Tuesday 29 December 2009

Christmas Questionnaire: Telegraph and Twitter triumph in the Best Media of 2009


The Daily Telegraph was the clear winner in the Best Old Media category in my Christmas Questionnaire answered by 15 media and other journalists working across various sectors. The Telegraph was heaped with praise for its brilliant coverage of the MPs' expenses scandal. Private Eye was runner-up and chosen not by old hacks but by several who work only online. Other "old media" chosen included The Economist; The Times; the Guardian; The Wall Street Journal; and La Repubblica. Regional titles praised included the Press & Journal, Aberdeen; the New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times.

Winner of the Best New Media category was Twitter, particularly for its part in the Trafigura affair and the row over the Carter-Ruck injunction which gagged the Guardian. A wide range of other new media was mentioned including BBC Online; the Guardian's live Ashes blog; Spotify; Audioboo; photographer Jane Bown's online archive; The Thick of It; Rupert Murdoch's paywall; Thomson Reuters; and Help Me Investigate.

The Best Story of the Year
was clear-cut. MPs' Expenses was chosen by two-thirds of the journalists who answered the questionnaire. Runner-up was the Death of Michael Jackson.

Journalist of the Year
was Paul Lewis of the Guardian for his investigation into the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 Summit in London. Will Lewis, editor-in-chief of the Telegraph, was praised for risking prosecution by publishing the leaked data on MPs' expenses, as was Ian Cobain for his investigations in the Guardian.

You can read all the answers to Best Media of 2009 Christmas Questionnaire here (along with their predictions for 2010):
Dominic Ponsford; Ian Reeves; Laura Oliver; Judith Townend;Patrick Smith; Grey Cardigan; Jean Morgan; Neil Fowler; Chris Wheal; Adrian Monck; Paul Linford; Jo Wadsworth; Steve Dyson; Steve Busfield; Sam Shepherd.
Many thanks to everyone who answered my Christmas Questionnaire - Jon S.

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