AddThis SmartLayers

Lifeboat charity to benefit from journalist’s awards win

A freelance journalist has donated £300 to a lifeboat charity for which she volunteers after being named Highlands and Islands journalist of the year.

Moira Kerr won the £500 prize at Friday night’s event which included £300 to the charity of her choice.

She donated her charity cash to Oban Lifeboat, of which she is the volunteer fundraising secretary.

Moira, a former Keighley News reporter who now freelances for the Scottish dailies, is pictured below receiving her award from Keith Miller of Diageo, the event’s principal sponsor.

Moira-Kerr-300x266
Said Moira: ‘It is a real honour to win these awards but a journalist is only as good as their contacts, so I would like to say a big thank you to all my phone-a-friends in far flung corners of Argyll and the Isles, who keep me up to date with all the news.

“I am delighted to say that my £300 charity cash will be going to Oban RNLI lifeboat, to help with the excellent work of the volunteer crew who are on call 24/7, whatever the weather, ready to save lives at sea.”

Moira was the unanimous choice of the judges for a series of strong entries across the writing categories. She also won the Feature Writer of the Year award and was shortlisted in the Reporter of the Year category.

Newspaper of the Year for the second time in succession was the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald, while Chatterbox, serving the Black Isle, was named Community Newspaper of the Year.

Neil Riddell, from the Shetland News agency, won Top Story of the Year, for his writing on difficulties faced by the airline Loganair.

The full list of award winners was:

Best Use of Gaelic
Calum MacLean, BBC Alba

Best Use of Digital Media
Shetland News

Young Journalist of the Year and the Alex Main Trophy
Ellie House, Inverness Courier

Sports Reporter of the Year
Will Clark, North of Scotland Newspapers

Photographer of the Year
Gair Fraser, Scottish Provincial Press

Top Shot of the Year  
Trevor Martin, freelance, Inverness

Reporter of the Year and the Jim Love Memorial Trophy
Ryan Taylor, Shetland Times

Top Story of the Year
Neil Riddell, Shetland News

Feature Writer of the Year
Moira Kerr, freelance, Oban

Community Newspaper of the Year
Chatterbox, Black Isle

Newspaper of the Year
Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

Diageo Journalist of the Year
Moira Kerr, freelance, Oban

Barron Trophy for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism
Paul Breen, Inverness