The Herald Sun’s Jill Baker won the major prize, the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for her journalistic leadership.

In October last year, Jill wrote the powerful and compelling The Big C and Me, which was a record of her year from hell after the sudden death of her husband, her diagnosis with breast cancer and the following nine months of treatment.

Sunday Telegraph was named Newspaper of the Year, while The Cairns Post won Regional Newspaper of the Year, and The Manly Daily, the Community newspaper of the year.

body+soul won Magazine of the Year and Amelia Harris of the Herald Sun, Young Journalist of the Year.

Click here for the full list of winners.

The News Awards were announced at a black-tie dinner in Sydney, attended by 260 people including News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch.

The ceremony was also attended by the 57 finalists and their partners, representing 25 different newspapers, magazines and websites around the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Murdoch congratulated the winners and finalists on their courageous journalism.

“Great journalism is important to all our lives and that of the whole community,” he said. “Tonight we have witnessed many examples of great journalism and it is the backbone of what makes our company great.”

News Limited chairman and chief executive John Hartigan presented his Chairman’s Award to News Queensland for their united efforts during the floods and cyclone disasters earlier this year.