Newspaper of the Year - Daily Mail
Business Journalist of the Year - Michael Harrison (Independent)
Cartoonist of the Year - Jonathan Pugh (Times)
Columnist of the Year - Lynda Lee-Potter (Daily Mail)
Critic of the Year - Craig Brown (Mail on Sunday)
Feature Writer of the Year - Tim Rayment (Sunday Times)
Financial Journalist of the Year - John Willman (Financial Times)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Marie Colvin (Sunday Times) for her report on her escape from Chechnya
Front Page of the Year - The Sun – bungled jewel robbery at the Dome (“We’re Only Here For De Beers”)
Hugh Cudlipp Award - Daily Mail – for coverage of the conviction of Dr Harold Shipman
Interviewer of the Year - Allison Pearson (Daily Telegraph)
Lifetime Achievement Award - John Downing (Daily Express)
Online Journalist of the Year - Miroslav Filipovic (Institute for War and Peace Reporting – www.iwpr.net)
Photographer of the Year - Jeremy Selwyn (Evening Standard)
Reporter of the Year - John Kay (The Sun)
Scoop of the Year - Geoffrey Lean (Independent on Sunday) investigation into secret GM crop trials
Special Award for Outstanding Journalism - Don Hale (editor, Matlock Mercury)
Specialist Writer of the Year - Michael McCarthy (Independent)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Bradley Ormesher (Daily Mirror)
Sports Reporter of the Year - John Goodbody (Times)
Sports Writer of the Year - David Walsh (Sunday Times)
Supplement of the Year - Observer Sport Monthly
Team Reporting Award - Daily Mirror – coverage of the Railtrack crisis
Website of the Year - sport.telegraph.co.uk
Commended: This is London (Evening Standard website)
Young Journalist of the Year - Emma Brockes (Guardian)
Notes: According to Guardian (February 19, 2001): Seven Guardian journalists have been nominated for this year's British Press Awards, the annual honours ceremony organised by the Press Gazette…more than 80 judges will choose the final winners for the dinner on March 21.
Daily Express (March 2, 2001): John Downing, 60, had more cause to celebrate last night after being shortlisted in the photographer of the year category in the prestigious British Press Awards, where he will also receive a lifetime achievement honour. John has been with the Daily Express for 37 years…
Daily Telegraph (March 22, 2001): The Daily Telegraph's Allison Pearson was named Interviewer of the Year and Sport.Telegraph won Website of the Year at the British Press Awards last night. Pearson was also shortlisted for Feature Writer of the Year. The judges described her interview with Trevor Rees Jones, the former bodyguard of Diana, Princess of Wales, as one “which should be shown to every journalism student in the land”. Sport.Telegraph was described by the judges as “a sport nirvana that has become a must for sports fans”.
Evening Standard (March 22, 2001): Evening Standard photographer Jeremy Selwyn scooped the top prize at the UKPG British Press Awards. His portfolio of outstanding news pictures from the past year clinched the Photographer of the Year award for the second time in three years.
Selwyn’s brilliant entries included pictures of Barbara Windsor and Shirley Bassey at a Buckingham Palace investiture, an Arsenal football fan lying stabbed and prone in a Copenhagen street, and Sarah Payne’s parents mourning their murdered daughter.
The award secures Selwyn's place as Fleet Street’s leading news photographer. He has been with the Standard for 14 years, covering all the major stories. The judges said: “Jeremy Selwyn was an outstanding winner. He produced powerful images that captured the moment in three very different emotional situations.”
Daily Mirror (March 23, 2001): It was no surprise when the best team on Fleet Street yet again picked up the Team Of The Year prize. This time it was awarded for The Mirror’s brilliant reporting and campaigning over the Railtrack crisis, a story which dominated the news for months. The judges praised “the clever idea of sending a reporter to work for Railtrack” and the “inspired” headline National Lottery Of Death. They added: “It was a powerful entry that combined breaking news and sustained campaigning.”
The trophy was collected by chief reporter Gary Jones, Business Editor Clinton Manning, and reporters David Pilditch, Aidan McGurran and Graham Brough…Mirror journalists were shortlisted for eight other awards at the glittering ceremony at London’s Hilton Hotel, which was hosted by TV and newspaper star Michael Parkinson.
Times (March 23, 2001): At the annual awards night in London on Wednesday, the Daily Mail won four, including Newspaper of the Year, The Sunday Times won three, and The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Sun and The Mirror each won two. The broadsheets won 13 awards to ten for the tabloids, News International titles won seven awards to the Mail group’s six…
…There was also a well-received special award for outstanding journalism to Don Hale, the editor of the Matlock Mercury, for his six-year campaign to clear the name of Stephen Downing, who has now been given bail after 27 years in prison. Hale’s life was threatened on three occasions.
When the bigger modern newspapers publish so much trivia about so-called “celebrities”, acting as one of the 80 judges restores faith in the quality of British journalism, as all the judges agreed.
Jonathan Grun, Editor of the Press Association, Britain's national news agency, who was chairman and read every one of the 820 entries, says he discovered extraordinary talent. Some entries had been a revelation. “As a newspaper reader you can buy all that quality for less than the cost of a bag of peanuts.”
Daily Mail (March 23, 2001): The Daily Mail has once again been voted Newspaper of the Year in the British Press Awards regarded as the Oscars of British journalism. It marks an unprecedented fourth time in the last six years that the Mail has received this accolade. In their citation, the judges described the Mail as “quite simply the complete package. So consistent, so authoritative it bestrides the middle market like a colossus”…
…To round off an extraordinary series of successes, the Mail’s reporting team which covered the conviction of Dr Harold Shipman won the coveted Hugh Cudlipp award for excellence in tabloid journalism. It was, said the judges, “an outstanding example of consistent professionalism. One of the tests of excellence is the ability to do the big stories brilliantly. The Mail’s 14-page treatment sustained its momentum on every page”.
