A long-standing awards scheme is dispensing with its newspaper of the year categories as it opens for entries for its 45th year.

The Scottish Press Awards is going platform-neutral by renaming the daily and weekly newspaper categories as newsbrands of the year.

Organisers say the change is designed to “recognize excellence in news publishing across all formats under a title’s brand.”

The awards are overseen by Newsbrands Scotland, which has itself rebranded from its former name of the Scottish Newspaper Society.

Director John McLellan said: “Great stories and big scoops will still very much be top of the judges’ agendas, but the modern news publishing is a sophisticated, multi-media operation which reaches huge audiences on mobile devices and the awards need to reflect the change in the way news is consumed.

“2023 was a momentous year in so many ways, not least in Scottish politics, and I’m sure our finalists and winners will reflect the very best of the many brilliant stories which have kept the public informed throughout.”

Entries opened on Thursday with the awards ceremony taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on Wednesday 29th May.

The judging panel will be led by Richard Neville, former head of newsbrands at DC Thomson and currently director of Neville Robertson Communications.

For more information on how to enter, visit https://www.newsbrandsscotland.com/to-enter/

The full list of categories for 2024 is as follows:

•    Arts and Entertainment Journalist of the Year
•    Best Coverage of a Live Event
•    Campaign of the Year
•    Columnist of the Year
•    Feature Writer of the Year
•    Financial/Business Journalist of the Year
•    Food and Drink Writer of the Year
•    Front Page of the Year
•    Journalism Team of the Year
•    Lifetime Achievement Award (not applicable for entry, chosen by the editors’ committee)
•    Nicola Barry Award
•    Photographer of the Year
•    Podcast of the Year
•    Political Journalist of the Year
•    Regional Journalist of the Year
•    Reporter of the Year
•    Scoop of the Year
•    Specialist Reporter of the Year
•    Sports Columnist of the Year
•    Sports Feature Writer of the Year
•    Sports News Writer of the Year
•    Young Journalist of the Year
•    Weekly Journalist of the Year
•    Weekly Newsbrand of the Year
•    Scottish Newsbrand of the Year
•    Journalist of the Year (not applicable for entry, chosen by the judges)