The Times and The Belfast Telegraph were named winners of the national and regional websites of the year at Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards 2026.
The Future of Media Awards judges said The Times “has rewritten the narrative of legacy media decline” while they felt The Belfast Telegraph demonstrated “great use of video and live journalism and smart use of the archive as part of an impressive paid subscriptions strategy”.
Specialist electric car website Electrifying.com was named specialist/B2B website of the year for “great content presented in an engaging and accessible style” and “impressive” revenue and audience figures.
The Economist was recognised as publisher of the year as the judges said the launch of its on-demand premium video product Insider “feels like the future of journalism for such an established and trusted voice in publishing”.
Also winning a Digital Storytelling prize, The Economist was one of just three publishers to win more than one award on a night when recognition was shared widely among the industry.
Reach plc won three categories: MyLondon was recognised for Digital Storytelling, Nottingham Post won for its coverage of the Nottingham attacks inquiry in the Live Journalism category, and the publisher also took home the best use of AI award for Mantis Scribe. Judges praised the AI tool for “enabling journalists to focus on the stories that matter”.
Daily Mail director of visual storytelling Harry Lewis-Irlam was the winner of Media Innovator of the Year, being recognised for his work “helping to transform the look of a UK journalism megabrand and helping to prove that quality popular journalism can pay its way online”. The Daily Mail was also recognised in the Online Video category.
The Future of Media Awards, now in their fifth year, celebrate editorial, commercial and product excellence across digital news media in the UK and around the world.
Other winners included Sky News (for its app), The Guardian (for the Curation at Scale commercial initiative), Politico (for its pub pop-ups at last year’s party conferences), The i Paper (for its Politics Unwrapped newsletter) and The Irish News (for its reader revenue strategy).
Smaller newsbrands to get recognition this year included Democracy for Sale (Best Specialist/Regional Newsletter), The Will Hayward Newsletter for its video output and The Bristol Cable for its We’ve Got Your Boy podcast.
The winners were announced at a gala dinner at London’s Hilton Bankside on Thursday night after the Future of Media Technology Conference which was held during the day.
You can revisit the full Future of Media Awards 2025 shortlist here and see the full list of winners and highly commended finalists below.
Future of Media Awards 2026 winners
Advertising Technology & Commercial Excellence
WINNER: The Guardian – Curation at Scale: How the Guardian turned signal loss into a 21% revenue uplift
The judges said: “The winning entry successfully found a way make programmatic advertisers pay a premium to support quality journalism without compromising reader privacy. A fantastic example of technical excellence and innovation supporting quality journalism on the open web.”
App of the Year, sponsored by Pugpig
WINNER: Sky News
The judges said: “This app distinguished itself from the competition with a clear and effective focus on promoting high-quality video and audio content. A really well designed and easy to use app.”
Digital Storytelling (National/International)
WINNER: The Economist – The Iran war has entered a new phase
The judges said: “If a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes good interactives are worth even more. The use of visualisations here packs a huge amount of accessible information into a small space.”
Digital Storytelling (Specialist/Regional)
WINNER: MyLondon – Broken Homes
The judges said: “This was beautifully presented testimony-led journalism backed up by exclusive data and which has had an impact.”
Live Journalism (National/International)
WINNER: Politico – POLITICO Pub at Party Conferences
The judges said: “This was a different take on live journalism: interactive, fun and a nice mixture of news and commentary. It also generated headlines and traffic.”
Live Journalism (Specialist/Regional)
WINNER: Nottingham Post – Nottingham Inquiry
The judges said: “This was a mammoth commitment by a local outlet to follow a story that had huge significance for readers locally and nationally. Public interest journalism of the highest order.”
Highly commended: Birmingham Live – Ozzy Osbourne funeral
The judges said: “This was amazingly comprehensive reporting that allowed readers to see and feel the emotion of a huge event.”
Newsletter of the Year (National/International), sponsored by Letterhead
WINNER: The i Paper – Politics Unwrapped
The judges said: “This newsleter is well researched, relevant, data-rich, easy to navigate and beautifully written.”
Newsletter of the Year (Specialist/Regional)
WINNER: Democracy for Sale
The judges said: “This is an extraordinary example of a reader-funded investigative journalism newsletter-first publication which has had a huge impact.”
Highly commended: The Will Hayward Newsletter
The judges said: “This was enterprising journalism at its best – spotting a gap in the market and then successfully developing a business.”
Online Video (National/International)
WINNER: Daily Mail – ‘This runner WAS GIVEN MY IDENTITY then won Olympic gold!’
The judges said: “This was gripping reporting told brilliantly across multiple formats investigating the origin story of a national treasure.”
Online Video (Specialist/Regional)
WINNER: The Will Hayward Newsletter – Three things you need to know before voting in the Senedd election
The judges said: “Sharp and clever production values alongside a really personable journalist who was able to bring a range of stories alive. Very enjoyable.”
Podcast of the Year (National/International)
WINNER: BBC Radio 4 + BBC Sounds/Tempo+Talker – Everything Is Fake (And Nobody Cares)
The judges said: “This podcast was well made with strong production values, as well as engaging and making an important statement about modern media.”
Podcast of the Year (Specialist/Regional)
WINNER: The Bristol Cable – We’ve Got Your Boy
The judges said: “Thorough, thoughtful and engaging. This podcast is punching above its weight telling an important local story with wider significance.”
Reader Revenue Strategy
WINNER: The Irish News
The judges said: “This is an inspiring story of newsroom and revenue transformation which is helping secure the future of a great regional newsbrand.”
Website of the Year (Specialist/B2B)
WINNER: Electrifying.com
The judges said: “Great content presented in an engaging and accessible style. Impressive revenue and audience figures testify to the success of this specialist journalism brand built around the needs of the mainstream consumer, rather than the enthusiast.”
Website of the Year (Regional/Local)
WINNER: Belfast Telegraph
The judges said: “Great use of video and live journalism and smart use of the archive as part of an impressive paid subscriptions strategy.”
Website of the Year (National/International)
WINNER: The Times
The judges said: “This is a newsbrand that has rewritten the narrative of legacy media decline. Through constant innovation and a consistent focus on giving its audience a finishable high-quality experience, this title has bucked the wider trend of audience decline and secured its future by growing both revenue and profit.”
Best use of AI
WINNER: Reach – Mantis Scribe
The judges said: “This is powerful use of AI right at the heart of the editorial workflow which is enabling journalists to focus on the stories that matter.”
News Industry Technology Partner of the Year
WINNER: Tickaroo
The judges said: “This looks an exciting product to have on the roadmap and is helping publishers find new revenue and fresh readers for their journalism.”
Media Innovator of the Year
WINNER: Harry Lewis-Irlam – Daily Mail
The judges said: “Interesting, well-conceived, well sourced and well-designed interactive graphics are fundamental to modern journalistic storytelling. This year’s winner is recognised for helping to transform the look of a UK journalism megabrand and helping to prove that quality popular journalism can pay its way online.”
Highly commended: Kate Day – Politico
The judges said: “Politico is a formidable force in political journalism and this is a reflection of Kate’s formidable leadership. She is a true innovator in the media space.”
Publisher of the Year, sponsored by Admiral
WINNER: The Economist
The judges said: “The Economist launched an on-demand, premium video product that showcases the spirited debates and candid conversations behind its world-class journalism. This feels like the future of journalism for such an established and trusted voice in publishing.”
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