The team included Stephen Wright, Gordon Rayner, Paul Harris, Geoffrey Levy, Christian Gysin, Andrew Loudon and photographer Kevin Holt.
Mail on Sunday (March 25, 2001): Chief books reviewer Craig Brown has been named Critic of the Year in the prestigious British Press Awards. Beating competition from rival papers including The Guardian, Sunday Times and Observer, Brown was described by the judges as “funny, informative and just downright clever”. One judge said of the finalists: “Anyone who says British journalism is dumbing down should read these entries.” Brown won for his reviews of Martin Amis's Experience, Paddy Ashdown's Diaries and Christopher Warwick's biography of Princess Margaret.
The judging panel praised his “sheer readability and comic wit allied to sharp critical judgements”, adding: “He identifies those little truths we all subconsciously have recognised and then think, ‘Why didn't I think of that?’” Brown was also honoured with the Jack Tinker Trophy in memory of the late Daily Mail theatre critic.
Newspaper of the Year - Daily Mirror
Business Journalist of the Year - Tim Burt (Financial Times)
Cartoonist of the Year - Peter Brookes (Times)
Columnist of the Year - Zoe Heller (Daily Telegraph)
Critic of the Year - Nigel Andrews (Financial Times)
Feature Writer of the Year - Emma Brockes (Guardian)
Financial Journalist of the Year - Neil Collins (Daily Telegraph)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Christina Lamb (Sunday Telegraph)
Front Page of the Year - Guardian – reaction to September 11
Health Writer of the Year - Lorraine Fraser (Sunday Telegraph)
Hugh Cudlipp Award - Daily Mirror – coverage of September 11
Interviewer of the Year - Lynn Barber (Observer)
Online Journalist of the Year - Dan Milmo (Guardian Unlimited)
Photographer of the Year - Cavan Pawson (Evening Standard)
Press Gazette Gold Award - Lord Bill Deedes (former editor, Daily Telegraph)
Reporter of the Year - Fiona Barton (Mail on Sunday)
Scoop of the Year - The Sun – for their story of how Alan and Judith Kilshaw adopted twins over the internet
Specialist Writer of the Year - Richard Girling (Sunday Times)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Dave Shopland (Mail on Sunday)
Sports Reporter of the Year - Paul Smith (Sunday Mirror)
Sports Writer of the Year - Paul Hayward (Daily Telegraph)
Supplement of the Year - Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine
Team of the Year - Daily Mirror – War On The World (post September 11 coverage)
Website of the Year - Guardian Unlimited
Young Journalist of the Year - Sathnam Sanghera (Financial Times)
Notes: According to Daily Mirror (March 20, 2002): The Mirror scooped another three awards last night – including Newspaper of the Year for the second time within months. The panel of 78 judges for the British Press Awards – the industry’s Oscars – said we had “stolen the thunder” from our rivals with our unparalleled coverage of the September 11 attack on the US and the War on Terror. They said we outshone shortlisted finalists the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Observer. In December we were named Newspaper of the Year in TV’s What The Papers Say awards. Your Mirror was also judged last night to have the best news team in the country.
Our in depth reporting of the conflict in Afghanistan won the coveted Hugh Cudlipp award for achievement and the Team of the Year award…All were among the 800 guests at the ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London.
Daily Mirror (March 21, 2002): It is the first time a redtop newspaper has won the award (Newspaper of the Year) since its introduction in 1994 and the first time any paper has won both awards in the same year since 1996. The judges said that in a year dominated by the terrible events of September 11 and their aftermath, The Mirror was “the paper that stole the thunder”. They added: “Editor Piers Morgan and his team have re-established The Mirror as the redtop with meaning and depth.”
But that was not The Mirror’s only triumph at the ceremony in the Hilton Hotel in London. We also carried off the other two top prizes – the Hugh Cudlipp Award, given in memory of the legendary Mirror man, and Team of the Year. Both were given for our coverage of September 11. Judges said our War On The World was “outstanding” and praised the paper’s “change of direction that recaptured the class and integrity of the Mirror of old”.
They singled out the brilliant broadsheet supplement on the September 11 atrocities, which contained a 6,000 word article by Tony Parsons. And they said the “introduction and reintroduction of a series of fine writers was a journalistic triumph”.
The Mirror has now won Team of the Year three times in four years – an unrivalled achievement in any category but particularly in one which celebrates the work of many journalists…Editor Piers Morgan said: "I feel proud and thrilled. It is a fabulous success for everyone on the paper. “The Mirror has a superbly talented staff and this is a recognition of them.”
The events of September 11 brought out the best in British newspapers.
The Sun (March 21, 2002): The Sun’s story revealing how Alan and Judith Kilshaw adopted twins over the internet has won Scoop of the Year at the British Press Awards. Our story, followed up by newspapers and TV stations around the world, was heralded as the best exclusive of 2001. Judges described the scoop in January as “utterly memorable and a riveting read”. The Kilshaws were eventually forced to hand back babies Belinda and Kimberley. The judges at the awards, sponsored by journalism's weekly trade magazine Press Gazette, said it was a scoop any newspaper would have been proud to land…Ex-Daily Telegraph editor Lord Bill Deedes, 88, was presented with a special Press Gazette Gold Award. Lord Deedes, who still writes a weekly column, was called the “reporters' reporter”.
Times (March 22, 2002): At the British Press Awards, (Mazher) Mahmood was nominated for but failed to win Reporter of the Year, an award which went to The Mail on Sunday's Fiona Barton, one of whose stories was a “spoiler” of Mahmood’s scoop – a “second-hand, largely inaccurate recycling” of his story (the fake sheikh incident with the Countess of Wessex), according to a not necessarily objective, senior NoW source. Mahmood was not nominated for Scoop of the Year, which went to The Sun for its story on the Internet baby traders. So Sabey’s sheikh was intended as a reminder of the scoop the judges snubbed. (Rebekah) Wade’s boycott was a protest at what she and editors of the other red-tops see as the bias against them shown by the judges. There were 24 awards this year but only five went to the red-tops – none to the NoW and only one to The Sun. “We are Britain's biggest-selling newspaper,” Wade said. “Our For Sarah campaign (against paedophiles after the murder of Sarah Payne) has led to 16 pieces of legislation. I didn't want my team to sit through four and a half hours watching inferior newspapers winning awards.”
