DC Thomson Newsbrand teams enjoyed a successful evening at the Scottish Press Awards, picking up six awards and four runner up commendations.

The ceremony in Glasgow introduced several new categories including Food and Drink Journalist of the Year which was won by Julia Bryce of The Press and Journal, and Specialist Journalist of the Year which was won by Lesley-Anne Kelly for her data journalism, with special focus on the Covid tracker she continually updated throughout the pandemic.

Columnist of the Year went to The Courier’s Alex Bell, with Chris Deerin of The Press and Journal awarded runner up, and Dale Haslam from the Impact Team won Local Weekly Reporter of the Year.

Features Writer Laura Smith won the Nicola Barry Award which goes to a female journalist deserving of recognition, and The Sunday Post were runners up for Campaign of the Year with their ‘News Worth Waiting For’ Campaign.

Impact journalist Stephen Stewart won Interviewer of the Year for his previous work with The Daily Record.

The Evening Express and The Press and Journal were runners up for Best Coverage of a Live Event for their reporting of the Stonehaven Rail Tragedy.

Newsbrands celebrate wins at the UK Regional Press Awards

The Press and Journal and Evening Express’ newspaper delivery team scooped the Special 2020 Award for the dedication of their 750-strong home delivery network. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, they surpassed all expectations delivering an increased number of papers as people were forced to stay at home. From writing letters of support to running errands, the delivery team served their communities proud, and they have now been recognised with this prestigious award.

Head of newspaper sales and marketing, Neil Mackland, said: “The coronavirus pandemic challenged us all in 2020. But for the girls and boys who make up our home delivery network, it brought out the very best of them. We were faced with challenges at the start of lockdown, however we received strong support from parents and customers as they could see we were doing absolutely everything we could to ensure safe working conditions with no impact on our delivery service.We started receiving letters and calls of thanks from our readers, passing on their appreciation for the amazing work by our very own home delivery heroes. We also witnessed many examples of our newsboys and girls offering to collect shopping, take out bins and run errands for our most vulnerable customers. We are proud to be associated with them.”

Press and Journal editor-in-chief, Frank O’Donnell, added: “We rightly saluted our frontline workers who kept the country going during lockdown. But perhaps one group that went unheralded were the paper boys and girls, who brought trusted local news on the pandemic directly to people’s doors. A daily newspaper written by professional journalists was so important to people across the north and north-east, especially in those early stages of Covid-19, when misinformation and rumour were common. Not only did these youngsters keep delivering, they offered to help those who couldn’t leave their homes by bringing vital supplies and running errands. This says so much about the strength of our communities, the future of our region and the big heart of our young people. I am proud to know them.”

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