A former journalist and deputy news editor has joined the board of directors at the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Steve Panter spent 25 years at the Manchester Evening News where he covered high-profile stories such as the Moors murders, the Dunblane massacre and the Harold Shipman case.

During his career he won a string of awards including daily newspaper journalist of the year in 2000, best crime campaign in 1997 and news reporter of the year in 1993.

Two years ago Steve was elected to the Press Gazette’s Regional Newspapers Hall of Fame by a panel of editors.

He has also co-written factual crime books about Harold Shipman, the 1996 Manchester bombing and Stefan Kiszko who was wrongly convicted of murdering 11-year-old Lesley Mosleed, in Rochdale.

He was also one of only two arrests made in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing – the other being a senior police officer.

The officer was eventually cleared of leaking information about the investigation; Steve refused to reveal the source for his stories in court. The Evening News had named a suspect the police felt they did not have enough evidence to pursue.

A contempt of court charge against him for not revealing his sources was later dropped.

He is now teaching law, newsgathering and writing skills at the University of Salford and Staffordshire University.

Steve said: “I am delighted to join the NCTJ board of directors.

“I relish the opportunity to help the NCTJ develop future strategies and also represent the views of higher education on the board.”

Steve replaces Peter Cole, who stepped down from the board last month after the maximum nine years of service.

NCTJ chairman Kim Fletcher said: “Peter Cole has seen tremendous changes at the NCTJ during his long tenure and he has always been vocal in his contributions to the board.

“He understood well the need for balance between academic and vocational skills and has been a passionate advocate for journalism students and journalism itself.”