Sunday Times (March 24, 2002): Richard Girling of The Sunday Times was named Specialist Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards last week. Girling, who writes on environmental subjects for the Magazine, won the award for his in-depth features on foot and mouth and “a brilliant expose of the state of the salmon fishing industry”, which led one of the judges to comment that it made him consider giving up fishing.
Financial Times (March 26, 2002): Creative Business writer Sathnam Sanghera won the prestigious Young Journalist of the Year Award at last week’s British Press Awards. The judges said his three entries – interviews with Phil Hall, editor of Hello! and Arline Usden, editor of The Lady, and a profile of PR agency Freud Communications – showed “great maturity and perception”, and they praised him as “a bright new writing talent with a mature head on young shoulders”.
Newspaper of the Year - Daily Mail
Business and Finance Reporter of the Year - Adrian Michaels and Peter Spiegel (Financial Times)
Business and Finance Writer of the Year - David Buchan and Tobias Buck (Financial Times)
Cartoonist of the Year - Steve Bell (Guardian)
Columnist of the Year - Robert Harris (Daily Telegraph)
Critic of the Year - Waldemar Januszczak (Sunday Times)
Feature Writer of the Year - Michael Tierney (Herald)
Food and Drink Writer of the Year - Matthew Norman (Sunday Telegraph magazine)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Mark Franchetti (Sunday Times) dispatches from inside the Moscow theatre taken over by Chechen terrorists
Front Page of the Year - Daily Mail – “Cherie, a crook and the proof No 10 lied”
Health Writer of the Year - Sarah Kate-Templeton (Sunday Herald)
Hugh Cudlipp Award - Anton Antonowicz and Phil Spencer (Daily Mirror) story behind the public Taliban execution of an Afghan widow
Interviewer of the Year - Sean O’Hagan (Observer)
Motoring Writer of the Year - Jeremy Clarkson (Sunday Times)
Photographer of the Year - John Giles (Press Association)
Political Journalist of the Year - Simon Walters (Mail on Sunday)
Property Writer of the Year - Anne Spackman (Times)
Reporter of the Year - Steve Dennis (Daily Mirror) Paul Burrell’s exclusive
Scoop of the Year - Daily Mirror 3am column – England manager Sven Goran Eriksson’s fling with Ulrika Jonsson
Showbusiness Reporter of the Year - Baz Bamigboye (Daily Mail)
Specialist Writer of the Year - Jonathon Carr-Brown (Sunday Times)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Marc Aspland (Times)
Sports Reporter of the Year - David Lacey (Guardian)
Sports Writer of the Year - Paul Hayward (Daily Telegraph)
Supplement of the Year - Sunday Times Culture magazine
Team of the Year - Daily Mirror – coverage of the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman
Travel Writer of the Year - Nigel Tisdall (Sunday Telegraph)
Young Journalist of the Year - Johann Hari (Independent)
Notes: According to The Herald (March 19, 2003): The Herald and its sister paper, the Sunday Herald, triumphed yesterday at the “Oscars” of British journalism, beating off competition from across the UK. Michael Tierney of The Herald won the Feature Writer of the Year category at the British Press Awards 2003, defeating shortlisted candidates from the Daily Mail, Sunday Times, the Times, the Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard. He was nominated for a series of features on the Ku Klux Klan, punishment beatings in Belfast, and suicide bombers. Judges praised Tierney for “producing a stark piece of journalism” and “bringing a sharp intelligence and humanity to his writing”. Tierney said: “I am really delighted to have accepted this award on behalf of everyone at The Herald and The Herald magazine. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes and although I am the one receiving the award, this is for everyone at the magazine. It is a great privilege to receive this and it makes all the hard work worthwhile…”
… Health editor of the Sunday Herald, Sarah Kate-Templeton, won the Health Writer of the Year award against competition from the Independent on Sunday, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Daily Mirror…
Press Gazette (March 19, 2003): The Daily Mail has been named newspaper of the year at the British Press Awards 2003. Its determined questioning of the government, not only on the subject of the war, but on many other issues, combined with its professional, polished presentation day in and day out won the day. One judge described it as “the only real Government Opposition party”. Another said: “It understands the fears and prejudices of its readers which is why it is loved and hated by journalists in equal measures, but never ignored.”
Daily Mirror (March 20, 2003): The Hugh Cudlipp Award – a shocking TV documentary showing the public Taliban execution of an Afghan widow in a football stadium sickened millions of viewers. Feature writer Anton Antonowicz and photographer Phil Spencer went to Kabul to find out who the woman behind the veil was and why she died. They discovered she was 35-year-old Zarmina who had endured years of abuse before she finally snapped and killed her violent husband. Anton and Phil's tenacity – they got the only picture of her – landed them the Hugh Cudlipp award, named after the legendary Mirror chief. The judges said: “Millions wanted to know who this woman was. Antonowicz and Spencer fulfilled their assignment against all the odds with an outstanding piece of journalistic initiative.”
Daily Mail (March 20, 2003): The Daily Mail has once again been voted Newspaper of the Year in the British Press Awards - universally regarded as the Oscars of British journalism. This marks a record-breaking third time in the past five years that the Mail – described as “the must-read paper that sets the agenda” – has won this accolade. In their citation the judges said: “The Daily Mail's determined questioning of the government, combined with its professional, polished presentation, won the day. It understands the fears and prejudices of its readers, which is why it is loved and hated by journalists in equal measures...but never ignored.” The Mail also won the Front Page of the Year award for its issue headlined “Cherie, a crook and the proof No10 lied” – a story “everybody ignored until the Daily Mail provided the proof”, the judges said.
