The Northern Echo took the main prize and its journalists collected nine winners’ trophies in this year’s Tom Cordner North East Press Awards.
Editor Peter Barron collected the North East Newspaper of the Year trophy from Kate Adie, the BBC’s chief news correspondent.
The Echo’s Mike Amos was named North East Journalist of the Year and Liz Lamb was Young Journalist of the Year, collecting the Tom Cordner Quill for the best portfolio from a trainee.
The Jeremy Bennington Prize for Scoop of the Year went to the Echo’s Bishop Auckland district reporter, Bessie Robinson, for her story of a policeman on sick leave who was unmasked as an assistant referee at a Premiership football match.
The northern region of the Society of Editors presented the Graeme Stanton Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to journalism to Mike Neville of Tyne Tees TV. Neville has spent more than 40 years with the BBC and ITV. Other winners were:
Best weekly newspaper: Darlington and Stockton Times; Best weekly newspaper journalist: Ruth Holliday, Morpeth Herald; Best magazine: Ray Marshall and the Evening Chronicle; Jim Merrington Prize for best portfolio of pictures: Ian Buist, Evening Chronicle; Ian Weir Memorial Award for North East picture of the year: Tim McGuinness, The Journal, Newcastle; Eric Dobson Scroll for North East trainee of the year: Anna Smith, News Guardian, Whitley Bay.
Durham’s Sporting Plate for best sports writer: John Gibson, Evening Chronicle; Maurice Brady Award for best portfolio of hard-news reporting: Angus Hoy, Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough; Fred Hurrell Prize for best feature writing: Christen Pears: The Northern Echo; Splash award for front and/or back page design: Richard Davies, The Northern Echo.
ABC Spike for newspaper page design: Babette Decker, The Journal; Kate Adie Award for Initiative in Journalism: John Corney and the Sunderland Echo; Women’s Writer of the Year: Christen Pears.
Steve Jones Prize for reporting contributing most to the community: Ruth Holliday; Phillip Hickey Trophy for best columnist: Mike Amos; Thomas E. Bergman Award for best arts reporting: Steve Pratt, The Northern Echo. Health Prize: Julie Cush, Evening Chronicle; Business Prize: James Marley, Evening Chronicle; Consumer Affairs Prize, Jane Hall, The Journal.
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