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Winners of Regional Press Awards for 2019 announced

Posted on: June 19, 2020 by admin

The results are in for the Regional Press Awards 2019 organised by the Society of Editors.

From a field of almost 700 entries, the winners and highly commended were announced today (June 19) in a special video event which replaced the planned gala awards lunch due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The awards, supported by headline sponsor Facebook Journalism Project, recognise excellence throughout the regional and local print press.

The newspaper of the year titles for 2019 were won by: 

Daily Newspaper of the Year Above 400,000 Monthly Reach: The Yorkshire Post.

Daily Newspaper of the Year Below 400,000 Monthly Reach: Western Mail.

Paid for Weekly/Sunday Newspaper of the Year Above 50,000 Monthly Reach: Bucks Free Press.

Paid for Weekly/Sunday Newspaper of the Year Below 50,000 Monthly Reach: Farnham Herald.

Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year: Islington Tribune

Website of the Year award went to HullLive, Hull Daily Mail.

The Birmingham Mail was chosen as joint winner for daily newspaper Campaign of the Year category for its focus on the Birmingham Pub Bombings. The judges also awarded top marks to the Power up the North campaign carried jointly by titles from publishers Newsquest, Reach and JPIMedia.

A full list of award winners can be found below and by visiting the event page where there is full coverage of all of the nominated entries in all categories.

In a video message of support, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden MP paid tribute to all who worked in the regional press. He added: “Particularly local and regional press have a unique role to play both in holding local politicians to account and in building a sense of community.”

The Secretary of State added that he found questions asked by local journalists at the regular Coronavirus government briefings among the trickiest to deal with as they came from reporters close to their communities.

Sarah Brown, Facebook’s Head of Northern Europe News Partnerships, said: “I would like to say a huge congratulations to all those chosen as winners in the Regional Press Awards, a great achievement. We are delighted to be sponsoring the awards at a time when news is more important than ever.”

Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors commented: “Even though the awards have been affected by the Coronavirus emergency and we were unable to stage the gala lunch we were determined all the fantastic work carried out by the regional and local press did not go unrecognised.

“Anyone looking at the breadth and scale of the entries for this year’s awards will recognise the tremendous and vital role the sector plays in our nation.”

If you missed the video announcements, you can catch up on the whole awards ceremony online here.   

To celebrate regional journalism, join in the #LoveLocalMedia campaign by watching and sharing this video short to highlight the tremendous work of local press.

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #LoveLocalMedia and tag @EditorsUK in your posts. Please do also include #RegionalPressAwards.

The Society of Editors organises the awards on behalf of the industry and is supported by: headline sponsor Facebook Journalism Project; Camelot since 2001; Amazon Prime Video; Google News Initiative; Cision; PA Media; HoldTheFrontPage; Luther Pendragon; and the Journalists’ Charity.


