The Scottish Press Awards took place last night at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Argyle Street. Everywhere you looked there was somebody who looked familiar. (Even Fred Macaulay was there!)
The winners were announced by the super professional Tam Cowan with the Chair of the Judges Austin Lafferty doing a good job in ushering the winners into position for the obligatory photos.
Photographer Gordon Jack was remembered at the start of the evening along with other ‘absent friends’ from the press who have passed away this last year.
Two other members of the press pack were given awards: Stewart Attwood was crowned Sports Photographer of the Year and Jeff Mitchell was awarded News Photographer of the Year (they are photographed above in the middle of the front row).
The Daily Record was crowned Scotland’s Newspaper of the Year for 2014 at the 36th annual Scottish Press Awards.
In total The Daily Record won five accolades at the ceremony at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel, with Keith Jackson named as Sports News Writer of the Year for the third year in a row. The paper also won Front Page of the Year for its splash ‘THE VOW’ about the plans to deliver more powers to the Scottish Parliament after the Referendum.
Winners of major individual awards also included Marion Scott from the Sunday Mail, who was named both Reporter and Journalist of the Year’. She said on getting the first of her two trophies that she was ‘flabbergasted’ but wanted to thank the two Jims in her life – her husband and her editor.
The Daily Mail won Campaign of the Year for its Armed Police campaign, with the newspaper also winning Journalism Team of the Year
The Daily Record took the award of Newspaper of the Year for the way in which it handled the debate of the referendum.
Commenting on the Daily Record’s Newspaper of the Year award, Chairman of the judges, Austin Lafferty said the newspaper’s coverage of the issue was: “A fine example of journalistic imagination, skill, and political nous.”
Weekly Newspaper of the Year went to Fife Free Press.
The awards are organised by the Scottish Newspaper Society (SNS). SNS director John McLellan said: “2014 was a year to remember and all our editorial teams more than stepped up to the plate to deliver some brilliant journalism which captured a significant moment in time.
“Scottish newspapers remained at the heart of the action and reaffirmed the industry’s ability to make vital contributions to the decisions affecting the lives of all Scots.
“Judging the awards is never easy and this year was more difficult than most, but it’s always a privilege to see the quality and diversity of coverage in our titles across all subjects.”
Over £3,500 was raised from a table raffle for Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS).
The full list of winners which included a special Chairman’s award to The Sunday Herald is as follows:
| Award | Winner | Publication |
| Sports Photographer of the Year | Stewart Attwood | Herald & Times Group |
| News Photographer of the Year | Jeff Mitchell | Getty Images |
| Cartoonist of the Year | Brian Petrie | The Scottish Sun |
| Young Journalist of the Year | Darren Hamilton | Evening Telegraph |
| Weekly Newspaper of the Year | Fife Free Press | |
| Arts/Entertainment Journalist of the Year | Brian Beacom | The Herald |
| Interviewer of the Year | Patricia Kane | Scottish Mail on Sunday |
| Political Journalist of the Year | David Clegg | Daily Record |
| Columnist of the Year | Chris Deerin | Scottish Daily Mail |
| Financial/Business Journalist of the Year | Erikka Askeland | The Press & Journal |
| Feature Writer of the Year | Emma Cowing | Scottish Daily Mail |
| Sports Feature Writer of the Year | Aidan Smith | The Scotsman |
| Sports News Writer of the Year | Keith Jackson | Daily Record |
| Innovation of the Year | Scotland Now | |
| Front Page of the Year | Daily Record and THE VOW | |
| Journalism Team of the Year | Scottish Daily Mail | |
| Campaign of the Year | Scottish Daily Mail on Armed Police | |
| Scoop of the Year | Murray Foote | THE VOW for the Daily Record |
| Reporter of the Year | Marion Scott | Sunday Mail |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Drew Cochrane | |
| Journalist of the Year | Marion Scott | Sunday Mail |
| Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2014 | Richard Walker | Sunday Herald |
| Newspaper of the Year | Daily Record |
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
