The industry’s awards will give particular recognition to newsrooms for keeping their readers informed with a new Special Award, alongside prizes celebrating outstanding reporting and innovation in print and online.
Those judging the awards gave plaudits to the efforts of talented journalists and editors working remotely – and often under deeply challenging conditions – to continue to hold those in power to account and serve their communities.
Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society of Editors which organises the awards, said: “Congratulations to those who made the shortlist amongst an incredible standard of entries, and in a year where demand for trusted news has never been higher.
“We are hugely grateful to judges from across the industry whose time and dedication has enabled the remarkable and varied achievements of those journalists to be recognised.
“The coronavirus crisis has shown more than ever the vital importance of the regional press as the beating heart of communities across the UK. It is clear from these shortlists that the local and regional media has risen to the challenge.”
The winners will be revealed in a virtual announcement on 16 September.
The awards will once again include the Cathryn Nicoll Award run in association with the News Media Association (NMA) which rewards a £500 cash prize to a young feature writer.
The Regional Press Awards are made possible, says the Society of Editors, due the support of headline sponsor Facebook Journalism Project; Camelot, a supporter since 2001; Google News Initiative; Amazon; HoldTheFrontPage; the News Media Association and the Journalists’ Charity.
The shortlists:
YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Amazon
Andra Maciuca, Saffron Walden Reporter and Dunmow Broadcast
Conor Matchett, The Scotsman/Edinburgh Evening News
Jack Aitchison, Glasgow Times
Jody Doherty-Cove, The Argus
Paige Oldfield, Manchester Evening News
Sarah Burgess, Eastern Daily Press
BUSINESS & FINANCE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Coreena Ford, The Journal
Graeme Whitfield, The Journal/BusinessLive
Hannah Baker, Bristol Post/BusinessLive South West
Martin Williams, The Herald and Herald on Sunday
Peter Ranscombe, Scottish Field
Scott Wright, The Herald
Tom Houghton, Liverpool Echo/BusinessLive
SPECIALIST WRITER/IMPACT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Ciaran Barnes, Sunday Life
Dale Haslam, DC Thomson Media
Liam Thorp, Liverpool Echo
Stephanie Finnegan, YorkshireLive/LeedsLive
Tom Bristow, Eastern Daily Press
Will Hayward, WalesOnline
FEATURE WRITER/LONG FORM JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Chris Lloyd, The Northern Echo
David Owens, Western Mail
Greg Martin, Cornwall Live
Liam Thorp, Liverpool Echo
Sarah Wilson, JPI Media (The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post)
Susan Swarbrick, The Herald
Teddy Jamieson, The Herald
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR
Arun Arora, The Northern Echo
Carolyn Hitt, The Western Mail
Emma Clayton, Telegraph & Argus
Gareth McAuley, Sunday Life
Helen Mead, Telegraph & Argus
Mike Lockley, Birmingham Mail
Neil Mackay, The Herald and Herald on Sunday
Paul Kirkley, Cambridge Independent
SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project
Erin Black, Plymouth Live
John Wilson, Hereford Times
Kevin Scott, Belfast Telegraph
Lee Ryder, Newcastle Chronicle
Michael Pearson, HampshireLive/SussexLive/NorthantsLive
Samantha Yarwood, Manchester Evening News
SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – WEEKLY PAPERS
Clive Youlton, Surrey Advertiser
Jon Colman, The Cumberland News
Mark Taylor, Cambridge Independent
Paul Thomson, Hamilton Advertiser/Lanarkshire Live Sport
Tom Scargill, Halifax Courier
Will Clark, Inverness Courier
SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – DAILY/SUNDAY PAPERS
Ben James, WalesOnline
Cahair O’Kane, The Irish News
Carolyn Hitt, Western Mail
James Findlater, Grimsby Telegraph
Matt Maher, Express & Star
Paul Ferguson, Sunday Life
REPORTING COMMUNITIES AWARD
Abbie Wightwick, WalesOnline
Catriona Stewart, Glasgow Times and The Herald
Conor Gogarty, Bristol Live
Lewis Clarke, North Devon Journal / Mid Devon Gazette / InYourArea.co.uk
Ruth Dacey, The Yorkshire Post
Thomas Kingsley, MyLondon
DATA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Claire Miller, Reach Data Unit
David Dubas-Fisher, Reach Data Unit
Lesley-Anne Kelly, DC Thomson Media
Martin Williams, The Herald and Herald on Sunday
Sam Ferguson, Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News
Will Hayward, WalesOnline/Western Mail
DIGITAL LIVE NEWS REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Andrew Musgrove, Chronicle Live
Cathy Owen, Media Wales
Jack Aitchison, Glasgow Times
Jonathan Macpherson, LancsLive
Kristian Johnson, LeedsLive
Neil Docking, Liverpool Echo
WEEKLY REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Bronwen Weatherby, Camden New Journal
Charles Thomson, Archant Investigations Unit
Calum Fraser, Islington Tribune
John Garvey, Newbury Weekly News
Lydia Chantler-Hicks, The Kentish Gazette
Stephanie Wareham, Bucks Free Press
DAILY/SUNDAY REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Ciaran Barnes, Sunday Life
David Goodwin, Greenock Telegraph
Emily Townsend, East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star
Liam Thorp, Liverpool Echo
Martin Williams, The Herald and Herald on Sunday
Martyn McLaughlin, The Scotsman
Zoe Chamberlain, BirminghamLive/Birmingham Mail
THE CATHRYN NICOLL AWARD
In association with the NMA
James Thomas, Hereford Times
Molly Dowrick, Plymouth Live
Sian Bayley, MyLondon
WEEKLY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Dave Kneale, Isle of Man Examiner
John McVitty, Impartial Reporter
Keith Heppell, Cambridge Independent