List of Winners and Highly Commended

Journalists’ Charity Award

Winner:   Dan Carrier, Camden New Journal

Young Journalist of the Year – sponsored by Amazon Prime Video

Winner:  Jessie Mathewson, East London Guardian

Winner:  Jack Dyson, Kentish Gazette

Highly Commended: Marcus Hughes, WalesOnline

Specialist Writer/Impact Journalist of the Year

Winner: Liam Thorp, Liverpool Echo

Highly Commended: Ciaran Barnes, Sunday Life

Feature Writer/Long Form Journalist of the Year

Winner:  Amanda Powell, The Western Mail

Highly Commended:  Joe Thomas, Liverpool Echo

Business & Finance Journalist of the Year

Winner: Greg Wright, The Yorkshire Post

Highly Commended:  Robin Johnson, Derby Telegraph

Highly Commended: Margaret Canning, Belfast Telegraph

Columnist of the Year – Daily Paper

Winner:  Carolyn Hitt, The Western Mail

Winner:  Allison Morris, The Irish News

Highly Commended:  Catriona Stewart, The Herald

Columnist of the Year – Weekly Paper

Winner:  Peter Grant, Wirral Globe

Highly Commended:   Mike Kelly, Sunday Sun

Sports Journalist of the Year – Daily Paper

Winner:  Neil Allen, The News, Portsmouth

Highly Commended:  Paul Abbandonato, WalesOnline

Sports Journalist of the Year – Weekly/ Sunday Paper

Winner: Paul Ferguson, Sunday Life

Highly Commended:  Mark Taylor, Cambridge Independent

Data Journalist of the Year

Winner:  Harriet Clugston, RADAR AI

Winner:  Aimee Stanton, JPI Media

Highly Commended:  Annie Gouk, Reach Data Unit

Social Media Journalist of the Year

Winner:  Daniel Russell, The Nottingham Post and Nottinghamshire Live

Highly Commended:  Will Hayward, WalesOnline

Digital Live News Reporter of the Year

Winner:  Kristian Johnson, LeedsLive

Highly Commended:  Neil Docking, Liverpool Echo

Highly Commended:  Cathy Owen, Media Wales

Digital Live Sports Reporter of the Year

Winner:  Gareth Hanna, Belfast Telegraph

Highly Commended:   Beren Cross, LeedsLive

Reporting Communities Award

Winner:  Rakeem Omar Hyatt, BirminghamLive

Winner: Kathryn Williams, WalesOnline

Highly Commended:  Will Hayward, WalesOnline

The Cathryn Nicoll Award – in conjunction with the NMA

Winner:  Joseph Locker, The Nottingham Post & Nottinghamshire Live

Weekly/Sunday Reporter of the Year – sponsored by Luther Pendragon

Winner:  Rodney Edwards, The Impartial Reporter

Highly Commended:  Charles Thomson, Yellow Advertiser

Daily Reporter of the Year – sponsored by Luther Pendragon

Winner:  Martyn McLaughlin, The Scotsman

Highly Commended:  Liam Thorp, Liverpool Echo

Highly Commended:  Kelly Williams, Daily Post

Weekly/Sunday Photographer of the Year – sponsored by PA Media

Winner:  Stuart Walker, The Cumberland News

Highly Commended:  Mark Williamson, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald

Daily Photographer of the Year – sponsored by PA Media

Winner:  Simon Hulme, The Yorkshire Post

Highly Commended:  James Hardisty, The Yorkshire Post/Yorkshire Evening Post

Designer of the Year – Newspaper

Winner:  Debbie Rodman, Bury Free Press

Highly Commended:  Simon Hill, Express & Star

Designer of the Year – Magazines/Supplement

Winner:  David Lewins, Bristol Post: Weekend Magazine

Highly Commended:  Clarke Cooper, The Press and Journal

Supplement of the Year

Winner:  TdY Magazine, The Yorkshire Post

Highly Commended:  Back Where We Belong, Express & Star

Magazine of the Year

Winner:  ecoJersey, Jersey Evening Post

Highly Commended:  Life, Jewish News

Front Page of the Year – Daily Paper, sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage

Winner: They tried to make the world a better place, Cambridge News

Highly Commended:  La Tragedie de Notre Dame, The Scotsman

Front Page of the Year – Weekly Paper, sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage

Winner:  ‘Choose something’, The Herald on Sunday

Highly Commended: Shameless/ Killed for the Cameras, Sunday Life

Scoop of the Year – sponsored by Cision

Winner:  Senior teacher bombarded pupil, 15 with flirty messages, Daily Post

Highly Commended:  Evil Eyes, Sunday Life

Campaign of the Year – Daily Paper

Winner:  Power up the North campaign, across Reach Plc, JPI Media & Newsquest titles

Winner:  Birmingham Pub Bombing Inquest Campaign, Birmingham Mail

Campaign of the Year – Weekly/Sunday Paper

Winner:  Save Kentish Town City Farm, Camden New Journal

Winner:  Paedophile Police Informant campaign, Yellow Advertiser

Highly Commended:  Save Reading Gaol, Reading Chronicle

Website of the Year – sponsored by Google News Initiative

Winner: HullLive, Hull Daily Mail

Highly Commended:  Irishnews.com, The Irish News

Highly Commended: manchestereveningnews.co.uk, Manchester Evening News

Social Media Team of the Year – sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project

Winner:  ChronicleLive

Highly Commended:  WalesOnline

Digital Initiative of the Year – sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project

Winner:  Brexit Voices from Northern Ireland, Belfast Telegraph

Highly Commended:  Shaped by a River: Tales of the Tay, The Courier

The Overall Digital Award– sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project

Winner:  liverpoolecho.co.uk, Liverpool Echo

Highly Commended:  KentOnline, IM News

Innovation & Initiative of the Year – sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project

Winner:  Statement, The Irish News

Highly Commended:  Radar AI | Local News Wire, RADAR AI

Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year – sponsored by Camelot

Winner:  Islington Tribune

Highly Commended:  Slough & Windsor Express

Paid for Weekly/Sunday Newspaper of the Year Above 50,000 Monthly Reach – sponsored by Camelot

Winner:  Bucks Free Press

Highly Commended:  Newbury Weekly News

Paid for Weekly/Sunday Newspaper of the Year Below 50,000 Monthly Reach – sponsored by Camelot

Winner:  Farnham Herald

Highly Commended:  The Impartial Reporter

Daily Newspaper of the Year Above 400,000 Monthly Reach – sponsored by Camelot

Winner:  The Yorkshire Post

Highly Commended:  Express & Star

Daily Newspaper of the Year Below 400,000 Monthly Reach – sponsored by Camelot

Winner:  Western Mail

Highly Commended:  Yorkshire Evening Post