Press Gazette (March 20, 2003): The (main) award was accepted this time by the paper’s proprietor, Lord Rothermere, and acting editor Alastair Sinclair because editor-in-chief Paul Dacre had undergone surgery that day. Rothermere, who said of Dacre “What a man; what a great journalist”, told Press Gazette he would take the BPA trophy to Dacre to help speed his recovery. “He will be thrilled. This will be the best medicine he could have,” he said. “I’ve no doubt that Paul, when he gets better, will be trying much harder for another award so he’ll be here next time.”
For himself, Rothermere said he was buoyed up at owning such an award-winning title: “It’s a wonderful thing – what a great privilege it is to be me!” he quipped…
…There were several absentees at the awards – The Sun and the News of the World were at the Grosvenor House Hotel holding their own niche awards night and the four Express Newspapers titles were also missing – but it was still an occasion to remember for the British national press.
Mail on Sunday (March 23, 2003): Political Editor Simon Walters has been named Political Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards. Walters scooped the honour for a string of exclusives last year, including how Downing Street tried to hijack the Queen Mother’s funeral for Tony Blair, Prince Charles’s letter-writing campaigns to Ministers and a Tory MP’s £100,000 bogus expenses claims.
Sunday Times (March 23, 2003): The Sunday Times Driving columnist Jeremy Clarkson was last week voted motoring writer of the year at the prestigious British Press Awards. The judges said that motoring was seen by some as one of the most untrustworthy forms of journalism, but praised Clarkson for his fearless style. They said he was “at the very front of the vanguard of journalists who aren't afraid of being hard on manufacturers”. Clarkson, the judges added, was the clear winner in a strong field and commended for “writing like a journalist and not like a television personality”. One judge noted: “He writes about cars not only with a depth of knowledge, but also as a human being and a parent of kids who sometimes vomit over seats you can’t clean.”
Newspaper of the Year - Independent
Business Journalist of the Year - Neil Buckley (Financial Times)
Cartoonist of the Year - Trog – Wally Fawkes (Sunday Telegraph)
Columnist of the Year - Boris Johnson (Daily Telegraph)
Critic of the Year - Brian Sewell (Evening Standard)
Feature Writer of the Year - Carol Midgley (Times)
Financial Journalist of the Year - Simon Watkins (Mail on Sunday)
Food and Drink Writer of the Year - John Carlin (Observer)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - James Meek (Guardian)
Front Page of the Year - News of the World – “Huntley in his cell”
Hugh Cudlipp Award - Ryan Parry (Daily Mirror)
Interviewer of the Year - Robert Crampton (Times)
Motoring Writer of the Year - Quentin Willson (Sunday Mirror)
Photographer of the Year - Terry Richards (The Sun)
Political Journalist of the Year - Matthew d’Ancona (Sunday Teleraph)
Property Writer of the Year - Anne Spackman (Times)
Reporter of the Year - John Kay (The Sun)
Scoop of the Year - Ryan Parry (Daily Mirror) “Intruder at the Palace”
Showbusiness Reporter of the Year - Rav Singh (News of the World)
Special Gold Award - Hugo Young (Guardian)
Specialist Writer of the Year - David Leppard (Sunday Times)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Tom Jenkins (Guardian)
Sports Reporter of the Year - Neil Custis (The Sun)
Sports Writer of the Year - David Walsh (Sunday Times)
Supplement of the Year - How to Spend It magazine – Financial Times
Team of the Year - Daily Telegraph (Patrick Bishop, David Blair, Jack Fairweather, John Keegan and Oliver Poole) for its coverage of the war in Iraq
Travel Writer of the Year - Steve Bleach (Sunday Times)
Young Journalist of the Year - Elizabeth Day (Sunday Telegraph)
Notes: According to Independent (March 16, 2004): The annual extravaganza that is the British Press Awards has grown rich from humble beginnings. Conceived, launched and administered jointly by The People and World’s Press News (a long-since defunct trade paper) in the 1960s, it is now a fat cash cow that, along with other awards events, contributes greatly to the profits of Quantum Business Media, publishers of Press Gazette. Initially, just three judges decided on the handful of categories that made up the Hannen Swaffer Awards, named after The People’s celebrated former editor and columnist who died in 1962.
The then International Publishing Company took over the awards when it acquired Odhams Press and, in 1969, two major gongs, two runners-up and a special condemnation went to the fledgling, respectable IPC Sun, which barely had time to get up on the rostrum to collect before it was flogged off to Rupert Murdoch and given a mini-skirt and a boob job. Thereafter, as the British Press Awards, Mirror Group ran the competition and, despite collecting a raft of associates over the years – from Associated Newspapers and The Times to Westminster Press – bore the brunt of the cost.
A few random facts gleaned from the files of Press Gazette: only eight categories were contested in 1977; the following year there were 11 categories and eight judges; entries reached 334 in 1980; the prize money for winners and those commended totalled more than £9,000 in 1989, by which time nine other papers or publishing groups had become partners of Mirror Group.
That’s when Robert Maxwell decided that he didn’t really want to spend upwards of £20,000, plus the considerable cost of organising the entries, the judging and what by then had become a lavish presentation dinner. MGN bowed out.
UK Press Gazette, as it was known pre-Quantum, became involved the following year, when there were 16 categories and the prize money still more than £9,000. Fast forward to this year, when a record entry of 940 are contesting 27 categories – excluding any special awards – and the prize money is... absolutely zilch, except for a donated £5,000 bursary for the young journalist of the year.
