Tag: Newsbrands Scotland

Shortlist revealed for 45th Scottish Press Awards

Over 100 entries have been shortlisted for the 45th Scottish Press Awards, it has been announced. The awards recognise excellence in national, regional, and digital journalism from across the country.

With 26 categories featuring a mix of several long-standing award titles complemented by a range of new-look categories, the judges have received a flood of entries, representing the finest talent from across the industry.

The finalists will be hoping to scoop an award from a range of categories including politics, business, sport, and the arts.

This full list of categories for 2024 includes:

  • 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)
  • Scottish Newsbrand of the Year
  • News Photographer of the Year
  • Nicola Barry Award
  • Podcast of the Year
  • Political Journalist of the Year
  • Regional Journalist of the Year
  • Reporter 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
  • Sports Photographer of the Year
  • Weekly Journalist of the Year
  • Weekly Newsbrand of the Year
  • Young Journalist of the Year
  • Journalist of the Year (not applicable for entry, chosen by the judges)

Shortlists for the sought-after Scottish Newsbrand of the Year, Journalist of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Award have not been revealed as winners will be announced on the night of the ceremony. The shortlist for Weekly Newsbrand of the Year will be revealed in May.

This year’s judging panel was led by Richard Neville, former Head of News Brands at DC Thomson, and current Director of Neville Robertson Communications.

Richard Neville, chair of the Scottish Press Awards judges, said: “It has been fantastic to see the quality of entries to this year’s awards. The talent in this industry stretches right across the spectrum of digital and print publishing and across every region of the country.

“The need for incisive, challenging journalism grows every year and Scotland’s journalists have risen to the task in the past 12 months.

“Telling good stories will always be at the heart of what the industry does but holding the rich, powerful, and opportunistic chancers to account is of equal importance. It is clear from this year’s shortlist that Scotland is not a place to come to avoid scrutiny.”

The 45th Scottish Press Awards are sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, Diageo, VisitScotland, Edrington, Openreach, Glenmorangie, The Law Society of Scotland, Caledonian MacBrayne, Registers of Scotland, Muckle Media, Amazon, Women in Journalism Scotland, BIG Partnership, Weber Shandwick, Event Consultants Scotland and Newsbrands Scotland.

Overseen by Newsbrands Scotland (formerly the Scottish Newspaper Society), the awards ceremony and dinner will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on 29 May 2024.

For more information and to view the shortlist, visit:

Shortlist announced for 45th Scottish Press Awards

45th Scottish Press Awards Open for Entries

Full recognition of multi-platform news publishing has been put at the heart of the highly coveted Scottish Press Awards as it returns for its 45th year with entry open now.

Replacing the newspaper and weekly newspaper of the year awards are the new Newsbrand of the year and Weekly Newsbrand of the year categories which will recognize excellence in news publishing across all formats under a title’s brand.

Overseen by Newsbrands Scotland (formerly the Scottish Newspaper Society), entry opened today (4 January 2024), with the awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday, May 29.

John McLellan, director at Newsbrands Scotland, 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.”

Celebrating excellence in journalism from across the country, this year’s scheme includes 27 categories, and features several long-standing award titles complemented by a range of new-look categories.

Among them is the Campaign of the Year category that welcomes the national, regional, and local campaigns that have made an impact within communities.

The Weekly Journalist of the Year will celebrate the best of news and feature writers from weekly titles, whilst the Regional Journalist of the Year invites entries from inspiring local and regional reporters.

This full list of categories for 2024 are: 

  • 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)

This year’s judging panel will be led by Richard Neville, former Head of News Brands at DC Thomson and current Director of Neville Robertson Communications.

John McLellan added: “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.”

The 45th Scottish Press Awards are sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, Diageo, VisitScotland, Edrington, Openreach, Glenmorangie, The Law Society of Scotland, Caledonian MacBrayne, Registers of Scotland, Muckle Media, Women in Journalism Scotland, BIG Partnership, Weber Shandwick, Event Consultants Scotland and Newsbrands Scotland

Last year’s event saw Press Association photographer, Jane Barlow,become the first ever photographer to win the coveted Journalist of the Year category as well as the Photographer of the Year category for her moving final public picture of the Queen days before her death.

Other big winners at the 44th annual awards included the Scottish Daily Mail, which won the Newspaper of the Year and Journalism Team of the Year categories for its coverage of the Queen’s death and overall consistency as a product. 

The awards ceremony and dinner will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on 29 May 2024. For more information please visit: 

https://www.newsbrandsscotland.com/to-enter/

Hold the front page: Rebrand for Scottish Newspaper Society

The trade association for Scotland’s news publishers, the Scottish Newspaper Society, has been renamed Newsbrands Scotland, dropping “newspaper” from its title for the first time in a history stretching back 108 years.

While printed newspapers remain an important part of news publishers’ operations, the name change reflects modern newsrooms which reach far bigger audiences through digital platforms, with news operations working round the clock to deliver news to readers in the format they want, when they want it.

Newsbrands Scotland’s inaugural president, National World plc’s chief commercial officer Mark Hollinshead, said: “Our newsbrands reach more people than they ever did in the print-only days and the new name of our trade association reflects the multi-platform reality of the modern newsroom.”

Industry research [TGI, December 2022] shows that nine out of ten adults in Scotland engage with print or digital newsbrands at least once a week and are seven per cent more likely to rely on newspapers to stay informed than UK adults. And according to the latest JICREG analysis, 96 per cent of Scots read a local brand once a month.

Mark added: “Ever since the advent of the internet, Scottish news publishers have been evolving and innovating to keep their audiences well-served with up-to-the-minute, trusted information and analysis, and the audience figures speak for themselves.

“Scottish newsbrands keep communities across the country well-informed and connected, have a vital role to play in holding national and local politicians to account for the decisions they make, and are an essential means for services, businesses and charities to communicate with their users and customers.”

Further research from the news industry marketing body Newsworks reveals people are 2.4 times more likely to find news brands reliable than social media, and three-quarters believe it is important their news comes from a respected and recognised news provider.

Newsbrands Scotland director John McLellan said “Our titles continue to provide a depth and breadth of coverage that few, if any, networks can match, and the fact that all our members are independently regulated is also vital for maintaining public trust.

“Readers want to know they are being provided with professionally produced news, and our commercial partners benefit because readers recognise they are in a trusted environment.

“News publishers also continue to support and train the journalists of the future, and it’s important for our name to reflect an industry that is always looking forward.”

The rebranding project was a collaborative effort across member companies, with the branding design produced by DC Thomson and the marketing campaign devised by National World, with input from News UK and Newsquest Scotland.

“This was a very good example of publishers working together for the benefit of the whole sector in Scotland, whether society members or not,” added John McLellan.