The Express and Star in Wolverhampton was named Newspaper of the Year at the Midlands Media Awards last night, taking the crown from the Derby Telegraph.
But the Telegraph emerged with the largest number of awards overall , with reporter Chris Jones taking Scoop and Feature Writer of the Year for his exclusive interview with the mother of four children who died in a tragic house fire.
There were also wins for two Telegraph photographers, Leah McLaren in the news picture category and Katherine Burnett for sports photography, taking the Northcliffe-owned title’s tally to four wins.
And there was a double success for Les Reid, of the Coventry Telegraph, who took the awards for Journalist of the Year and News Reporter on a daily title.
The Express and Star beat off competition from the Birmingham Mail, Coventry Telegraph, Leicester Mercury, Northampton Chronicle and Echo, Tamworth Herald, and the Derby Telegraph.
Chairman of judges Steve Dyson said: “The Express and Star stood out as the paper with painstakingly detailed local coverage of live events, high story counts and great projection of front page stories in good, old-fashioned black type. And as its industry-leading circulation figures show, old-fashioned is not always a bad thing.”
Steve also praised Chris Jones’s scoop which followed the fatal house fire at Hulland Ward, Derbyshire, in 2011.
“To have gained the trust of a mother who had lost children in a fire, and to have persuaded her to give such a detailed, emotive interview, was a remarkable scoop. You were compelled to read the resulting splash and feature from start to finish, and the story was one that was imprinted on the mind,” he said.
For the first time ever, there was a tie for Business Journalist of the Year – former Birmingham Post Business Editor John Duckers, who now contributes to Midlands Business Insider magazine, sharing the honours with Jon Griffin, Business Editor of the Birmingham Mail.
Press Club Chairman John Lamb said: “At a time when journalism is being put through unprecedented and, in my view, dangerous scrutiny, and is undergoing a contraction in many areas, it is heart-warming to receive so many entries brimming with enthusiasm and pride.”
The full list of winners is as follows:
Newspaper of the Year
Express and Star
Journalist of the Year
Les Reid, Coventry Telegraph
Magazine of the Year
The Journal
News Reporter of the Year (Daily)
Les Reid, Coventry Telegraph
News Reporter of the Year (Weekly)
Paul Kemp, Tamworth Herald
Online Journalist of the Year
Stephanie Bartup, Midlands Business insider
Business Journalist of the Year
John Duckers, Midlands Business Insider
Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail
Sports Journalist of the Year
Tom Ross, BRMB
Scoop of the Year
Chris Jones, Derby Telegraph
Headline of the Year
Richard Jackson, Birmingham Mail
Columnist of the Year
Feature Writer of the Year
Chris Jones, Derby Telegraph
Newcomer/Student of the Year
Daniel Hewitt, ITV Central
News Photographer of the Year
Leah McLaren, Derby Telegraph
Sports Photographer of the Year
Katherine Burnett, Derby Telegraph
TV Journalist of the Year
Mark Gough, ITV Central.
Radio Journalist of the Year
Stacey Foster, BRMB
Congratulations to Les Reid – proof that persistence really does pay off.
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Well done Les Reid, a great ”double” for a quality journalist
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Well done to the brilliant Les Reid
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