JPI Media and Channel 4 News were among the newsbrands recognised at Bupa and Mind’s Mental Health Awards last night.
JPI’s investigations team (pictured), comprising about ten reporters and correspondents from across the i paper and its sister regional titles, picked up the Publication of the Year award for its Veterans in Crisis campaign that began in July 2018.
During the investigation veterans opened up to journalists on their team about their mental health and families of ex-servicemen and women spoke about being devastated by suicide.
Mental health charity Mind said the “brilliant” investigation highlighted a “lack of Government support for British ex-service personnel experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression”.
“It brings to light stalled NHS suicide prevention plans and Government rows about whether to monitor suicide rates among veterans, with campaigners arguing that these figures are vital in building treatment and support services.”
Tim Robinson, group content development director at JPIMedia said: “We are really grateful to receive this award, it’s a vindication of the all the hard work put in by our investigations reporting team.
“Mental health issues among military veterans are not given the attention they deserve and the hidden epidemic of suicides in this community is a national scandal which demands to be recognised and tackled.
“We are very grateful to Mind, and most importantly, to the ex-servicemen and their families who shared their many painful stories with our reporters in the course of this investigation – stories which had deep emotional resonance with our readers across the UK.”
JPI bolstered its investigations team in March, appointing Yorkshire Post crime correspondent Claire Wilde as as its first dedicated news editor.
Marverine Cole was named Journalist of the Year for her “groundbreaking” Radio 4 documentary Black Girls Don’t Cry, which examined why women of African-Caribbean heritage in the UK are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder than white women.
Accepting the award, Cole said the documentary was “sparked” by her own story of depression, but added: “It’s not about me as a journalist”.
The former Sky News and Five News journalist thanked the women “who agreed to tell everyone on Radio 4 their stories”.
Cole later tweeted that she was “astounded to win”, adding: “This is a victory for black British female voices and narratives in mainstream media.”
Channel 4 News won the News and Current Affairs award for broadcasting a number of films that “reveal and reflect on different aspects of mental health”.
They included stories on the impact of being the child of someone with mental health problems and on being the child of a father in prison.
BBC Arabic won the Documentary of the Year category for its Iraq: A State of Mind film looking at the mental health crisis gripping the Iraqi people.
Picture: Khris Cowley for Here & Now
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