The Yorkshire Post is leading the way in the race for this year’s O2 Media Awards for Yorkshire and The Humber with nine nominations.

The Post will battle it out for the coveted title of Daily Newspaper of the Year in the region with the Hull Daily Mail, which has seven nominations overall, and York daily The Press.

Post journalists John Roberts and Joe Shute are both up for prizes in the News Reporter of the Year category, with Joe further nominated in the Feature Writer of the Year category.

There were also nominations for photographer Simon Hulme, sports writer Richard Sutcliffe and the paper’s deputy business editor Greg Wright.

Hull Daily Mail journalists who have received nominations include news reporter Nicky Harley, photographer Rob Stebbing, business editor Catherine Lea and Katy Forrester, who is nominated for the Young Journalist prize.

The awards take place on 18 July at Leeds’ Northern Ballet Theatre and will include three new categories this year – Multi Media Journalist of the Year, Specialist Publication of the Year and the Emerging Talent Award, which recognises the work of media students across the region.

Four titles will battle it out for the Weekly Newspaper of the Year, with defending champion the Rotherham Advertiser going head to head with the Bridlington Free Press, Dewsbury Reporter and Wakefield Express.

Nicola Green, Head of Communications and Reputation at O2, said: “Once again judges were impressed by the standard of entries, which demonstrated superbly the important role the regional media plays within our communities.

“This year we’ve also introduced fresh categories to reflect the changes taking place in regional media and given local students the opportunity to showcase their work to media professionals through our Emerging Talent Award. It promises to be an exciting and memorable awards evening.”

The Emerging Talent Award and the Outstanding Contribution awards will be judged separately in July.

The full shortlist is:

Daily Newspaper of the Year

Yorkshire Post
The Press, York
Hull Daily Mail

Weekly Newspaper of the Year

Bridlington Free Press
Dewsbury Reporter
Rotherham Advertiser
Wakefield Express

Multi Media Journalist of the Year

Graham Walker, Sheffield Star
Vicky Carr, Harrogate Advertiser

Feature Writer of the Year

Stephen Lewis, The Press, York
Joe Shute, Yorkshire Post
Rod McPhee, Yorkshire Evening Post

Photographer of the Year

Rob Stebbing, Hull Daily Mail
Stephen Garnett, Craven Herald
Simon Hulme, The Yorkshire Post

Sports Journalist of the Year

Richard Sutcliffe, Yorkshire Post
Paul Walker, BBC Radio Sheffield
Paul Goodwin, Doncaster Free Press

Specialist Publication of the Year

Yorkshire Post (100 day to Olympics)
Leeds Student Newspaper
Bradford Telegraph and Argus (Diamond Decade)

Radio Broadcast Journalist of the Year

Claire Warren, Radio Aire
Johnathan l’Anson, BBC Radio Leeds

Television Broadcast Journalist of the Year

Alan Whitehouse, BBC Yorkshire Look North
Nicola Rees, BBC Yorkshire Look North

Young Journalist of the Year

Emily Heward, Halifax Courier
Katy Forrester, Hull Daily Mail
Juliette Bains, Yorkshire Evening Post

News Reporter of the Year

Nicky Harley, Hull Daily Mail
John Roberts, Yorkshire Post
Joe Shute, Yorkshire Post
Nicola Rees, BBC Yorkshire Look North

Business Journalist of the Year

David Hirst, ITV Yorkshire Calendar
Catherine Lea, Hull Daily Mail
Greg Wright, Yorkshire Post

Scoop of the Year

BBC Radio York, Hospital patient set on fire
ITV Yorkshire Calendar, In search of Ben Needham
Wetherby News, Free Billy Burton
Hull Daily Mail, Aye Aye Captain

Editorial Team of the Year

BBC Radio York
Hull Daily Mail
Yorkshire Post (Saturday Magazine)