Murdered journalist Lyra McKee was posthumously honoured at the Regional Press Awards in London on Friday.
McKee’s sister Nicola Corner (pictured) and mother Joan McKee attended the awards lunch to accept the Journalists’ Charity Award on her behalf.
The award recognises a journalist or organisation that has made a significant contribution to the industry.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
McKee was shot dead while reporting on rioting in the Creggan area of Derry last month aged 29.
She worked as a freelance journalist with publications including the Belfast Telegraph, Buzzfeed News and The Atlantic.
She was known for her writing about the Troubles, with a book due to be publisher by Faber next year, and was also an advocate for the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.
She previously featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and been named Sky News Young Journalist of the Year.
James Brindle, chief executive of the Journalists’ Charity who presented the award, said: “What we learned about Lyra in the hours and days that followed her death showed all too clearly that we’d lost a journalist with very special qualities.
“Lyra’s courage in bearing witness to violence on the streets of Derry is the type of commitment that journalists admire and hope to possess themselves.
“In addition, she championed the under-represented, gave a voice to those who weren’t being heard and held those in power to account. She reached out across the journalistic community to offer her support to people she didn’t even know – hanging lives with a hand of friendship.”
Accepting the award, Corner said McKee’s family were “thankful that Lyra’s qualities as a person and as a committed journalist have been recognised with this special award”.
Society of Editors executive director Ian Murray said honouring McKee with the award “recognised her achievements during her short career, but also highlighted the risks that journalists even at local level take in bringing news to their communities”.
Murray added: “The awards this year were never more needed to recognise the vital and on-going role of the regional and local press.
“They coincide with the launch of the Journalism Matters campaign, launched by the News Media Association, and underscore the message there that communities would be immeasurably poorer but for the work carried out by their local newspapers and associated websites.
“From covering local democracy to ensuring open justice the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, the local media is alive and playing a vital role, and these awards prove what good shape the industry is in.”
Elsewhere at the awards, Manchester Evening News was named website of the year for combining “elegant headlines and compelling storytelling with smart use of audience engagement”.
Fellow Reach-owned title Liverpool Echo took home the overall digital journalism prize, with judges calling it an “excellent example of quality journalism thriving online”.
More focus was put on digital journalism at the awards this year to “better reflect the new skills and platforms used by the regional media”.
The Belfast Telegraph and Herald on Sunday were named as daily/Sunday papers of the year, while paid-for weekly papers of the year were the Newbury Weekly News and Henley Standard.
A new award launched by the News Media Association in memory of former Croydon Advertiser news editor Cathryn Nicoll to recognise top interviewing and feature writing skills in young journalists was given to Sheffield Star local democracy reporter Molly Williams.
Full list of 2018 winners:
JOURNALISTS’ CHARITY AWARD
Winner: Lyra McKee
YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Aamir Mohammed, Wales Online
Highly commended: Estel Farell-Roig, Wales Online & Katie Timms, Plymouth Live
BUSINESS AND FINANCE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Echo
Highly commended: Graham Huband, The Courier
SPECIALIST WRITER/ IMPACT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Marion Scott, Sunday Post
Highly commended: Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News
SUPPLEMENT OF THE YEAR
Winner: Chalktalk, Evening Telegraph
Highly commended: Weekend, Western Mail
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR DAILY PAPERS
Winner: Carolyn Hitt, Western Mail
Highly commended: Catriona Stewart, The Herald
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR WEEKLY PAPERS
Winner: Mike Lockley, Sunday Mercury
Highly commended: Mandy Rhodes, Sunday Post
SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR DAILY PAPERS
Winner: Paul Abbandonato, Wales Online
Highly commended: Neil Loughran, The Irish News
SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR WEEKLY PAPERS
Winner: Jon Colman, The Cumberland News
Highly commended: Chris Harby, Melton Times & Paul Ferguson, Sunday Life
SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Mal McCann, The Irish News
Highly commended: Joshua Knapman, Wales Online
DATA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Martin Williams, The Herald
Highly commended: Claire Miller, Reach Data Unit
DIGITAL LIVE NEWS REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Kristian Johnson, Leeds Live
Highly commended: Cathy Owen, Media Wales
DIGITAL LIVE SPORTS REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Michael Bailey, The Pink Un
Highly commended: Gareth Hanna, Belfast Telegraph Digital
REPORTING COMMUNITIES AWARD
Winner: Birmingham Live
Highly commended: Hull Live, Hull Daily Mail & Will Hayward, Wales Online
WEEKLY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Keith Heppell, Cambridge Independent
Highly commended: Mark Williamson, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
DAILY/SUNDAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Simon Hulme, The Yorkshire Post
Highly commended: Mal McCann, The Irish News
FEATURE WRITER /LONG FORM JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News
Highly commended: Laura Davis, Liverpool Echo
WEEKLY REPORTER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by UK Power Networks
Winner: Charles Thomson, Yellow Advertiser
Highly commended: Jon Macpherson, Accrington Observer and Rossendale Free Press
DAILY/SUNDAY REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Martyn McLaughlin, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday
Highly commended: Phil Coleman, News and Star
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: NEWSPAPER
Winner: Kelly Leung, The Journal
Highly commended: Gus Proctor, The Courier and Advertiser & Ian Bond, Hull Daily Mail
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: MAGAZINE
Winner: Gus Proctor, The Courier and Advertiser
Highly commended: Lindsay Molloy, Essex Living
MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Cumbria Life magazine
Highly commended: Altrincham Today
FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR DAILY PAPER
Winner: Armistice 100, The Yorkshire Post
Highly commended: The Anniversary of the Manchester Bomb, Manchester Evening News
FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR WEEKLY PAPER
Winner: Here’s one chimney Santa didn’t climb down, Cambridge Independent
Highly commended: River of Tears, Carmarthen Journal
SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Winner: Bogus doctor’s life of lies, News & Star
Highly commended: Hidden Homeless, Manchester Evening News
WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Manchester Evening News
Highly commended: The Yorkshire Post
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR DAILY PAPER
Winner: One North, The Yorkshire Post
Highly commended: BrumFeeds, Birmingham Live
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR WEEKLY PAPER
Winner: Newry Clean-Up, Newry Reporter
Highly commended: We Need It Now, Devon Live
MAKING A DIFFERENCE AWARD
Winner: Yellow Advertiser, Shoebury Sex Ring Exposed
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Wales Online
Highly commended: Chronicle Live
DIGITAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Geraint the Robot Reporter, Wales Online
Highly commended: Instagram Initiative, Manchester Evening News
THE OVERALL DIGITAL AWARD
Winner: Liverpool Echo
Highly commended: Reach Data Unit
INNOVATION AND INITIATIVE AWARD
Winner: Norfolk Day, Eastern Daily Press
Highly commended: Oxford United 125 Years, Oxford Mail
THE CATHRYN NICOLL INTERVIEWER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Winner: Molly Williams, Sheffield Star
FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Slough & Windsor Express
Highly commended: Islington Tribune & The Jewish News
PAID FOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 10,000)
Winner: Henley Standard
Highly commended: Hexham Courant & Impartial Reporter
PAID FOR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 10,000)
Winner: Newbury Weekly News
Highly commended: Bucks Free Press
DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 15,000)
Winner: Herald on Sunday
Highly commended: Jersey Evening Post & Birmingham Mail
DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 15,000)
Winner: Belfast Telegraph
Highly commended: Eastern Daily Press
Picture: Society of Editors
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