MediaGuardian (March 17, 2004): Boris Johnson wasn’t able to pick up his award for columnist of the year because he was far, far away...at home. Apparently he offered to hotfoot it from Highbury to Park Lane to collect the gong, but was told it was a bit late for that sort of thing, and Telegraph editor Martin Newland did the honours for him…In another break from tradition, presenter Michael Buerk actually managed to hold the attention of the audience for the majority of the marathon prize-giving. He had the assorted hacks on side from the start with a nice line in self-deprecation and a gag or two hauled out of the old jokes’ home and shocked back into life. “I have come straight from the BBC and the first thing I’d like to do is apologise. I haven’t done it yet, but I’m sorry – for everything. There will be an inquiry,” he said. Clearly infused with the spirit of the late Les Dawson, Buerk went on: “Before Greg left, I asked him if I could have a pay rise. The answer came back, ‘No, you can’t’. You’d think, being director general of the BBC, he’d have learned to spell properly”. Boom boom…
…The Independent’s hotly tipped award for newspaper of the year was greeted magnanimously by most of its competitors. But editor Simon Kelner wasn’t going to let the occasion pass without a dig at one media commentator. In his speech he singled out the Guardian’s press pundit. “Thank you to Roy Greenslade, who predicted on the week we launched that this would mean the decline of the Independent.” At least, Monkey thinks that’s what he said – it was difficult to hear over the ear-splitting shrieks of delight emanating from Janet Street-Porter, who literally jumped with joy on hearing the Independent named as paper of the year. The former Live TV boss, who had a fairly disastrous spell as editor of the Independent on Sunday, now has the ambiguous title of editor-at-large at the paper.
Guardian (March 17, 2004): James Meek was named foreign reporter of the year for his investigation of conditions at Guantánamo Bay. His writing on the internment camp was hailed by the judges as an outstanding piece of journalism on a shortlist that contained “some of the finest examples of foreign reporting seen in 30 years of journalism”. It was, said the judges, a “brilliant investigation, brilliantly told, exhaustively researched and very well written”…
… Hugo Young, the Guardian’s revered political columnist, who died last year, was honoured with a special posthumous gold award…
… It was also a good night for Ryan Parry, the trainee Daily Mirror reporter who posed as a royal footman – winning scoop of the year and the Hugh Cudlipp award for what the judges described as a “classic scoop of genuine public interest”.
Times (March 18, 2004): Robert Crampton, of The Times, scooped the Interviewer of the Year award, earning praise for an interview with John Reid, the Health Secretary, which showed “the beauty behind the bruiser”, and his success in persuading Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, to discuss his “feminine side”.
Independent (March 23, 2004): …For newspaper journalists, the most glittering event is the British Press Awards, held last week in some splendour for more than 900 guests at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane. The prizegiving came at the end of a rigorous judging process, of which I was chairman, requiring a panel of 40 judges to read a mountain of cuttings from more than 900 entrants in 27 different categories of journalism...
…Those who denigrate the British press should read the war reporting from Iraq, particularly the great team effort from The Daily Telegraph, despite the uncertainties over the paper's future. There have always been great war reporters, but there were never so many – and an increasing number of them women – writing at the same time. Robert Fisk, Mark Franchetti, Marie Colvin, Ross Benson, all produced memorable pieces that would have won in another year, but the competition was so fierce that none of them reached the Hilton podium...
…Investigative journalism is another area that has improved vastly over the past 20 years. Every scoop on the shortlist might have won in another year. Ryan Parry’s undercover stories from inside Buckingham Palace for the Daily Mirror – exposing the lack of security on the eve of the visit by President Bush – simply had to win, which meant there was no award for David McGee’s bold adventure as a warder in Ian Huntley’s prison for the News of the World. The Sunday Times’s leaks about the honours list were another fine example…Donald Trelford was editor of The Observer between 1975 and 1993, and is now the chairman of judges of the British Press Awards and the chairman of the London Press Club.
Newspaper of the Year - News of the World
Business Journalist of the Year - Ian Griffiths (Guardian)
Cartoonist of the Year - Bill Caldwell (The Sun)
Columnist of the Year - Peter Hitchens (Mail on Sunday)
Critic of the Year - Sukhdev Sandhu (Daily Telegraph)
Feature Photographer of the Year - Richard Cannon (Times)
Feature Writer of the Year - AA Gill (Sunday Times)
Financial Journalist of the Year - Ian King (The Sun)
Food and Drink Writer of the Year - Giles Coren (Times)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Hala Jaber (Sunday Times)
Front Page of the Year - The Sun – Hutton Report Leaked
Hugh Cudlipp Award - The Sun – Band Aid
Interviewer of the Year - Robert Chalmers (Independent on Sunday)
Motoring Writer of the Year - Jeremy Clarkson (Sunday Times)
News Photographer of the Year - Roger Allen (Daily Mirror)
Political Journalist of the Year - Simon Walters (Mail on Sunday)
Property Writer of the Year - Christopher Middleton (Daily Telegraph)
Reporter of the Year - Trevor Kavanagh (The Sun)
Scoop of the Year - News of the World – David Beckham’s Secret Affair
Showbusiness Reporter of the Year - Debbie Manley (People)
Specialist Writer of the Year - Julie Henry (Sunday Telegraph)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Mark Pain (Mail on Sunday)
Sports Reporter of the Year - Jeff Powell (Daily Mail)
Sports Writer of the Year - Oliver Holt (Daily Mirror)
Supplement of the Year - The Herald Saturday magazine
Team of the Year - Sunday Telegraph – undercover investigations into illegal abortions
Travel Writer of the Year - Tim Moore (Observer)
Young Journalist of the Year - Ryan Sabey (News of the World)
Notes: According to Guardian Unlimited (March 16, 2005): News International swept the board at last night’s British Press Awards with 13 gongs including newspaper of the year for News of the World, which marked the year with a string of sex scandals involving David Beckham, David Blunkett and Sven-Goran Ericsson. Editor Andy Coulson said he was thrilled after he carried away the biggest award of the night, praising his “dedicated and unique” staff.
The judges said that the paper, which is rarely honoured at an industry awards, had had “a cracking year” and praised it for its “vitality, originality and leading the way with some of the biggest stories of the year”.
The News of the World began the year with the sensational scoop that David Beckham, widely held to be a paragon of footballing and domestic virtue, had had an affair with his personal assistant Rebecca Loos. Later revelations that the England football manager had been having an affair with FA secretary Faria Alam and that the former home secretary, David Blunkett, had been seeing a married woman clinched the award for the paper.
