The shortlist for the 18th annual North West Newspaper Awards has been revealed.
Among those with a strong showing are the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Daily Post and Echo.
Iain Irving, director of stakeholder relations with sponsors Sellafield, said: “We are delighted to receive so many entries, this represents the amount of talent there is around the North West.
“The judges had a difficult task to come up with the shortlist, given that there were more than 130 entries to be considered and the standard was so high across the board.
“These may be difficult times for the newspaper industry, but the reporting across our regional daily and weekly newspapers, and indeed their websites, continues to be of the very best quality.”
The awards are organised through the North West region of the Society of Editors.
The judging panel comprised Professor Peter Cole, from Sheffield University, retired editor Mervyn Kay and Richard Catlow, from the Society of Editors.
Individual prize categories offer £700 to the winner and £150 for each of the two runners-up, with trophies for the newspaper and websites categories.
The winners will be announced at St David’s Park Hotel, near Chester, on 19 June.
The full list shortlist is:
News Reporter of the Year
Mike Keegan, Manchester Evening News
Paul Keaveny, Bolton News
Ben Rossington, Liverpool Echo
Feature Writer of the Year
Simon Donohue, Manchester Evening News
Anne Pickles, News and Star, Carlisle
Jade Wright, Liverpool Daily Post and Echo
Sports Reporter of the Year
Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
Andy Cryer, Lancashire Telegraph
Jon Coleman, News and Star/Cumberland News
Photographer of the Year
Jason Roberts, Liverpool Daily Post and Echo
Dominic Salter, Stockport Express
Stuart Walker, News and Star/Cumberland News
Young Journalist of the Year
David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post
Amanda Crook, Manchester Evening News
Stefanie Hall, Lancashire Evening Post
Daily Newspaper of the Year
Liverpool Echo
The Gazette, Blackpool
Manchester Evening News
Weekly Newspaper of the Year
Skelmersdale Advertiser
Crains Manchester Business
Cumberland News
Daily Newspaper Website of the Year
Lancashire Telegraph
Lancashire Evening Post
The Gazette, Blackpool
Weekly Newspaper Website of the Year
Warrington Guardian
Crains Manchester Business
Cumberland News
Newspaper of the Year (circ up to 20,000)
Liverpool Daily Post
Chorley Guardian
North West Evening Mail