Sun editor Victoria Newton has warned that investigative journalism like exposing the behaviour of BBC presenter Huw Edwards is expensive and news publishers must “work together to try and work out how we fund our future”.
The Sun’s Scarlet Howes first revealed that a “top BBC star” had been taken off air after allegations he paid a teenager for sexual pictures in July 2023.
The newsbrand did not initially name Edwards but he was later identified by his wife Vicky Flind who also revealed he had undergone a serious mental health episode.
The Sun was initially criticised over the fact it published the allegations, partly because there were no claims of criminality at that stage. However, a year later it was the first to reveal Edwards had been separately charged with having indecent images of children shared on Whatsapp, and he then pleaded guilty.
Speaking to Press Gazette shortly after The Sun’s two wins on Thursday, Newton said: “I feel really, really happy for The Sun’s journalists. We were under a lot of pressure when we wrote the first story. A lot of people attacked us, including the BBC, largely.
“So it was a difficult time, and we weren’t able to publish all of the evidence that we had at the time. So I am delighted that we won these awards tonight for our great journalism.”
Newton added: “And I do hope that long term, we’ve done something really important in the public interest. We’ve shone a light on the fact that eight out of ten paedophiles don’t get sent to jail.”
The Sun launched a Keep Our Kids Safe campaign calling for everyone convicted of viewing Category A images to be jailed.
In September Edwards was given a six-month suspended sentence and Newton said the public was “shocked” by the fact he “did not get sent to jail for viewing the worst kind of paedophile material that there is… what we’ve done since then is highlight on a daily basis how many paedophiles are not being sent to jail for viewing images of children being raped.”
She noted that a Government sentencing review is now looking at strengthening the punishments for this type of crime.
Sun Huw Edwards scoops ‘incredibly sensitively handled’
The British Journalism Awards judges said The Sun had produced a “series of astonishing scoops” about Edwards that were “incredibly sensitively handled, despite some sneering from the usual suspects. Some stories you have to fight incredibly hard to get over the line, and this is one of them. Another game changer.”
For the investigation category, they said: “Unmasking such a powerful figure and exposing not only how they abused their position but how the BBC had failed to act was a huge act of public interest. This story required not just old-fashioned investigative techniques but sensitivity and judgement in how to handle and present the investigation.”
The Sun last won the Scoop of the Year prize at the British Journalism Awards three years ago for revealing then-health secretary Matt Hancock’s affair with aide Gina Coladangelo while Covid-19 restrictions were in place.
Asked how the Edwards investigation compares to other stories in her career, Newton said: “The things that give me some of the greatest pleasure have been some of our campaigns. I got this job four weeks before the pandemic struck and probably my proudest moment is launching our Jabs Army campaign.”
“And that’s probably my proudest moment – that’s real public interest journalism,” Newton said.
However she added: “We’ve had an amazing year on The Sun. We’ve broken so many stories. I think we are the number one scoop machine on Fleet Street without a doubt. I don’t think anyone can compete with that.
“But it’s really expensive to produce these kinds of stories and pay for the top quality journalists and as an industry, we’ve got a lot to do to work together to try and work out how we fund our future.”
See all of the British Journalism Awards 2024 winners here.
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