One judge said: “I like stories that are denied point-blank by officialdom and then turn out to be true. And that's what the News of the World specialises in.”
The award was a major accolade for Mr Coulson, who is being seen as a rising star within Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire…
...Associated’s free newspaper, Metro, made history as the first freesheet to be nominated for best newspaper of the year – although early speculation that it might pick up an award was quickly dismissed.
As one judge said privately later: “That would have sent out an extraordinary message from the newspaper industry.”
MediaGuardian (March 18, 2005): The annual Press Awards are on the verge of collapse with 11 newspaper editors withdrawing support from the event after it descended into a “carnival of hate” symbolised, this year, by Bob Geldof’s extraordinary rant against the Mail, Mirror and Independent newspapers.
Newspaper editors were infuriated by Geldof’s tirade at the Hilton hotel in London on Tuesday night where more than 800 journalists gathered for what has become the single most important awards event in the industry. Sources say there is a strong feeling among editors that the awards no longer represent the endeavours of the press, who in the last year have covered everything from the Beslan massacre and the tsunami disaster to the Hutton inquiry, and sensational sex scandals involving David Beckham and David Blunkett.
“The decline in the conduct and prestige of the British Press Awards has prompted a number of national newspaper editors to announce that they can no longer support this event in its present format.
“The editors of The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday believe the organisation of these awards brings little credit to the industry or to the newspapers who win them,” the editors said in a joint statement this afternoon.
“Following the Press Awards ceremony earlier this week, discussions are now going on about what should happen in the future,” it added.
The Evening Standard has also, tonight, added its name to the list of papers boycotting the event and it is expected that the Financial Times and Mirror group of newspapers will also follow suit over the coming days, leaving only the News International titles in support of the Press Awards.
The Sun and the News of the World, Times and Sunday Times are unlikely to follow suit – they collected 13 of the 28 awards with the Sunday Tabloid picking up newspaper of the year…
… One national newspaper editor said the Geldof and Clarkson comments were the last straw for the event which is now as well known for drunken behaviour and verbal and physical punch-ups as it is as an industry forum to recognise the journalistic achievements of the year. “The carnival of hate atmosphere has taken over – it is a horrible event full of loathing. But at the same time you can’t miss it,” said one newspaper executive.
Last year, there was a punch-up between TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson and the former Mirror editor, Piers Morgan, after they traded insults about their respective private lives.
And three years ago there was a mass walkout by News International titles because they felt the organizers didn’t recognize the talents of tabloid journalists and in particular those of the News of the World which had entered its royal scoop about Sophie Rhys-Jones courtesy of its “fake sheikh”.
Ian Reeves, the editor of the Press Gazette said: “The Press Awards are organised and judged in consultation with the entire national newspaper industry every year. Its judges are made up of journalists from all the main groups, nominated by their editors. As ever we will be consulting very closely and obtaining feedback from this year’s event.”
Newspaper of the Year - Guardian
Business and Financial Journalist of the Year - Hamish McRae (Independent)
Cartoonist of the Year - Gerald Scarfe (Sunday Times)
Columnist of the Year - Lucy Kellaway (Financial Times)
Critic of the Year - Jay Rayner (Observer)
Feature Writer of the Year - Bryan Appleyard (Sunday Times)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Hala Jaber (Sunday Times)
Front Page of the Year - The Sun – “Harry the Nazi”
Interviewer of the Year - Rachel Cooke (Observer)
Photographer of the Year - Edmond Terakopian (freelance) – for images of the 2005 London tube bombings; pictures were syndicated by the Press Association
Political Journalist of the Year - Francis Elliott (Independent on Sunday)
Reporter of the Year - Oliver Harvey (The Sun)
Scoop of the Year - Stephen Moyes (Daily Mirror) “Cocaine Kate”
Showbusiness Writer of the Year - Victoria Newton (The Sun)
Specialist of the Year - Michael Smith (Sunday Times)
Sports Journalist of the Year - Oliver Holt (Daily Mirror)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Tom Jenkins (Guardian)
Supplement of the Year - Observer Food Monthly
Team of the Year - Daily Mirror – the 7/7 London bomb attacks
The Cudlipp Award - News of the World – “What about the victims?” campaign for July 7 survivors
Young Journalist of the Year - Lucy Bannerman (The Herald)
Notes: According to Press Gazette website (March 3, 2006): Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow is to host the revamped British Press Awards, to be held later this month at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Snow is currently in Iran, from where he will host a week of Channel 4 News specials, and is one of the country’s most respected journalists. He’s no stranger to awards, having picked up plenty of them during a career spanning four decades…Snow will preside over a very different British Press Awards event compared to recent years. The 2006 ceremony on the evening of 20 March will be a more exclusive event, with just 450 guests attending compared with more than 900 in recent years. The presentations to winners in 21 categories – also significantly fewer than previously – will be made at the beginning, rather than the end, of the evening, with dinner served afterwards. There are no individual sponsors for categories this year. Instead, the event has a single overall sponsor, Vodafone.
Press Gazette managing director Simon Read said: “We are delighted that Vodafone has agreed to sponsor the British Press Awards. Securing a partner with such global reach and significance highlights how much the awards have grown in stature and importance, and how much they can grow further. It's a powerful partnership that will produce a remarkable event.”
Source: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=33431
Independent (March 20, 2006): Tonight is prize-giving at the Dorchester for the re-branded British Press Awards, run by the new owners of Press Gazette, PR man Matthew Freud and former Mirror editor Piers Morgan. There will be fewer guests, fewer categories, fewer sponsors – and the awards will be handed out at the start, presumably before anyone can get drunk.
