The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday were named newspapers of the year by the Society of Editors today after the group’s annual awards ceremony was cancelled by the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.
The Press Awards winners were due to be announced at a gala dinner in London yesterday but this was postponed last month and has now been cancelled altogether, although judging had been completed.
Instead they were revealed online and on social media today.
Society of Editors executive director Ian Murray said: “While the battle to defeat the Covid-19 virus and support the UK public at this time eclipses all other considerations, I do feel it is important to ensure the hard work and professionalism shown by the national press during 2019 does not go unrecorded.”
The Daily Mail was named daily newspaper of the year after a “sensational” year with “unforgettable scoops, campaigns and front-page splashes”, the Press Awards judges said.
Meanwhile the Mail on Sunday was recognised for “world-beating” scoops, including the publication of leaked diplomatic memos about US President Donald Trump and analysis of Prince Andrew’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Telegraph won the most number of gongs overall with ten prizes, including news website of the year, scoop, front page (pictured) and investigation prizes for its work revealing details of alleged sexual and racial abuse by retail boss Philip Green.
The judges described the investigation as a “shining example of public interest journalism” and praised journalist Claire Newell for exposing “wrongdoing by a powerful individual despite his best and lengthy attempts to thwart publication”.
The Times and Sunday Times also won ten awards combined, including young journalist of the year for Henry Zeffman, broadsheet interviewer for Janice Turner, news podcast for Red Box, political reporter for Tim Shipman and foreign reporter for Anthony Loyd who was the first journalist to track down Britain’s ISIS bride Shamima Begum in Syria.
The i’s Deborah Orr, who died of cancer aged 57 in October last year, was named broadsheet columnist of the year as the judges said: “The British press and its readers are sadly now poorer without this shrewd voice of humanity.”
Megan Lucero, who leads the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s Bureau Local project, received Women in Journalism’s Georgia Henry Award for Innovation for her work using “sophisticated digital data gathering techniques to enhance grassroots local reporting”.
“WIJ salutes her data-driven public interest reporting and how it is contributing stories to newsrooms across the UK,” the judges said.
Society of Editors president Alison Gow said: “It’s absolutely right that we celebrate the brilliant journalism of the past year and show our appreciation of those reporters, photographers, digital specialists and designers who work so hard to inform, challenge and entertain.”
Gow, who is digital editor-in-chief for Reach regionals, added: “We thought 2019 was a busy year for news – 2020 has made an early bid for that crown. As a result (whether they appreciate them or not) audiences have never needed journalists more.
“From fast, accurate delivery of breaking news to the escapism of a fantastic long read or podcast that takes us outside of our little lockdown bubbles for a few minutes, the role of the journalist is as vital as it’s ever been.
“And we will be back, celebrating those roles in all their forms, next year as usual.”
Press Awards 2019 winners:
Chairman’s Award
Winner: Diana Thomas, The Telegraph
The Journalists’ Charity Award
Winner: Bryony Gordon, Columnist and Mental Health Ambassador
The Women in Journalism Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation
Highly Commended: Dr Frances Ryan
Winner: Megan Lucero, Bureau Local
Young Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Adam Crafton, The Athletic UK
Winner: Henry Zeffman, The Times
Interviewer of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Patrick Hill, Sunday Mirror
Winner: Jan Moir, Daily Mail
Interviewer of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Chrissy Iley, The Sunday Times Magazine
Winner: Janice Turner, The Times
Lifestyle Podcast of the Year
Highly Commended: The Sun Football Podcast and the Evening Standard’s Women Tech Charge
Winner: The Dan Wootton Interview, The Sun
News Podcast of the Year
Highly Commended:Tales of Silicon Valley, The Sunday Times
Winner: Red Box, The Times
Science Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph
