The Daily Mail dominated the Press Awards, winning eight prizes including the prestigious award for Newspaper of the Year.
The judges described the Mail as a: “Consistently must-read product even if it can drive you to distraction.”
Adding: “Its hard hitting journalism, virulent opinion, remorseless commitment, courage and conviction means it is feared but fears no one.”
The paper also won the News Team of the Year accolade and its relentless campaign for justice for Stephen Lawrence secured it two further awards for Campaign of the Year and the Cudlipp Award which recognises excellence in popular journalism and commemorates the journalism of the celebrated editor Hugh Cudlipp.
Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail and editor-in-chief of the Mail group accepted the award for Campaign of the Year, paying tribute to Stephen’s parents, Neville and Doreen.
The Times walked away with five awards including, Sports Journalist of the Year, Cartoonist of the Year, Supplement of the Year, Columnist of the Year – Broadsheet and Business and Finance Team of the Year.
The Guardian claimed the award for Scoop of the Year for ‘Milly Dowler Phone Hacked’, the story that catapulted the newspaper industry into the media spotlight last summer. The judges described the award as: “The one you haven’t got, it is the one that causes the most trouble in following that deserves the award.”
Nick Davies of the Guardian accepted the award, thanking the judges for “an above average dose of generosity”.
The Daily Mirror’s David Collins took the award for News Reporter of the Year for helping to trap Milly Dowler’s killer, the judges said: “The winner’s work was the type of dogged journalism that was exactly what the industry needs to celebrate.”
The Mail’s other awards included three for Craig Brown – one for his book reviews in the Mail on Sunday. It is the first time in the history of these awards that one person has collected three prizes.
The judges gave a ‘Special Award’ to Peter Wright to mark his 14 years as editor of the Mail on Sunday. Peter said: “All I have ever wanted is to edit a newspaper, I feel humbled”.
The i won the award for Production and Design Team of the Year for persuading young people to put down their I pads and pick up the paper.
The Daily Telegraph won four awards including Young Journalist of the Year, Sports Team of the Year, Front Page of the Year and Business & Finance Journalist of the Year.
Richard Ingrams from the Oldie magazine took the Journalists’ Charity Award which recognizes outstanding contribution to journalism.
Executive director of the Society of Editors, Bob Satchwell said: "Congratulations to all the winners, the awards showed the enduring quality of British journalism and particularly marked the Daily Mail's year because of the culmination of a 14 year sustained campaign to bring the killers of Stephen Lawrence to justice."
Tributes were paid at the ceremony to veteran Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin who was sadly killed in Syria last month.
Please see a full list of winners and highly commended below:
Young Journalist of the Year
Winner - Ruth Sherlock, The Daily Telegraph
Highly Commended - Laura Pitel, The Times
Business & Finance Journalist of the Year
Winner - Harry Wilson & Philip Aldrick, The Daily and The Sunday Telegraph
Highly Commended - Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
Political Journalist of the Year
Winner - Isabel Oakeshott, The Sunday Times
Highly Commended - Rachel Sylvester, The Times
Foreign Reporter of the Year
Winner - Hala Jaber, The Sunday Times
Highly Commended - Ian Birrell, Freelance
Showbiz Reporter of the Year
Winner - Ben Todd, Daily Mail
Highly Commended - Nicola Methven, Daily Mirror
Sports Journalist of the Year
Winner - Mark Souster, The Times
Highly Commended - Martyn Ziegler, Press Association
Specialist Reporter of the Year
Winner - Jeremy Laurance, The Independent
Highly Commended - Amelia Gentleman, The Guardian
Feature Writer of the Year – Broadsheet
Winner - David James Smith, The Sunday Times Magazine
Highly Commended - John Arlidge, The Sunday Times Magazine
Feature Writer of the Year – Popular
Winner - David Jones, Daily Mail
Highly Commended - Oliver Harvey, The Sun
Interviewer of the Year - Broadsheet
Winner - Deborah Ross, The Independent
Highly Commended - Robert Chalmers, The Independent on Sunday
Interviewer of the Year – Popular
Winner - Beth Neil, Fabulous Magazine, The Sun
Highly Commended - Louise Gannon, The Mail on Sunday
Critic of the Year
Winner - Craig Brown, The Mail on Sunday
Highly Commended - Caitlin Moran, The Times
Diarist of the Year
Winner - The Londoner’s Diary, London Evening Standard
Highly Commended - Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times
Photographer of the Year
Winner - Oli Scarff, Getty Images
Highly Commended - Jack Hill, The Times
Sports Photographer of the Year
Winner - Mike Egerton, Press Association
Highly Commended - Richard Pelham, The Sun
Cartoonist of the Year
Winner - Peter Brookes, The Times
Highly Commended - Matt Pritchett, The Daily Telegraph
Campaign of the Year
Winner - Stephen Lawrence, Daily Mail
Highly Commended - Get London Reading, London Evening Standard
Website of the Year
Winner - Mail Online
Highly Commended - The Times website
Best of Humour
Winner - Craig Brown, Daily Mail
Highly Commended - Hugo Rifkind, The Times
News Reporter of the Year
Winner - David Collins, Daily Mirror
Highly Commended - Andrew Norfolk, The Times
Supplement of the Year
Winner - The Times Magazine
Highly Commended - Fabulous Magazine, The Sun
Columnist – Broadsheet
Winner - Melanie Reid, The Times
Highly Commended - Peter Oborne, The Daily Telegraph
Columnist – popular
Winner - Craig Brown, Daily Mail
Highly Commended - Sue Carroll, Daily Mirror
Judges’ Special Award
Winner - Peter Wright, Mail on Sunday
Newspaper of the Year – Team Awards
News Team - Daily Mail
Sports Team - The Daily Telegraph
Business & Finance Team - The Times
Production & Design Team - i
Front Page of the year - Rule of the Mob, The Daily Telegraph
Scoop of the Year - Milly Dowler Phone Hacked, The Guardian
NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR - Daily Mail
