Replacing the newspaper and weekly newspaper of the year awards are the new Newsbrand of the year and Weekly Newsbrand of the year categories which will recognize excellence in news publishing across all formats under a title’s brand.
Overseen by Newsbrands Scotland (formerly the Scottish Newspaper Society), entries opened on 4 January, with the awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday, May 29.
John McLellan, director at Newsbrands Scotland, said: “Great stories and big scoops will still very much be top of the judges’ agendas, but the modern news publishing is a sophisticated, multi-media operation which reaches huge audiences on mobile devices and the awards need to reflect the change in the way news is consumed.”
Newsbrands Scotland says celebrating excellence in journalism from across the country, this year’s scheme includes 27 categories, and features several long-standing award titles complemented by a range of new-look categories.
Among them is the Campaign of the Year category that welcomes the national, regional, and local campaigns that have made an impact within communities.
The Weekly Journalist of the Year will celebrate the best of news and feature writers from weekly titles, whilst the Regional Journalist of the Year invites entries from inspiring local and regional reporters.
The full list of categories for 2024 are:
- Arts and Entertainment Journalist of the Year
- Best Coverage of a Live Event
- Campaign of the Year
- Columnist of the Year
- Feature Writer of the Year
- Financial/Business Journalist of the Year
- Food and Drink Writer of the Year
- Front Page of the Year
- Journalism Team of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award (not applicable for entry, chosen by the editors' committee)
- Nicola Barry Award
- Photographer of the Year
- Podcast of the Year
- Political Journalist of the Year
- Regional Journalist of the Year
- Reporter of the Year
- Scoop of the Year
- Specialist Reporter of the Year
- Sports Columnist of the Year
- Sports Feature Writer of the Year
- Sports News Writer of the Year
- Young Journalist of the Year
- Weekly Journalist of the Year
- Weekly Newsbrand of the Year
- Scottish Newsbrand of the Year
- Journalist of the Year (not applicable for entry, chosen by the judges)
This year’s judging panel will be led by Richard Neville, former head of news brands at DC Thomson and current director of Neville Robertson Communications.
John McLellan added: “2023 was a momentous year in so many ways, not least in Scottish politics, and I’m sure our finalists and winners will reflect the very best of the many brilliant stories which have kept the public informed throughout.”
The 45th Scottish Press Awards are sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, Diageo, VisitScotland, Edrington, Openreach, Glenmorangie, The Law Society of Scotland, Caledonian MacBrayne, Registers of Scotland, Muckle Media, Women in Journalism Scotland, BIG Partnership, Weber Shandwick, Event Consultants Scotland and Newsbrands Scotland.
Last year’s event saw Press Association photographer, Jane Barlow, become the first ever photographer to win the coveted Journalist of the Year category as well as the Photographer of the Year category for her moving final public picture of the Queen days before her death.
Other big winners at the 44th annual awards included the Scottish Daily Mail, which won the Newspaper of the Year and Journalism Team of the Year categories for its coverage of the Queen’s death and overall consistency as a product.
The awards ceremony and dinner will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on 29 May 2024. For more information click here.
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