Your Noon Briefing: Scottish Press Awards, media centre at Commonwealth Games, etc

THE Sunday Mail has been named Newspaper of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards, which were held last night in Glasgow.

Also at the awards ceremony, the Sunday Herald’s Paul Hutcheon was named Journalist of the Year, with former Scottish Daily Mail editor, Chris Williams, awarded the Lifetime Achievement accolade.

This was the 35th Scottish Press Awards, which are organised by the Scottish Newspaper Society.

View the winners’ list, here.

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JOURNALISTS covering the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this year are being invited to apply for access to a centre in the city providing “real-time news and multi-media content about Glasgow, Scotland and the rest of the UK”.

VisitScotland, alongside Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and VisitBritain, will be operating a ‘Destination Media Hub’, offering, among other things, work space, bookable fixed camera positions and free wi-fi and wireless printing.

For more information and to register, click here.

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A SCOTS freelance journalist is celebrating the publication of his second novel.

Jonathan Whitelaw self-published his debut novel, Morbid Relations, only six months ago.

And now he has self-published a second, The Medusa’s Skull.

Both are priced £2.99.

The Medusa’s Skull is described as “an action/adventure novel about young writer, Tom Wuhl, who travels to Greece to search for an old friend. Once there, he’s sucked into a world of mystery and intrigue when he discovers an ancient relic that could change the future of the world. Battling political forces, cults and treasure hunters, Tom must get to the bottom of his friend’s disappearance while staying alive himself”.

A writer, Whitelaw has been a freelancer for five years, his work appearing in national newspapers and websites, including The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and STV. He has written about politics, news, culture, sport, music and the arts.

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A FREELANCE broadcaster is one of two new appointments to the board of one of the partners in the Gaelic language TV channel, BBC ALBA.

Catriona MacPhee is joining the board of MG ALBA, described by broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, as “the body responsible for funding Gaelic-language TV programmes in Scotland”.

Says Ofcom: “Catriona MacPhee was nominated for appointment by BBC Scotland. Catriona is a freelance broadcaster, working as a presenter on Gaelic programmes and is concurrently studying for an honours degree in Gaelic and Scottish History. She has a Diploma in Gaelic Television from the Gaelic College on Skye and has been a researcher for Radio nan Gaidheal.”

The other appointment, Donald Macaulay, is a director of Regional Infrastructure with Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Read more, here, on the Ofcom website.

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DO you report sport or are simply interested in it? If yes, you might wish to follow the newly-launched twitter.com/allSportsPR.

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A PR account executive is being sought by Edinburgh-based Hot Tin Roof PR agency, as advertised here and repeated on twitter.com/allmediajobs.

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HOME efficiency company, Penicuik Home Improvements Ltd, are to sponsor a time slot on STV, until the end of the year.

Says a media release issued on behalf of PHI: “Penicuik will sponsor ‘Tea Time on STV’, between 5pm and 6pm every weekday for the next eight months.”

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BEGINS Magnus Gardham, in The Herald: “The architect of the new Press self-regulation body has said the industry must continue to fight state involvement ‘with vigour and determination’.

“Lord Black of Brentwood described the implications of a royal charter on press regulation as a ‘chilling prospect’ in a speech to the Scottish Newspaper Society conference [yesterday] in Glasgow.”

The piece is backed by a leader comment about Press freedom, here.

The Scotsman’s coverage of the conference concentrates on an address by First Minister, Alex Salmond.

Its report, on page seven of today’s paper, begins: “Alex Salmond last night urged the Press in Scotland to accept plans for a post-Leveson scheme of regulation which has so far been ruled out by the industry.”

And The Courier, meanwhile, begins: “First Minister Alex Salmond has revealed newspapers would continue to be exempt from VAT in an independent Scotland.”

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A FORMER media relations consultant at Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City football clubs, is understood to have been appointed on a temporary basis by Rangers FC.

Says both The Herald and the Daily Record newspapers, the Glasgow club have taken on Paul Tyrrell.

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ACCORDING to the National Union of Journalists: “In just ten weeks between January and mid-March 2014, around the world 16 journalists lost their lives.”

And it is urging journalists to observe a minute’s silence, on Monday – as explained here.

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WHAT might the prospect of Scots independence mean for the BBC?

A panel of academics – brought together to comment on the referendum debate – consider, here.

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A DEBATE about surveillance, the State and the Media is taking place in Edinburgh, on Tuesday evening.

The panel discussion is being chaired by Professor Kevin Dunion, honorary professor and executive director, Centre for Freedom of Information, School of Law, University of Dundee.

For ticket details, click here.

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AND now the BBC suspends its membership of the CBI… as reported, among others, here, on the front page of The Scotsman.

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SEEN anything you think readers of www.allmediascotland.com should be made aware of? Then just send the weblink to here and we’ll do the rest. All suggestions gratefully received. We’re back at noon on Monday.

PS Your Noon Briefing is a relatively new venture for allmediascotland.com. We are no longer going to report news, story-by-story. Instead, we are going to find content we hope will be useful, in the belief it will prove to be a more comprehensive service.