IT is the day many media organisations in the Pacific and Asia region have been waiting for.
With the 2012 PANPA Newspaper of the Year Awards scheduled for tonight, representatives of various media organisations have arrived in Sydney, Australia, for the announcement of the winners in the various categories.
Among the media organisations vying for awards is The Fiji Times, which submitted 13 entries of which nine have made their way into the finals.
The Fiji Times is in the final in nine categories of the 25,000 to 90,000 circulation figures.
It's in the final of the Daily Newspapers, Sunday Newspaper and Marketing — Audience and Circulation categories among others,
On Cause Related Marketing, The Fiji Times has three entries in the finals, namely the Fire Safety Campaign, Stop the Killer (non-communicable diseases) campaign and the Water Safety Campaign.
The three campaigns were carried out by this newspaper and are still being done occasionally to create much needed awareness in the community of these important issues.
And what is worth noting is that of the six entries in the finals in the Cause Related Marketing category, three are from this newspaper. In the Sponsorship category, the Kaila Star Search and Fiji Fashion Week have also made their way into the finals.
The Fiji Times is also in the finals of the Young Readers category.
PANPA Awards are the most prestigious newspaper awards in the region, attracting entries from as far south as Dunedin in New Zealand to as far north as Taiwan and Hong Kong.
There are 11 Newspaper of the Year Awards within a total of 68 awards up for grabs this year.
Seventy eight judges from around the world contributed to the 2012 Newspaper of the Year Awards.