use of colour, its pleasing, fresh look and good choice of articles and production values.

Finally in this category, ‘Taney News’ from Taney Parish, Dundrum, Dublin, was ‘highly commended’, praised as ‘fresh and readable’ with a good use of pictures and attractive front page.

In the Diocesan magazines category, Derry & Raphoe Diocese’s ‘N:Vision’ took first place. The judges felt that it was ‘bright and breezy’, praising its cover and remarking on the excellent use of colour and graphics throughout.

The runner-up was ‘The Ambassador’ from Armagh Diocese, which was also praised for being attractive with good use of colour, for its fun page and for appealing to all interests.

In the ‘Other’ organizations category, ‘Focus’ the Mothers’ Union Ireland magazine won first prize. The judges felt that the editorial content was of a high standard and that the design was accessible and ‘refreshingly uncluttered’.

In the Websites category the external judge particularly looked for something more than mere information, such as interactivity, video, audio, etc. It was felt that the best sites make the viewer feel included, invited into a community, creating a coherent impression of the church itself.

In the Parish websites category, St Mary’s Parish , Ballybeen’s fresh and attractive site  scooped first place, with Taney Parish in second place, praised for its attractive design and current content.

Best Diocesan website went to Down and Dromore Diocese , while Dublin and Glendalough ’s website was a close runner-up.

In the ‘Other’ organizations website category. Summer Madness’ highly interactive ‘Ignite ’ website took first place.

Finally, the 2009 competition invited entries for the most innovative use of New Technologies: to include Interactive Communication Technologies (ICT) or ‘social media’ over and beyond websites. Here, the competition was looking to see how churches, church organizations and members engaged with the world of blogs, podcasts or social networking or content-sharing websites.

In this category, Canon Patrick Comerford’s blog took first place, while runner-up was Summer Madness’ SM-S Bible Texting Service.

Parish Websites
Winner: St Mary’s, Ballybeen, Dundonald
Runner Up: Taney Parish, Dublin

Diocesan Websites
Winner: Down & Dromore Diocese
Runner-Up: Dublin & Glendalough Diocese

Other Websites
Winner: Summer Madness’ Ignite website

New Technologies
Winner: Canon Patrick Comerford’s blog
Runner Up: Summer Madness’ SM-S Bible Texting Service