THANKS not least to the efforts of its reporter and Scottish Journalist of the Year, Lucy Adams, The Herald newspaper emerged as the Newspaper of the Year at this year’s Scottish Press Awards.
Now in their 31st year, the awards were also a triumph for Tom Brown, accorded the Lifetime Achievement award, for a career spanning DC Thomson, the Daily Express, BBC Scotland, the Daily Record – where he was political editor – and Scotland on Sunday, among others.
While Adams was described by judges as a person who really stands out and delivers great stories, the judges said of The Herald that it was trustworthy, strong from front to back and a very important observer of the Scottish scene.
It was a night also of celebration for Scotland on Sunday – which picked up four awards, including for Tom English, chosen as Sports Feature Writer of the Year for a fourth, consecutive year.
Also among the winners was the late Reg McKay. He died, aged 56, just ten days after filing his last column for the Daily Record.
Said the chair of the award organisers, The Scottish Newspaper Society, The Herald and Times Group’s editor-in-chief, Donald Martin: “The Scottish media landscape continues to change by the day but it’s encouraging to see such a consistently high calibre of entries to these awards. We have some fantastic talent here in Scotland, and I am delighted they are being given the recognition they truly deserve.”
The winners list reads:
Scoop of the year
Winner: Donna Watson – Daily Record – Honeymoon Scots Catch Swine Flu in Mexico
Runner-up: Victoria Raimes – Edinburgh Evening News – Pensioner Lies Dead in Flat for Five Years
Nominated: Lucy Adams – The Herald – Truth Never Dies
Jason Allardyce – Sunday Times Scotland – Revealed: Lockerbie Link to Oil
Keith Jackson – Daily Record – World Cup Chaos
Reporter of the year
Winner: Lucy Adams – The Herald
Runner-up: Lynn Davidson – The Daily Record
Nominated: Mark Richard Macaskill – Sunday Times Scotland
Marcello Mega – Scottish Mail on Sunday
Marion Scott – Sunday Mail
Financial/Business journalist of the year
Winner: Kenny Kemp – Sunday Herald
Runner-up: Steven Vass – Sunday Herald
Nominated: Lesley Campbell – Daily Record
Ian McConell – The Herald
Mark Williamson – The Herald
Newspaper feature writer of the year
Winner: Iain Macwhirter – Sunday Herald
Runner-up: Jonathan Brocklebank – Scottish Daily Mail
Nominated: Jasper Hamill – Sunday Herald
Matt Bendoris – The Scottish Sun
Peter Ross – Scotland on Sunday
Magazine writer of the year
Winner: Catherine Deveney – Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: David Pratt – The Herald
Nominated: Billy Briggs – Freelance
Teddy Jamieson – The Herald
Peter Ross – Scotland on Sunday
Columnist of the year
Winner: Reg McKay – Daily Record
Runner-up: Ian Bell – Sunday Herald
Nominated: Tom English – Scotland on Sunday
Kenny Farquharson – Scotland on Sunday
Bill Leckie – The Scottish Sun
Campaign of the year
Winner: Greenock Telegraph – Knife Campaign Battle
Runner-up: Herald & Times Group – Ripped Off Glasgow
Nominated: Scottish Daily Mail – An Affront to British Justice
Sunday Mail – The Alarm Shark
The Scottish Sun – Grow a ‘Tash…Save a Life
Front page of the year
Winner: Scottish Daily Mail – For my Daddy – The Hero
Runner-up: Evening Express – 12.30am and the Last Victims of 85N Come Home
Nominated: Edinburgh Evening News – Poppycock
Scottish Mail on Sunday – Bomber in his Family’s Arms
The Falkirk Herald – Touch Ane Touch A’
Journalist team of the year
Winner: Evening Express – North Sea ‘Copter Tragedy
Runner-up: Edinburgh Evening News – Tram Wars
Nominated: Scottish Daily Mail – A Family Bullied into Gay Adoption
Scottish Daily Mail – Disgust at Deal to Free Bomber
Sunday Herald – Scotland’s Leaders:We Want Public Probe into Failed Banks
Weekly newspaper of the year
Winner: Dumfries and Galloway Standard
Runner-up: The Falkirk Herald
Nominated: Highland News
The Shetland Times
The Southern Reporter
Political journalist of the year
Winner: Jason Allardyce – Sunday Times Scotland
Runner-up: Paul Hutcheon – Sunday Herald
Nominated: Eddie Barnes – Scotsman Publications
Campbell Gunn – The Sunday Post
Andrew Nicoll – The Scottish Sun
Michael Tait – Scottish Mail on Sunday
Sports feature writer of the year
Winner: Tom English – Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: Stephen McGowan – Scottish Daily Mail
Nominated: Richard Bath – Scotland on Sunday
Brian Cooney – Sunday Herald
Paul Forsyth – Scotland on Sunday
Bill Leckie – The Scottish Sun
Brian Marjoribanks – Scottish Daily Mail
Sports news writer of the year
Winner: Keith Jackson – Daily Record
Runner-up: Roger Hannah – The Scottish Sun
Nominated: Robert Grieve – The Scottish Sun
Peter Jardine – Scottish Daily Mail
Darrell King – Evening Times
Arts/Entertainment journalist of the year
Winner: Phil Miller – The Herald
Runner-up: Aidan Smith – Scotland on Sunday
Nominated: Claire Black – Scotsman Publications
Allan Brown – Sunday Times Scotland
Anna Burnside – Sunday Times Scotland
Paul English – Daily Record
Cartoonist of the year
Winner: Brian Adcock – Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: Frank Boyle – Edinburgh Evening News
Nominated: Steven Camley – The Herald
Bill McArthur – The Herald
Brian Petrie – The Scottish Sun
Young journalist of the year
Winner: Victoria Raimes – Edinburgh Evening News
Runner-up: Alice Wyllie – The Scotsman
Nominated: Lisa Boyle – Ayrshire Post
Marc Deanie – The Scottish Sun
Julie Gilbert – Clydebank Post
News photographer of the year
Winner: Jane Barlow – The Scotsman
Runner-up: James Glossop – The Times
Nominated: Colin Mearns – Herald & Times Group
Andrew Milligan – Scottish Press Association
Alan Simpson – Freelance
Sports photographer of the year
Winner: Tom Main – Freelance
Runner-up: James Gunn – John O’Groat Journal
Nominated: Rob Casey – Daily Record
David Henderson – The Scottish Sun
Mark Runnacles – Daily Record
Multi-media journalist of the year
Winner: Nick Mitchell – The Scotsman/scotsman.com
Runner-up: John Dingwall – Daily Record
Nominated: Stephen Emerson – The Scotsman/scotsman.com
Magnus Gardham – Daily Record
Beverley Lyons – Daily Record
David Maddox – The Scotsman