Guardian (March 21, 2006): The Guardian was named newspaper of the year at the British Press Awards last night, six months after its historic change from broadsheet to Berliner format. The home secretary, Charles Clarke, presented the prize to the paper’s editor, Alan Rusbridger, praising the Guardian for its new design and for its intelligent contribution to the British press. Rusbridger said: “It was the most important year in the Guardian's recent history. In many respects it has been a lonely year, but I always had the conviction that one of the most important things about the British press is its variety and it would have been a dull old world if we had followed everyone else tabloid. This award celebrates something different, and that we have succeeded in our ambitions…”
…Some industry figures claimed that this year’s British Press Awards were devalued because three of Britain’s biggest newspaper groups – the Telegraph Group, Associated Newspapers and Express Newspapers – boycotted the event. Their decision stems from last year's event, when an excess of alcohol, competitiveness and ill-feeling conspired to put the ceremony in the news for the wrong reasons. Sir Bob Geldof also made headlines when he took to the stage to attack the Daily Mail's coverage of Comic Relief as “a disgrace” and had a stand-up row with the Daily Mirror editor, Richard Wallace.
Although the new owners of Press Gazette, the trade magazine which organises the ceremony, tried to win back the dissatisfied publishers, they stood firm. As a result, the event was boycotted by the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, the London Evening Standard, Metro, the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Express, the Sunday Express and the Daily Star.
Newspaper of the Year - Observer
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year - Liam Halligan (Sunday Telegraph)
Cartoonist of the Year - Peter Brookes (Times)
Columnist of the Year - Polly Toynbee (Guardian)
Critic of the Year - Craig Brown (Mail on Sunday)
Feature Writer of the Year - Michael Tierney (The Herald)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Christina Lamb (Sunday Times)
Front Page of the Year - Daily Mirror – “My Affair: By Prezza”
Interviewer of the Year - Jan Moir (Daily Telegraph)
Photographer of the Year - Andrew Stenning (Daily Mirror)
Political Journalist of the Year - Patrick Wintour (Guardian)
Reporter of the Year - Sheila McNulty (Financial Times) for her revelations about the BP Texas Oil Disaster
Scoop of the Year - Stephen Moyes (Daily Mirror) John Prescott’s two-year affair with Tracey Temple
Showbusiness Writer of the Year - Fiona Cummins (Daily Mirror)
Specialist Writer of the Year - Sheila McNulty (Financial Times)
Sports Journalist of the Year - Ian Ridley (Mail on Sunday)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Tom Jenkins (Guardian)
Supplement of the Year - Guardian’s Guides to...
Team of the Year - Sunday Times – Cash for Honours scandal
The Cudlipp Award - Daily Mail – Armed Services Memorial Campaign
Young Journalist of the Year - Ed Caesar (Independent)
Notes: According to Financial Times (March 27, 2007): Sheila McNulty, the FT’s Houston correspondent, was named reporter of the year and specialist writer of the year in the British Press Awards for her ground-breaking investigative coverage of BP’s safety problems in the US, notably the Texas City refinery explosion in 2005 in which 15 people died and 500 were injured.
“She blew the lid on BP’s attempts to smooth over the scandal of its US disaster. It was proper, serious ground-breaking journalism of the sort that everyone who enters our trade hopes to emulate,” said the judges, who were unanimous in their decision.
The reporter of the year award is “for the story-breakers of the national press”, according to organisers the Press Association, the UK national news agency, and Press Gazette, the trade magazine.
“The judges were looking for exclusives, expertly researched and brilliantly told for the target audience. Tenacity, investigative flair and an ability to handle different subjects carefully all scored highly.”
Times (March 30, 2007): The British Press Awards restored much-needed credibility on Monday. The winners were spread between heavies and tabloids, and paid-for Max Clifford stories did not dominate. Sheila McNulty, of the Financial Times, scored a surprise for a financial journalist by winning reporter of the year for reporting about the BP safety scandal. The Daily Mirror won scoop of the year for its revelation of John Prescott’s affair. The award for newspaper of the year went to The Observer, after a period when the upbeat Sunday, edited by Roger Alton, made a success of the Berliner format. The paper needed the accolade. Insiders at Guardian Media Group say that The Observer has been talked down by Alan Rusbridger, the Editor of The Guardian. Now Mr Alton can answer back.
Observer (April 1, 2007): The Observer was named Newspaper of the Year at last week’s British Press Awards. The award is the most prestigious in UK journalism. The judges said: “It is the one national newspaper to see a real step-change to becoming the most innovative and stylish newspaper of 2006. Journalistic and creative flair are the keynotes of a new and uniquely readable compact format. The Observer is a great Sunday package for a modern metropolitan audience…”
Newspaper of the Year - Financial Times
Journalist of the Year - Andrew Gilligan (Evening Standard)
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year - Gillian Tett (Financial Times)
Campaign of the Year - Help For Heroes – The Sun (Tom Newton Dunn)
Cartoonist of the Year - Matt Pritchett (Daily and Sunday Telegraph)
Columnist of the Year - Matthew Norman (Independent)
Critic of the Year - Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph)
Digital Journalist of the Year - Sean Smith (Guardian)
Feature Writer of the Year - AA Gill (Sunday Times)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (Guardian)
International Journalist of the Year - Emadeddin Baghi, Iran
Interviewer of the Year - Chrissy Iley (freelance – Observer magazine and Sunday Times magazine)
Photographer of the Year - Jeremy Selwyn (Evening Standard)
Political Journalist of the Year - Philip Stephens (Financial Times)
Press Gazette Special Award - Paul Dacre (Daily Mail)
Reporter of the Year - Tom Newton Dunn (The Sun)
Scoop of the Year - Tom Newton Dunn (The Sun) for “Friendly fire kills Matty Hull”
Showbusiness Reporter of the Year - Sean Hamilton (Sunday Mirror)
Sports Journalist of the Year - Martin Samuel (Times)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Andy Hooper (Daily Mail)
Supplement of the Year - You, Mail on Sunday, and Live, Mail on Sunday
The Cudlipp Award - The Sun – Help For Heroes campaign
Website of the Year - Guardian.co.uk
Young Journalist of the Year - Kate Mansey (Sunday Mirror)
Notes: According to Guardian Unlimited (April 9, 2008): The Financial Times was named newspaper of the year at last night's British Press Awards and the Sun's Tom Newton Dunn was among the other big winners, collecting four prizes.