Mark Williamson, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
Michael Gillen, The Falkirk Herald
Sarah Caldecott, Darlington & Stockton Times
DAILY/SUNDAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Colm O’Reilly, Sunday Life
Kevin Scott, Belfast Telegraph
Mhairi Edwards, The Courier/Evening Telegraph
Sarah Caldecott, The Northern Echo
Tim Sturgess, Express & Star
Tim Thursfield, Express & Star
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: NEWSPAPERS
Gary Beckwith, Newcastle Chronicle
Georgia Robinson, Eastern Daily Press
Ian Bond, Hull Daily Mail
Kevin Farrell, The Irish News
Nancy Fallows, Eastern Daily Press
Simon Hill, Express & Star/Shropshire Star
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: MAGAZINES/SUPPLEMENTS
Daniel Beavan, Reach Plc Shared Content Unit
Georgia Robinson, Eastern Daily Press
Nancy Fallows, Eastern Daily Press
SUPPLEMENT/SECTION OF THE YEAR
The Business, Eastern Daily Press
The Weekender, Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser
Times Past, Glasgow Times
Weekend, Belfast Telegraph
Weekend, Western Mail
Your Life, The Press and Journal
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT OF THE YEAR
150 years of the Belfast Telegraph
Cumberland & Westmorland Herald: 160 years
Glastonbury 50, County Gazette
Harry Gregg, Sunday Life
The Northern Echo: the 150th Anniversary
VE Day supplement, The Press and Journal
We Salute You! The Mail, Barrow
MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR
Carlisle Living, Newsquest Cumbria
Courier Weekend Magazine
Cumbria Life, Newsquest Cumbria
Dumfries & Galloway Life, Newsquest Cumbria
Herefordshire Living, Hereford Times
The Herald Magazine
Ulster Business, Belfast Telegraph group
FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR – WEEKLY PAPERS
Sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage
‘Be safe, be careful and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’, Wokingham.Today
Death of a Peacemaker, Derry News
United front, Kent Messenger
We didn’t get to say goodbye, Impartial Reporter
We WILL get through this, Hereford Times
‘We’re shattered beyond belief’, Bucks Free Press
FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR – DAILY/SUNDAY PAPERS
Sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage
Bonkers – Sex club reopens… with social distancing rules in place, Evening Telegraph
CHAMPIONS, Liverpool Echo
Farewell, not goodbye, The Scotsman
Middlesbrough needs… Intensive Care, The Gazette
Our Life in Lockdown, Hull Daily Mail
You’re all heroes, Glasgow Times
SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Caroline Flack’s unpublished Instagram post, Eastern Daily Press
Coronavirus in Welsh care homes – the disaster that didn’t have to happen, WalesOnline
Hero teacher walks 5 miles a day to deliver school meals, Grimsby Telegraph
New tier system for local lockdowns revealed, Nottingham Post
Safe House sting sinks new IRA, Sunday Life
The arrest of Joe Anderson, Liverpool Echo
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
BrumWish, Birmingham Mail/BirminghamLive
Cambridgeshire Coronavirus Fund, Cambridge News
Death in care: Families fighting for justice for their failed loved ones, EssexLive
Give our OAPs a Shot, Glasgow Times
Save Our Ship, Hull Daily Mail/Hull Live
The Herald Memorial Garden Campaign, The Herald
WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Google News Initiative
Bristol Live
ChronicleLive
KentOnline
Liverpool Echo
Manchester Evening News
PlymouthLive
The Stray Ferret
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project
Belfast Live
Birmingham Live
Glasgow Times Digital Team
Norwich Web Team, EDP24
WalesOnline
YorkshireLive (Reach plc)
DIGITAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project
EDP Covid-19 tracker, Eastern Daily Press
Power of Pause, Belfast Live
Robot reporter updates local audiences on coronavirus infection rates, Manchester Evening News
Spikkin Scots, Press and Journal
The Mill newsletter, Manchester
Wembley 2000: The story of Ipswich Town’s promotion to the Premiership, East Anglian Daily Times
THE OVERALL DIGITAL AWARD
Sponsored by Facebook Journalism Project
BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Hull Live
InYourArea
LeedsLive (Reach Plc)
Liverpool Echo
Manchester Evening News
WalesOnline
SPECIAL 2020 AWARD
Aberdeen Journals Home Delivery Team, The Press and Journal
Manchester Evening News
Newsquest Regional ACE network (Team RACE)
Norfolk and Waveney Editorial Team, Eastern Daily Press
The Paper for Bunbury
YorkshireLive (Reach Plc)
PAID FOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR (BELOW 50,000 TOTAL MONTHLY REACH)
Sponsored by Camelot
Cambridge Independent
Cumberland & Westmorland Herald
Lowestoft Journal
The Hexham Courant
The Ulster Herald
Wokingham Today (The Wokingham Paper)
PAID FOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR (ABOVE 50,000 TOTAL MONTHLY REACH)
Sponsored by Camelot
Bucks Free Press
Kent Messenger
Kentish Gazette
Newbury Weekly News
The Reading Chronicle
Warrington Guardian
DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR (BELOW 400,000 MONTHLY REACH)
Sponsored by Camelot
Evening Telegraph
Grimsby Telegraph
Jersey Evening Post
North Wales Daily Post
The Argus
Western Mail
DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR (ABOVE 400,000 MONTHLY REACH)
Sponsored by Camelot
Belfast Telegraph
Eastern Daily Press
Liverpool Echo
The Chronicle
The Courier
The Irish News
The Press and Journal
SUNDAY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Camelot
Sunday Echo
Sunday Life
Sunday Mercury
Sunday Sun
The Herald on Sunday
FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Camelot
Camden New Journal
Islington Tribune
Jewish News
Slough and Windsor Express
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