The country’s longest-serving editor has been honoured for his services days after retiring from a weekly newspaper.

Ian McCormack, who edited the West Highland Free Press for 44 years before his retirement on 31 January, was presented with a Special Recognition Award at Friday’s Highlands and Islands Media Awards.

It was a night of celebration for the Free Press, with reporter Keith Mackenzie also being named Diageo Journalist of the Year and winning the Jim Love Memorial Trophy for Reporter of the Year at the ceremony, held in Inverness.

Keith was chosen by judges for his “strength of writing across a number of disciplines, including news, features and sport”.

The winners at this year’s awards ceremony

His prize includes £500, of which £300 will be gifted to a charity of his choice.

Judges chairman Gordon Fyfe said: “Keith is a worthy winner of our top award, demonstrating ability across news, sports and feature writing.

“His work is consistently of a very high quality and contributes hugely to the excellent service the West Highland Free Press provides to its readers.”

Journalists from the recently formed Highland News and Media Ltd picked up four honours – Callum Mackay, Photographer of the Year, Eric Cormack, Top Shot of the Year, Louise Glen, Top Story of the Year, and Val Sweeney, Feature Writer of the Year.

Aberdeen Press & Journal journalists Chris Maclennan and Andy Skinner retained their Young Journalist of the Year and Sports Reporter of the Year titles respectively, while their colleague Stan Arnaud picked up the newly introduced Top Business Story of the Year award, sponsored by Inverness Chamber of Commerce.

The Shetland Times was crowned Newspaper of the Year and Rudhach, based in Point, Lewis, took the Community Newspaper of the Year title.

Shona Macmillan, who works for the community newspaper Fios, in North Lewis, won the Bòrd na Gàidhlig award for Best Use of Gaelic, while the Best Use of Digital Media category was won by the Stornoway Media Centre.

Iain Grant, the former editor of the Caithness Courier and John O’Groat Journal, received the Barron Trophy for lifelong achievement in journalism.

A Special Recognition Award was also presented to the Orcadian, last year’s Newspaper of the Year, who used their £500 prize money to set up the Outreach4CLAN campaign which raised £22,786.07 for an expansion of vital charity services in Orkney — more than double what the appeal set out to achieve.

The full lsit of winners is as follows:

Top Business Story of the Year (sponsored by Inverness Chamber of Commerce)
Stan Arnaud, Press and Journal

Best Use of Gaelic (sponsored by Bòrd na Gàidhlig)
Shona Macmillan, Fios

Best Use of Digital Media
Stornoway Media Centre

Young Journalist of the Year (Alex Main Trophy)
Chris Maclennan, Press and Journal

Sports Reporter of the Year
Andy Skinner, Press and Journal

Photographer of the Year
Callum Mackay, Highland News and Media Ltd

Top Shot of the Year
Eric Cormack, Highland News and Media Ltd

Reporter of the Year (Jim Love Memorial Trophy)
Keith Mackenzie, West Highland Free Press

Top Story of the Year
Louise Glen, Highland News and Media Ltd

Feature Writer of the Year
Val Sweeney, Highland News and Media Ltd

Community Newspaper of the Year
Rudhach, Lewis

Newspaper of the Year
Shetland Times

Diageo Journalist of the Year
Keith Mackenzie, West Highland Free Press

Barron Trophy for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism
Iain Grant, Grant News Agency, Thurso

HIPBMA Special Recognition Awards
Orcadian
Ian McCormack