Caithness writer and photographer in line for top journalism awards
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The John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier will be well represented at this year’s Scottish Press Awards with two shortlisted entries.
Chief reporter Alan Hendry is in the running for the Weekly Journalist of the Year, while freelance sports photographer James Gunn is in line for the Sports Photographer of the Year award.
They were among a number of nominations for the Caithness news brands’ parent company Highland News & Media, which included two other journalists from the firm battling it out for the Weekly Journalist title.
Political reporter Scott Maclennan was shortlisted for his work with the Inverness Courier, while Lewis McBlane, who writes for the Northern Scot, Huntly Express and Banffshire Herald, is also among the five hopefuls from across the country.
The others making up the shortlist for that category are Tristan Stewart-Robertson from the Helensburgh Advertiser/Clydebank Post, and Ava Whyte from the Clydebank Post.
James Gunn, who has been shortlisted for the Sports Photographer award on no fewer than eight previous occasions, will face stiff competition from Ian MacNicol of Getty Images, Colin Mearns of Herald and Times Group, Mark Scates of SNS Group, Gordon Terris of Herald/Sunday Herald/National and Allan Wilson of East Lothian Courier/Border Telegraph/Peeblesshire News.
James (62) is a freelance photographer who has been providing top-quality images for the Caithness Courier and John O'Groat Journal for 16 years. Based in Halkirk, he works full time at Dounreay as the information and knowledge manager and does his freelance photography work in the evenings and at weekends.
The Inverness Courier is also shortlisted for its campaign to Dual the A9 and will be up against The Sunday Post, Scottish Sun, Glasgow Times, and The Courier in Dundee for the Campaign of the Year. It is also down to the final six for Front Page of the Year for a striking front page depicting a tombstone that symbolised the death of Holyrood’s original pledge to dual the road by 2025.
And another Highland News & Media hopeful, meanwhile, is vying for Sports News Writer of the Year - with Craig Christie of the Northern Scot and Huntly Express facing challenges from journalists at the likes of the Scottish Daily Mail, Scottish Sun, and The Herald.
The various winners will be announced at a ceremony in Glasgow next month.
The organisers say they are delighted with the number of entrants in this year’s Scottish Press Awards, which recognise excellence in national, regional, and digital journalism from across the country.
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 May 29.
