A newly launched weekly and a family-owned newspaper have triumphed in the weekly newspaper categories of the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards that celebrate the vital role of local and regional newspapers.
Big winners were the Cambridge Independent and The Cumberland News and in the daily and Sunday newspaper sections, the Derby Telegraph and Sunday Life won the top prizes.
The Journalists’ Charity Award was also presented to media veteran Sir Ray Tindle for his services to the charity.
In the below 15,000 circulation weekly category, the judges said that the Iliffe Media-owned Cambridge Independent was a “fantastic and innovative publication that is a hybrid between newspaper and magazine with proper coverage of local issues”. The newspaper was launched in Cambridge in 2016. The Cumberland News, which triumphed in the Weekly Newspaper Above 15,000 circulation category, was described as well presented, easily accessible to the reader and big, bold and substantial. The CN Group also won the Making a Difference Award for its Save Our Services campaign organised by the News Media Association for Local Newspaper Week.
The Derby Telegraph, winner of the below 20,000 category for dailies and Sundays was described as an example to the industry “of how to tackle difficult issues in a campaigning style” the judges said. In the above 20,000 category Sunday Life won its award for “consistently high standards and consistent packages of cracking stories.”
The Derby Telegraph also saw reporter Robin Johnson awarded the Business and Finance Journalist of the Year Award while the Scoop of the Year was awarded to Isaac Crowson for his reporting of abuse at Aston Hall care home. The judges described Crowson’s reporting as “an absolutely riveting and veritable iceberg of a story” and the Telegraph’s uncovering of the abuse as “investigative journalism at its finest, told with rigour and confidence”.
Sunday Life also saw reporter Ali Gordon awarded the Daily/Sunday Reporter of the Year accolade. Gordon’s reporting, which saw her learning Arabic and posing as a 17 year old schoolgirl, resulted in the unmasking of the leader of an international jihadi recruitment agency. The Weekly Reporter of the Year was awarded to Emma Youle of Archant’s investigations unit for investigative journalism and undercover work that the judges said uncovered fantastic scoops on a Hampstead fraudster, homeless hostels in Hackney and how secretive offshore companies were buying UK property.
The Environment Journalist of the Year was presented to Alex Kirby of Cambridge Independent and The Cumberland News’ Jon Colman won Weekly Sports Journalist of the Year.
The Front Page of the Year was awarded to the Derry News for its ‘Held by her hero’ cover showing the image of a man cradling a baby that he has rescued from the sea in Donegal. The tragedy resulted in the death of five members of the same family.
Trinity Mirror’s WalesOnline was the big winner in the digital categories winning the Website of the Year and The Digital Award for a dedicated site to the Aberfan tragedy.
Trinity Mirror-owned papers also triumphed in the Campaign of the Year category with the Birmingham Mail’s campaign for justice for the victims of the Birmingham Bombing scooping the prize alongside the Western Mail’s Week End Magazine winning Supplement of the Year. The Manchester Evening News’ Social Affairs Editor Jennifer Williams was awarded the Specialist Reporter of the Year and the Western Morning News’ Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod won the Designer of the Year for the second year in a row.
The Irish News and The Yorkshire Post also won two awards with Columnist of the Year awarded to the News’ Allison Morris and Neil Loughran winning the Daily/Sunday Sports Journalist of the Year. The Yorkshire Post was awarded Feature Writer of the Year for Sarah Freeman and Daily/Sunday Photographer of the Year for Tony Johnson. The Weekly Photographer of the Year was awarded to Sonya Duncan of the Archant-owned Diss Mercury. Archant’s Eastern Daily Press took home the Science and Education Journalist of the Year Award for Martin George. Young Journalist of the Year was awarded to the Oxford Mail’s Hannah Somerville.
The winners of the Regional Press Awards:
JOURNALISTS’ CHARITY AWARD
Sponsored by Gorkana
Sir Ray Tindle, Chairman, Tindle Newspapers
YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage
Hannah Somerville, Oxford Mail
Highly commended: Jack Maguire, Jersey Evening Post
BUSINESS & FINANCE JOURNALIST
Sponsored by Foot Anstey
Robin Johnson, Derby Telegraph
Highly commended: Les Reid, Coventry Observer
ENVIRONMENT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by United Utilities
Alex Kirby, Cambridge Independent
Highly commended: Pete Hughes, Oxford Mail
SPECIALIST WRITER OF THE YEAR
Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News
Highly commended: Aasma Day, Lancashire Evening Post
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by IP Group
Martin George, Eastern Daily Press
Highly commended: Luke Sproule, Oxford Mail
FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Freeman, The Yorkshire Post
Highly commended: Aasma Day, Lancashire Evening Post
Highly commended: Louis Emanuel, Bristol24/7
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Asda
Allison Morris, The Irish News
Highly commended: Robert Campbell, Western Daily Press
WEEKLY SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Jon Colman, The Cumberland News
Highly commended: Mark Taylor, Cambridge Independent
DAILY/SUNDAY SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Neil Loughran, The Irish News
Highly commended: James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury
WEEKLY REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by UK Power Networks
Emma Youle, Archant Investigations Unit
Highly commended: Charles Thomson, Yellow Advertiser
DAILY/SUNDAY REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by UK Power Networks
Ali Gordon, Sunday Life
Highly commended: Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph
WEEKLY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Sonya Duncan, Diss Mercury
Highly commended: Michael Gillen, The Falkirk Herald
DAILY/SUNDAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Tony Johnson, The Yorkshire Post
Highly commended: Andrew Cawley, Sunday Post
Highly commended: Simon Hulme, The Yorkshire Post
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod, Western Morning News
Highly commended: Ian Bond, Hull Daily Mail
Highly commended: David Lewins, Bristol Post
SUPPLEMENT OF THE YEAR
Week End Magazine, Western Mail
Highly commended: The 96: In the words of their families, Liverpool Echo
THE DIGITAL AWARD
Sponsored by JTI
aberfan.walesonline.co.uk, WalesOnline
Highly commended: yoppul.co.uk, Isle of Wight County Press
WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by JTI
www.walesonline.co.uk
Highly commended: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR
Held by her hero, Derry News
Highly commended: 9.13am, Western Mail
Highly commended: Our Jo, Yorkshire Evening Post
SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Google
Horrors of Aston Hall, Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph
Highly commended: Pennine Acute: The Shocking Trust, Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News
Highly commended: Unmasked: Isis Terror Queen, Ali Gordon, Sunday Life
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Asda
Birmingham Pub Bombing, Birmingham Mail
Highly commended: The Horrors of Aston Hall Hospital, Derby Telegraph
PEOPLE'S CHOICE MAKING A DIFFERENCE AWARD
CN Group Titles for their Save Our Services campaign
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 15,000)
Cambridge Independent
Highly commended: The Oxford Times
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 15,000)
The Cumberland News
Highly commended: Kent Messenger
DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 20,000)
Derby Telegraph
Highly commended: Western Mail
DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 20,000)
Sunday Life
Highly commended: Eastern Daily Press
Highly commended: Sunday Post