Winner: Robin McKie, The Observer
Showbiz Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Krissi Murison, The Sunday Times Magazine
Winner: Simon Boyle, The Sun
Specialist Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Robert Mendick, The Daily Telegraph
Winner: Robert Booth, The Guardian
Fashion Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Jess Cartner-Morley, The Guardian
Winner: Lisa Armstrong, The Daily Telegraph
Environment Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Leslie Hook, Financial Times
Winner: Nada Farhoud, Daily Mirror
Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended: Hannah McKay, Reuters
Winner: Danny Lawson, PA Media
Winner: Yui Mok, PA Media
Sports Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended: Kevin Quigley, Daily Mail
Winner: Richard Pelham, The Sun
Cartoonist of the Year
Highly Commended: Chris Riddell, The Observer
Winner: Matt Pritchett, The Telegraph
Travel Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Greg Dickinson, The Telegraph
Winner: Chris Haslam, The Sunday Times
Foreign Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times
Winner: Anthony Loyd, The Times
Health Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Laura Donnelly, The Daily Telegraph
Winner: Shaun Lintern, The Independent
The Hugh McIlvanney Award for Sports Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Daniel Taylor, The Athletic UK
Winner: Laura Lambert, Daily Mail
Political Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Steven Swinford, The Times
Winner: Tim Shipman, The Sunday Times
Political Commentator of the Year
Highly Commended: Tim Shipman, The Sunday Times
Winner: Marina Hyde, The Guardian
Feature Writer of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Guy Adams, Daily Mail
Winner: Oliver Harvey, The Sun
Feature Writer of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Sharon Hendry, The Sunday Times Magazine
Winner: Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times Magazine
Technology Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Madhumita Murgia, Financial Times
Winner: Alex Hern, The Guardian
Reporting Diversity Award
Highly Commended: Ian Birrell, The Mail on Sunday
Winner: Telegraph Women’s Sport
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Tim Bradshaw, Financial Times
Winner: Philip Aldrick, The Times
Critic of the Year
Highly Commended: Marina O’Loughlin, The Sunday Times Magazine
Winner: Michael Billington, The Guardian
Columnist of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Jan Moir, Daily Mail
Winner: Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
Columnist of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Giles Coren, The Times
Winner: Deborah Orr, i
Scoop of the Year
Highly Commended: Shamima Begum: Anthony Loyd interview, The Times
Winner: Sir Philip Green and Britain’s #MeToo scandal, The Daily Telegraph
Scoop: Popular Life
Highly Commended: Prince Philip Crash Victim, Sunday Mirror
Winner: The Prime Minister and the American businesswoman, The Sunday Times
Investigation of the Year
Highly Commended: The ‘Nick’ Investigation, Daily Mail
Winner: Sir Philip Green and the British #MeToo Scandal, The Daily Telegraph
Sports News Story of the Year
Highly Commended: Alberto Salazar Doping Ban by Matt Lawton, The Times
Winner: Saracens, Daily Mail
News Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Stephen Wright, Daily Mail
Winner: Tom Kelly of the Daily Mail and Claire Newell of The Daily Telegraph
Business and Finance Team of the Year
Highly Commended: The Sunday Times Business & Money Team and The Telegraph’s Business and Finance Team
Winner: Woodford’s downfall, Financial Times
Supplement of the Year
Highly Commended: The New Review, The Observer
Winner: Telegraph Women’s Sport
Magazine of the Year
Highly Commended: The Telegraph Magazine
Winner: The Times Magazine
Front Page of the Year
Highly Commended: Give me a world I can grow up in, Daily Mirror
Winner: A woman groped, another put in a headlock, and a black man told he was ‘still throwing spears in the jungle’, The Daily Telegraph
The Cudlipp Award for Campaign of the Year
Highly commended: Change the Law for Life, Daily Mirror
Runner-up: Save our Post Offices, Daily Mail
Winner: Time to end Cystic Fibrosis drug scandal, Daily Express
News Website of the Year
Highly Commended: The Guardian
Winner: The Telegraph
Sunday Newspaper of the Year
Highly Commended: The Sunday Times
Winner: The Mail on Sunday
Daily Newspaper of the Year
Highly Commended: The Sun
Winner: Daily Mail
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