Paul Dacre, the Daily Mail editor, was given the special award by events organiser Press Gazette, while London Evening Standard investigative reporter Andrew Gilligan was named journalist of the year.
Dacre and Gilligan’s awards were presented by the Conservative leader, David Cameron, last night’s guest speaker.
Cameron praised the 800 journalists gathered at the event for respecting the news blackout of Prince Harry’s deployment to Afghanistan, saying it showed a free press acting responsibly. “I thought that was something everyone in this room can be incredibly proud of,” he said...
...Gilligan won journalist of the year for his series of articles investigating misuse of public funds at the London Development Agency. He beat Nick Davies of the Guardian, Sun editor Rebekah Wade, Christina Lamb of the Sunday Times and the late Bill Deedes of the Daily Telegraph.
At the end of the night, the Press Gazette special award, presented only occasionally, was given to Dacre for his 18-year career as editor first at the Evening Standard and later at the Daily Mail and for overseeing the launch of Metro as editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers.
For the first time, the British Press Awards also honoured journalists outside the UK, with the inaugural international journalist of the year award.
This went to Iranian journalist Emadeddin Baghi, who has been imprisoned by the state for a second time. Baghi was unable to attend last night's BPA ceremony at London's Grosvenor House hotel and a representative from Amnesty International collected his award...
...As Gilligan took to the stage, event host Jon Snow said the judges had awarded him the prize for his relentless investigations and that the reporter was “back in the news for all the right reasons”.
Gilligan paid tribute to the Evening Standard, which hired him after he was forced to leave the BBC in the wake of the Hutton report. He said he felt the award vindicated his work.
The judges described Dacre as “a unique journalist and editor who translates conviction, passion and vast experience into enduring success for his newspapers”.
“I would just like to thank all the wonderful, selfless, brilliant journalists I have worked with on the Mail past and present,” Dacre said. “And I would also like to thank the Rothermeres for giving editors that priceless gift – the freedom to edit.”
Evening Standard (April 9, 2008): Guest of honour David Cameron could not resist a dig at Lib-Dem rival Nick “no more than 30 lovers” Clegg at the British Press Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel last night. Clegg couldn’t be here tonight, said Cameron, because he is “resting at home”. The Tory leader added that Clegg was busy writing an article on “why supermodels are crap in bed”.
The Sun (April 9, 2008): The Sun’s brilliant exclusives and campaigning journalism scooped an amazing four gongs at the prestigious British Press Awards last night – more than any other newspaper. Our Defence Editor Tom Newton Dunn collected two for Reporter of the Year and Scoop of the Year in the newspaper industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.
Both were in recognition of his exclusive story about Lance Corporal Matty Hull, 25, who was killed by friendly fire from a US plane in Iraq, and the subsequent cover-up.
The front page report on February 6 last year revealed a secret tape, in which one pilot was heard saying “God dammit!” after blasting an Allied convoy in 2003. The Sun’s Help For Heroes campaign also won two gongs – the Cudlipp Award, which celebrates popular journalism, and Campaign Of The Year.
The appeal, launched in October, has so far raised Pounds 4million to support British troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Help For Heroes, which urges readers to buy wristbands, aims to raise £7million for a pool and gym at the forces’ rehab centre Headley Court in Surrey. Our Tom – who has repeatedly reported from alongside Our Boys in Basra – was highly commended in the presentation of the Cudlipp Award and also in the Journalist of the Year category.
The gongs were presented at a ceremony hosted by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
Newspaper of the year - Times
Journalist of the Year - Gillian Tett (Financial Times)
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year - Stephen Foley (Independent)
Campaign of the Year - “Family Courts” – Times (Camilla Cavendish)
Cartoonist of the Year - Matt Pritchett (Daily Telegraph)
Columnist of the Year - Charlie Brooker (Guardian)
Critic of the Year - Philip French (Observer)
Digital Journalist of the Year - Dave Hill (Guardian.co.uk)
Feature Writer of the Year - Philip Jacobson (freelance – Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday)
Foreign Reporter of the Year - Dan McDougall (freelance – Observer, News of the World and Mail on Sunday’s Live magazine)
International Journalist of the Year - Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand, Iran
Interviewer of the Year - Decca Aitkenhead (Guardian)
Photographer of the Year - Stefan Rousseau (PA Photos)
Political Journalist of the Year - Quentin Letts (Daily Mail)
Reporter of the Year - Christopher Leake (Mail on Sunday)
Scoop of the Year - Miles Goslett (Mail on Sunday) “Ross & Brand” BBC telephone scandal
Showbiz Reporter of the Year - James Desborough (News of the World)
Specialist Journalist of the Year - Stephen Wright (Daily Mail)
Sports Journalist of the Year - Matthew Syed (Times)
Sports Photographer of the Year - Richard Pelham (The Sun)
Supplement of the Year - You Magazine, Mail on Sunday
The Cudlipp Award - Daily Mail (Richard Pendlebury and Stephen Wright) – “Race War at the Yard”, investigation into police Commander Ali Dizaei
Website of the Year - Guardian.co.uk
Young Journalist of the Year - Tom Harper (Mail on Sunday)
Notes: According to Press Gazette website (April 1, 2009): International Journalist of the Year – Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand, Iran. He is serving a 10-year prison term and is also understood to be in critical medical condition. Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand is a prominent human rights defender, journalist, and founder in 2005 of a group that seeks to protect the rights of Iranian Kurds, the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK). Through his human rights and journalism work, Kaboudvand was instrumental in creating a civil society network for Kurdish youth and activists…
…Journalist of the Year – Gillian Tett, Financial Times. She is one of the few journalists who can claim to have spotted the current economic crisis coming and to have warned her readers about it. She has continued to write with unrivalled authority about what may be the biggest story of our generation. As one of the editors said: “She has consistently rem
