Insider trade series nets Herald writers top prize

The Herald's coverage of the Fletcher Paper insider trading scandal has won two Business Herald writers top prize in the annual WestpacTrust Journalism Awards.

Business Herald associate editor Karyn Scherer and reporter Simon Hendery were last night named the supreme award winners and print news category winners in the 2001 WestpacTrust Business and Financial Journalism Awards.

Business Herald editor Jim Eagles and columnist Brian Gaynor were finalists in the columnist category of the awards, won by Rod Oram of the Sunday Star-Times.

Herald IT writer Peter Griffin was a finalist in the print news category.

The print feature award went to Kirsten Matthew of Metro magazine and the electronic media award to Hamish Clark of TVNZ.

In a series of articles written by Scherer and Hendery last November, the Herald revealed that Aucklanders Paul Hyslop and Keith Stewart had profited from share trading after secret Fletcher Challenge restructuring plans were passed to them by their sister-in-law, Liz Corby.

The Securities Commission had refused to name the trio, and the Herald successfully challenged Mr Hyslop's attempt to win a court order preventing publication of his name.