Thursday 12 May 2011

Behold This Front Page: Forget about silly super-inunctions and shagging footballers and tv stars



The Bristol Evening Post won the Front Page of the Year Award at the Regional Press Awards in London yesterday for this dramatic launch of its 'Cots for Tots' campaign to raise £1 million to expand the neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital.

At a time of silly super-injunctions, the Regional Press Awards were a reminder of the serious campaigning journalism that many local papers do.

Weekly Reporter of the Year was the Kent Messenger's brilliant Paul Francis, an expert in Freedom of Information who digs up great stories about Kent County Council.

Daily/Sunday Reporter of the Year was Allison Morris of The Irish News for her work in uncovering some of the most gruesome terrorist crimes in Northern Ireland. The judges said it was "serious reporting at its finest."

Scoop of the Year was won by the Sunday Mercury for an investigation into a scandalous waste of public money, corruption and Government incompetence in which millions of pounds were lost to firms supposedly offering housing to asylum seekers.

Campaign of the Year went to the Norwich Evening News for its 'End the Indignity' campaign which forced changes in local NHS services.

Young journalist of the year was Dan Warburton, of the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal, for a portfolio which included interviews with some of Tyneside's most notorious gangsters.

Newspaper of the Year was The Irish News, praised as a "muscular, independent and serious newspaper with strong campaigning arms" which had investigated the increase in Republican violence.

Not a shagging footballer or unfaithful tv celeb in sight.

  • Congratulations to the Society of Editors, its executive director Bob Satchwell, chairman of the judges Peter Sands and the Newspaper Society for getting the Regional Press Awards back on track at such a difficult time. I was one of the award judges.
  • Full list of winners here

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