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Reporter beats national rivals to young journalist crown

A reporter with a south-west Scottish weekly beat journalists from big regional and national titles to be crowned the country’s finest up-coming talent.

Mike Farrell, of the Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter, pipped a quartet of hacks from Scotland on Sunday, Sunday Herald and The Sunday Times Scotland to win the young journalist of the year prize.

He was one of 23 category winners at last night’s 30th annual Scottish Press Awards, in Glasgow, run by the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society, which saw 343 entries from more than 75 journalists, cartoonists and photographers.

Click through to see the two winning photography portfolios.

Weekly newspaper of the year was won by the Falkirk Herald with the Kilmarnock Standard runner-up.

The Scotman’s Bill Jamieson was crowned journalist and financial/business journalist of the year, while his colleague Gerri Peev took best scoop for her now infamous Hillary Clinton ‘Monster’ interview with one of Barack Obama’s aides.

The Herald’s highly-respected sports writer Doug Gillan was handed a lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to Scottish sports journalism.

Doug was voted for by his colleagues and peers who wanted to recognise his commitment and passion for reporting Scottish sport.

Donald Martin, Herald and Times editor-in-chief and chairman of the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society, said: “These are challenging times for Scottish newspapers but it is heartening to see that journalistic quality remains high. The standard of entry this year was, as always, outstanding.”

The full list of winners is:

Scoop of the Year
Winner: Gerri Peev, The Scotsman
Runner-up: Caroline Wilson, Evening Times

Reporter of the Year
Winner: Charles Lavery, Sunday Mail
Runner-up: David Pratt, Sunday Herald

Financial/Business Journalist of the Year
Winner: Bill Jamieson, The Scotsman
Runner-up: Peter MacMahon, The Scotsman

Newspaper Feature Writer of the Year
Winner: Peter Ross, Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: Jonathan Brocklebank, Scottish Daily Mail

Magazine Writer of the Year
Winner: Peter Ross, Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: David Pratt, Sunday Herald

Columnist of the Year
Winner: Bill Leckie, The Scottish Sun
Runner-up: Joan McAlpine, The Sunday Times Scotland

Campaign of the Year
Winner: The Scotsman, HBOS Questions that Must be Answered
Runner-up: Evening Times, Factors – Fighting for a Fairer Deal

Front Page of the Year
Winner: The Scottish Sun, Beaten and Battered
Runner-up: The Sunday Mail, The Greatest

Journalist Team of the Year
Winner: Daily Record, ‘Tobin: The Monster’
Runner-up: The Scottish Sun, ‘Beaten and Battered’

Weekly Newspaper of the Year
Winner: Falkirk Herald
Runner-up: Kilmarnock Standard

Political Journalist of the Year
Winner: Paul Hutcheon, Sunday Herald
Runner-up: Andrew Nicoll, The Scottish Sun

Sports Feature Writer of the Year
Winner: Tom English, Scotland on Sunday
Runner-up: Douglas Alexander, The Sunday Times Scotland

Sports News Writer of the Year
Winner: Robert Grieve, The Scottish Sun
Runner-up: Iain King, The Scottish Sun

Arts/Entertainment Writer of the Year
Winner: Allan Brown, The Sunday Times Scotland
Runner-up: Anna Burnside, The Sunday Times Scotland

Cartoonist of the Year
Winner: Steven Camley, The Herald
Runner-up: Brian Petrie, The Scottish Sun

Young Journalist of the Year
Winner: Mike Farrell, Dumbarton and Vale of Levan Reporter
Runner-up: Brendan Perring, The Sunday Times Scotland

Gaelic Journalist of the Year
Winner: Alasdair H Caimbeul, The Scotsman
Runner-up: Andreas Wolff, Scottish Catholic Observer

News Photographer of the Year
Winner: Tony Nicoletti, Daily Record
Runner-up: Colin Mearns, The Herald

Sports Photographer of the Year
Winner: Jane Barlow, The Scotsman
Runner-up: David Henderson, The Scottish Sun

Multimedia Journalist of the Year
Winner: Iain Hepburn, Daily Record
Runner-up: Beverly Lyons, Daily Record

Journalist of the Year
Winner: Bill Jamieson

Lifetime Achievement
Winner: Doug Gillan, The Herald

Newspaper of the Year
Winner: The Scottish Sun