While Hall took the new personal award, the Newspaper of the Year awards in their categories went to, the Northern Scot, Essex Chronicle, Cambridge News and the Belfast Telegraph.
The judges were looking for an editor who had demonstrated personal journalistic achievement in the public interest, a personally fronted campaign, an individual battle with authority or simply a great idea.
Hall took the newspaper’s rail industry campaign from the Midlands to Europe, reported from the Bombardier company HQ, and won the support of his home community as he addressed the crowd at a demonstration and lobby of Parliament.
They judges said: “The campaign was a great example of an editor selecting the right campaign to support the readers and sticking to it until the paper achieved a result. Hall led from the front and came face to face with the issue.”
The Northern Scot picked up the award for Weekly Newspaper below 20,000 circulation and the Essex Chronicle took the award for Weekly Newspaper above 20,000 circulation for the second year running.
The award for Daily/Sunday Newspaper below 25,000 went to the Cambridge News and the award for Daily/Sunday Newspaper above 25,000 went to the Belfast Telegraph.
Choosing the Newspaper of the Year awards was a tough task for the judges, they praised the newspapers for their contribution to the industry.
Executive director of the Society of Editors, Bob Satchwell said: "Congratulations to all of the winners, against a background of change across the media and economic downturn their achievement is all the more significant.”
The awards took place at an Oscars-style lunchtime ceremony held at the Savoy Place in London to coincide with the Newspaper Society AGM and Local Newspaper Week 2012.
The awards were made possible by the lead sponsorship of UK Power Networks. Asda, media lawyers Foot Anstey, the Press Association and HoldTheFrontPage also supported the event.
The Society of Editors, which has been supported by Camelot since 2001, organises the awards in conjunction with the Newspaper Society and the Journalists’ Charity on a not for profit basis.
Chairman of the judges, former SoE president and former editor of the Manchester Evening News, Paul Horrocks, said: “These awards have demonstrated the amazing quality of journalistic effort that is still being produced in these challenging times for the whole of the media and regional and local papers in particular.”
A full list of winners and highly commended appears below.
Video from Silverstream TV and high res pictures of the awards will be available at www.regionalpressawards.org.uk
Winners and Highly Commended
Editor of the Year
Winner: Steve Hall, Derby Telegraph
Weekly Newspaper (below 20k)
Winner: The Northern Scot
Highly Commended: The Ulster Herald
Weekly Newspaper (above 20k)
Winner: Essex Chronicle
Highly Commended: Newbury Weekly News
Daily/Sunday (below 25k)
Winner: Cambridge News
Highly Commended: Lancashire Evening Post
Daily/Sunday (above 25k)
Winner: Belfast Telegraph
Highly Commended: Sunday Life
Young Journalist
Winner: Emily Koch – Bristol Evening Post
Highly Commended: Dominic Howell – Nottingham Post
Business & Finance
Winner: Catherine Lea – Hull Daily Mail
Highly Commended:
Robin Johnson – Derby Telegraph
Jon Griffin – Birmingham Mail
Specialist Writer
Winner: Nicky Harley – Hull Daily Mail
Highly Commended:
Paul Gallagher – Manchester Evening News
Jon Austin – Basildon Echo
Feature Writer
Winner: Adam Wakelin – Leicester Mercury
Highly Commended: Lucy Adams – The Herald, Glasgow
Columnist
Winner: Elaine Morgan – Western Mail
Highly Commended: Ian Midgley – Hull Daily Mail
Weekly Sports Journalist
Winner: Danny Hall – Sheffield Star’s, ‘Grassroots’
Highly Commended: Matthew Elder – Fife Free Press
Daily/Sunday Sports Journalist
Winner: John Gibson – Newcastle Evening Chronicle
Highly Commended:
Steven Beacom – Belfast Telegraph
Simon Walter – Southern Daily Echo
Weekly Photographer
Winner: Sean Hansford – Rochdale Observer
Highly Commended: Stephen Garnett – Craven Herald
Daily/Sunday Photographer
Winner: Rowland Hobson – Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Highly Commended:
Gary Longbottom – Yorkshire Post
Anthony Chappel-Ross – The Press, York
Weekly Reporter
Winner: Gareth Davies – Croydon Advertiser
Highly Commended: Lui Straccia – Luton on Sunday
Daily/Sunday Reporter of the Year
Winner: John McGurk – Sunday Life
Highly Commended: Bimpe Archer – Irish News
Designer
Winner: Ian Bond – Hull Daily Mail
Highly Commended: Sean Collins – The Journal, Newcastle
The Digital Award
Winner: www.pinkun.com - Norwich Evening News
Highly Commended: Manchester Evening News
Supplement of the Year
Winner: Yorkshire Post Magazine
Highly Commended: Weekend - Belfast Telegraph
Special Supplement of the Year
Winner: The Blitz - Hull Daily Mail
Highly Commended: Welsh Warriors - Wales on Sunday
Front Page
Winner: Is This How You Feel? – Western Mail
Highly Commended: The Night Fire Took The Lives of My Four Babies – Derby Telegraph
Scoop
Winner: Nicky Harley – Hull Daily Mail
Highly Commended: Jon Austin – Basildon Echo
Campaign
Winner: An Industry Betrayed – Derby Telegraph
Highly Commended: Missing From Home – Manchester Evening News
