ITV News presenter Andrea Catherwood is to host the Regional Press Awards — Press Gazette's annual celebration of great journalism in regional newspapers.
As international correspondent for ITV News, Catherwood covered major foreign stories including the Iraq war, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. In 2001 she was injured by shrapnel while reporting on an uprising by Taliban prisoners at a prison in Mazar-i-Shariff.
She has also worked for Five News, where she covered the aftermath of the 11 September attacks in New York.
The Belfast-born presenter began her career at the BBC after making a documentary for Radio 4 as an 18-year-old about Northern Ireland's ‘Troubles'. She is now ITV News's weekend newscaster.
The Regional Press Awards, now in their 19th year, recognise excellence in regional newspaper journalism. Under chairman Peter Sands, the judging process has been overhauled. Entries will be sent out to judges this week for the shortlisting phase. Panels will then meet in June to decide the winners.
In the newspaper of the year categories, all of the judges will take part in an academy-style voting process to pick winners from the shortist.
The ceremony takes place at lunchtime on Friday, 7 July, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel overlooking London's Hyde Park. It will be preceded by the unveiling of the Regional Newspaper Journalism Hall of Fame, in which portraits will be displayed of 40 greats from the past 40 years.
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