The presentation and design of the Norwich Evening News was described as “bold and brave”. It was said to have “clearly identified the readership it is going after” and as “trying really hard”. The judges said the paper “stood out from the others” and that “in an industry more challenged than ever, those who go out and try so bravely have to be commended”.
Weekly Newspaper of the Year
Winner: Hoddesdon and Cheshunt Mercury Series
Nominees:- Essex County Standard- Lowestoft Journal- Essex Chronicle
The Hoddesdon and Cheshunt editions of the Mercury have experienced a year of great change, with a redesign and re-launch in July. The winning paper just pipped the other to the post after great debate. It had good, strong news coverage as far back as page 19 and a good breadth of content.
Front Page of the Year
Winner: Cambridge Evening News
Nominees:- The Comet- East Anglian Daily Times
The judges singled out The Comet for special mention for its brave treatment of a big local story. However, the winner was praised for telling a story in a bold and straightforward way. It was the treatment given to an exclusive story about a paedophile getting a job as a school cleaner that caught the judges’ eyes. It was summed up as a cracking issue, treated well. It was a very simple front page – and it worked.
Print Journalist of the Year (Daily)
Winner: Mark Nicholls, Eastern Daily Press
Nominees:- Richard Balls, Eastern Daily Press- Colin Adwent, Evening Star, Ipswich- Lewis Hannam, Norwich Evening News
The winner was described as a reporter that any editor would love to have on their team. The judges said a strong set of contacts helped this winner produce cracking exclusives, written with flair. One story in particular was singled out as “a stunner”.
Good contacts with a spinal surgeon allowed him to obtain a powerful x-ray image of a young man’s severed spine. That same contact gave Mark access to the victim and allowed him to put together a background piece detailing the operation that meant the young man was not paralysed for life. Other belting stories in Mark’s entry included the story of a 91-year-old left on a mattress when the lease ran out on his hospital bed and a report examining palliative care in Norfolk.
Print Journalist of the Year (Weekly)
Winner: John Elworthy, Cambs Times
Nominees:- Steve Neale, Yellow Advertiser- Jon Ryan, Herts Mercury- Gordon Richardson, Herts Mercury
The winning reporter turned around a cracking crime story in just 24 hours and produced two pages of news and an eight-page supplement that prompted a 15 per cent circulation lift. It was the sort of reporting any daily newspaper would be proud of.
Radio Journalist of the Year
Winner: Mark Murphy, BBC Radio Suffolk
Nominees: Nikki Fox, Broadland Radio
Mark was described as showing great depth as a journalist. He tackled tough subjects and lighter ones – moving between them with aplomb. He sounded in control of a range of subjects and was summed up as “an accomplished act indeed”.
Television Journalist of the Year
Winner: Simon Newton, Anglia News East
Nominees: Mike Cartwright, Anglia News East
Simon was commended for his creative, accessible treatments of stories, getting to the heart of the story, and for “shedding different angles with authority and humour”.
Television News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year
Winner: Surrey Beddows, Editor at Anglia News West
Nominees: David Jennings, Editor at Anglia News East
The winning entry was described as a cracking programme which covered a huge news story from every angle. The programme also demonstrated a real sense of getting round the patch.
Newcomer of the Year
Winner: Katy Evans, East Anglian Daily Times
Nominees:- Jack Grove, Peterborough Evening Telegraph- Peter Henn, Yellow Advertiser- John Gill, Cambridge Evening News
The winner’s entry was summarised simply as “Great Stuff!” The judges said this journalist “demonstrated a huge all-round talent” and was clearly “trusted to do a spot-on job very early in their career”.
Website of the Year
Winner: The Pink ‘Un
Nominees:- Eastern Daily Press- Cambridge Evening News
The winner was singled out for the site’s creativity and good use of submitted video and pictures. It also merited praise for its mix of big news and local detail.
The judges particularly liked the design of the Cambridge Evening News site, while the EDP’s stood out for its online broadcasts from the newsroom. Worthy of note is Celia Sutton at Archant, who is the webmaster behind two of the shortlisted sites.
Feature Writer of the Year
Winner: James Marston, Evening Star, Ipswich
Nominees:- Lisa Woollard, Evening Star, Ipswich- Raymond Brown, Herts Mercury- Tara Greaves, Eastern Daily Press
The judges said this was another category where it was hard to select one candidate from a strong shortlist – but described the winner’s work as “an excellent example of attention-grabbing writing that was humorous and well-written and would appeal to a wide audience”.
News Photographer of the Year
Winner: James Fletcher, East Anglian Daily Times
Nominees:- Brian Purdy, Wisbech Standard- Bill Smith, Archant Norfolk Photographic Team (EDP)- Antony Kelly, Archant Norfolk Photographic Team
Although all were arguably worthy of a prize the judges decided the winning photographer deserved to be singled out for some good, bold news photos, strong images and for demonstrating sound technical ability.
Sports Journalist of the Year
Winner: Aaron Mason, Cambridge Evening News
Nominees:- Rick Waghorn, Norwich Evening News- Steve Mellen, East Angli
an Daily Times- Matthew Chambers, Norwich Evening News
Although the level of entries was disappointing the judges felt this category was lifted by some good writing, some imaginative features and, in the case of the winner, a fine set of hard news tales.
Business Journalist of the Year
Winner: Chris Starkie, Eastern Daily Press
Nominees:- Naomi Canton, Norwich Evening News- Ian Bullock, Eastern Daily Press- Gordon Richardson, Herts Hercury
The judges described the winning journalist as someone who “produced some strong work that easily transferred to the news pages of their paper”. They said this person also “highlighted good local issues in a way that was relevant to readers”.
Environmental Journalist of the Year
Winner: Hugh Bowring, Norwich Evening News
Nominees:- Matthew Stanton, Yellow Advertiser- Paul Brackley, Herts Mercury
The winner’s work – which included a story about electricity wastage, written with support from the Energy Saving Trust; a story that gave human interest to recycling; and investigations into the prospect of a waste incinerator being built on the outskirts of Norwich – was described by the judges as “strong pieces with drama”.
Community Campaign of the Year
Winner: Cambridge Evening News (Keep the Piece)
Nominees:- Essex Chronicle (Be Remembered for Life)- Norwich Evening News (City Care Fiasco)- Yellow Advertiser (Save Thorpe Bay School)
The winning entry just pipped a close runner-up to the post for picking up a very local issue and running with it.
Back to the awards index
Have you won a press award? We’d love to hear from you. E-mail [email protected]
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at