A 12-page pull-out backgrounder and six pages of news of a murder trial was the culmination of work at the South Wales Argus to cover a six-week murder trial that gripped the nation.

Factory worker Michael Baldwin was jailed for life for the murder of his 15-year-old stepdaughter Jenna.

And The Argus coverage included six pages of reports and reaction after the verdict - and a 12-page pull-out (below) featuring background reports.

The jury heard how Baldwin killed Jenna, buried her near a remote country lay-by, and tried to convince her family and police investigating her disappearance that she was still alive, by pretending to be Jenna in a series of text messages sent to his wife and other children.

Editor Gerry Keighley said: "Our coverage of this case has been superb from start to finish.

"We realised before all other sections of the media that this was more than a simple missing persons case.

"Our reporters have become close to Jenna's family and they trust us implicitly.

"The coverage of the trial and its immediate aftermath was an exemplary team effort."

The weeks of news stories also gave the Argus - Britain's fastest-growing evening newspaper - yet another sales increase.

Latest figures show The Argus has recorded another important sales increase for the first half of 2003.

The paper won the top Newspaper Society award for its base sales increase in 2002 - and figures for the first six months of this year show an improvement on that achievement.

Its ABC Monday-Saturday sales figure for January-June 2003 shows a 2.5 per cent increase on the same period last year. And the base sale (excluding any bulk sales) figure better still, with Monday-Saturday sales up 4.1 per cent on 2002.

Gerry said: "These figures are yet another massive tribute to the hard work of everyone at the paper."

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail pastill@nep.co.uk