The Times titles won big at the Society of Editors’ Press Awards last night, taking the prizes for best daily and Sunday newspaper.
Judges praised the Times and Sunday Times for the success of their digital subscription models and “consistent high-quality news investigations”.
They said The Times had been “snatching headline stories of around-the-world news”. The awards was collected by editor John Witherow (pictured, far right).
Times chief reporter, Sean O’Neill, won News Reporter of the Year and Scoop of the Year for his investigation into Oxfam staff paying Haiti earthquake survivors for sex.
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The Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman took home both the Political Reporter and Political Commentator awards, with judges declaring him “a peerless interpreter of Brexit”.
News UK stablemate The Sun won for best news website, with judges commending its investment in original journalism, and also picked up the new Popular Scoop of the Year award for Jane Moore’s exclusive interview with Barbara Windsor’s husband on her Alzheimer’s battle.
The Mail on Sunday won a clutch of awards at the event, which was held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, taking home the Health Journalist, Specialist Journalists, Critic, Popular, Feature Writer.
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The paper also took the Popular Interviewer of the Year prize for Caroline Graham’s exclusive write-up on Meghan Markle’s father’s staged photos ahead of the Royal Wedding last year.
The Telegraph picked up Front Page of the Year for “The British #MeToo scandal which cannot be revealed”, which it published while under an injunction.
The Daily Mirror took home a special Chairman’s Award for its successful “Change the Law for Life” campaign, which helped push for organ donation rules to change from opt-in to opt-out, due to come into effect next year.
Chairman of the judges, and Society of Editors executive director, Ian Murray, said: “Over the space of three years, the paper brought the subject of organ donation to the forefront of the national agenda, winning over not just readers and the public to their cause but the politicians and experts they needed to ensure Max’s Law became a reality.
“This achievement shines out as a fantastic example of what outstanding journalism can achieve.”
The Cudlipp Award for Campaign of the Year went to The Guardian for its Windrush investigation, led by Amelia Gentleman.
Carole Cadwalladr picked up Technology Journalist of the Year and the Observer won Investigation of the Year for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, described by judges as a “brilliant exposure of the abuse of digital information, which had far-reaching effects in the public sphere”.
The Journalists’ Charity Award was won by war photographer Paul Conroy “for his dedication to securing justice for his colleague Marie Colvin and ensuring the story of the Syrian conflict continues to be told”.
A Society of Editors Fellowship was also presented to Stanley ‘MAC’ McMurtry, former Daily Mail cartoonist, for his 50 years of service to the industry.
Radio 5 Live and Newsnight presenter Emma Barnett was the awards’ host (pictured top, left).
Press Awards 2019 winners:
Chairman’s Award
Winner: Daily Mirror, Change the Law for Life
The Journalists’ Charity Award
Winner: Paul Conroy
The Women in Journalism Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation
Highly Commended: Hazel Sheffield, Far Nearer
Winner: Olivia Crellin (founder) and Laura Garcia (co-founder), Press Pad
Young Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Tom Payne, Daily Mail
Winner: Laura Hughes, Financial Times
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Rob Davies, The Guardian
Winner: Madison Marriage and Matthew Garrahan, Financial Times
Political Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Laura Hughes, Financial Times
Highly Commended: Tom Newton Dunn, The Sun
Winner: Tim Shipman, The Sunday Times
Political Commentator of the Year
Highly Commended: Matthew Parris, The Times
Winner: Tim Shipman, The Sunday Times
Foreign Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times
Highly Commended: Martin Chulov, The Guardian and The Observer
Winner: Anthony Loyd, The Times
Science Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Pilita Clark, Financial Times
Winner: Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph
Health Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Chris Smyth, The Times
Winner: Ian Birrell, The Mail on Sunday
Fashion Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Jess Cartner-Morley, The Guardian
Winner: Lisa Armstrong, The Daily Telegraph
Technology Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times Magazine
Winner: Carole Cadwalladr, The Observer
Environment Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Leslie Hook, Financial Times
Winner: Pilita Clark, Financial Times
Travel Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Ben Clatworthy, The Times
Winner: Tom Robbins, Financial Times
Specialist Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Frances Ryan, The Guardian
Highly Commended: Robert Booth, The Guardian
Winner: Sanchez Manning, The Mail on Sunday
Showbiz Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Grant Tucker, The Sunday Times
Winner: Clemmie Moodie, The Sun on Sunday
Reporting Diversity Award
Highly Commended: Women in Sport, The Telegraph
Winner: Patrick Strudwick, BuzzFeed UK
The Hugh McIlvanney Award for Sports Journalist of the Year
Highly Commended: Jonathan Liew, The Independent
Winner: Daniel Taylor, The Guardian
Interviewer of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Tom Newton Dunn, The Sun
Winners: Jan Moir, Daily Mail and Caroline Graham, The Mail on Sunday
Interviewer of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Polly Vernon, The Times
Winner: Decca Aitkenhead, The Sunday Times Magazine
Columnist of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Deborah James, The Sun
Winner: Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
Columnist of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Bryony Gordon, The Daily Telegraph
Winner: Deborah Ross, The Times
Feature Writer of the Year – Popular
Highly Commended: Ian Birrell, The Mail on Sunday
Winners: David Rose, The Mail on Sunday and Ros Wynne-Jones, Daily Mirror
Feature Writer of the Year – Broadsheet
Highly Commended: Holly Baxter, The Independent
Winner: Mick Brown, The Telegraph
Critic of the Year
Highly Commended: Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
Winner: Craig Brown, The Mail on Sunday
Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended: Peter Macdiarmid, London News Pictures
Winner: Danny Lawson, Press Association
Sports Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended: Andy Hooper, Daily Mail
Winner: Richard Pelham, The Sun
Cartoonist of the Year
Highly Commended: Nick Newman, The Sunday Times
Winner: Matt Pritchett, The Telegraph
Scoop of the Year
Highly Commended: The Observer, Cambridge Analytica Files
Winner: The Times, Oxfam staff paid Haiti survivors for sex
Scoop: Popular Life
Highly Commended: The Mail on Sunday, Meghan’s Dad Staged Photos
Winner: The Sun, My Babs has Alzheimer’s
Investigation of the Year
Highly Commended: The Times, Oxfam staff paid Haiti survivors for sex
Winner: The Observer, Cambridge Analytica Files
Sports News Story of the Year
Highly Commended: Daily Mail, £250k-a-club whip-round for Scudamore!
Winner: Evening Standard, Wembley for Sale
News Reporter of the Year
Highly Commended: Amelia Gentleman, The Guardian
Winner: Sean O’Neill, The Times
Supplement of the Year
Highly Commended: The New Review, The Observer
Winner: T2, The Times
Magazine of the Year
Highly Commended: The Telegraph Magazine
Winner: The Times Magazine
Front Page of the Year
Highly Commended: The Guardian, The Lives of Grenfell
Winner: The Telegraph, The British #MeToo Scandal
The Cudlipp Award for Campaign of the Year
Highly Commended: Daily Mirror, Change the Law for Life
Winner: The Guardian, Windrush
News Website of the Year
Highly Commended: Telegraph.co.uk
Winner: The Sun Online
Sunday Newspaper of the Year
Highly Commended: The Mail on Sunday
Winner: The Sunday Times
Daily Newspaper of the Year
Highly Commended: Daily Mail
Winner: The Times
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