Highlands and Islands Media Awards pays moving tribute to much-missed Inverness Courier journalist Neil MacPhail
A moving tribute has been paid by a prestigious industry competition to a “one in a million” journalist who passed away late last year.
Neil MacPhail, who worked for a number of Highland titles during his five-decade long career and who latterly worked for The Inverness Courier, died suddenly in November.
His death shock colleagues across the industry and his funeral in Inverness was packed full of family and friends eager to pay their respects to a much-loved man.
And now he has been honoured once more after the Highlands and Islands Press Ball and Media Awards named him their journalist of the year.
Awards chairperson, Nicola McAlley, said: “The judges were unanimous in their decision that Journalist of the Year should be Neil. He has been described as a master of his trade. When it comes to being a journalist, his career span has been pretty unparallelled - clocking up fifty years at the coalface, covering all the big stories right across the Highlands. A legend, one in a million, excellent and much respected.
“For those who attend the press ball every February, there was one familiar face missing among us. Neil passed away in November last year. He was due to be working on the day that he died - still putting in a shift at 76, and loving it.
“Neil was an old school reporter, from the days of notebook and pen. Of typewriters and the smell of printers ink. From the days of not being led by press releases or social media posts, but from chatting to people, making contacts and being in places where conversations can lead to stories.
“He interviewed countless celebrities and at least two prime ministers, Maggie Thatcher and Gordon Brown, while they were on Highland visits.
“He was a class act, and his passing was a huge loss to journalism in the Highlands.
“A top operator and a friend to many, working right to the end, a reporter through and through. He loved the Press Ball, and we miss him dearly.”
Neil’s daughter, Lindsay, and son, Calum, collected the award on behalf of their father.
A further 13 award categories were announced on the night - with six of them being won by titles within the Highland News and Media stable of newspapers.
These included three for The Inverness Courier and another three for The Northern Scot.
Young journalist of the year went to Annabelle Gauntlett who worked for The Inverness Courier and as a freelance during the award window.
Ms McAlley said: “The quality of work in this category was truly outstanding, with the judging panel praising the fresh and crisp writing styles. Shortlisted portfolios showcased skills across a breadth of topics, including tackling world-changing environmental issues and deeply personal stories with empathy and clarity. The winner impressed with a diverse portfolio spanning radio and multi-media web content, delivering human-centred storytelling on challenging topics with exceptional compassion and insight.
“Our judges said our winner displays mature, personal and detailed coverage of an important subject that she consistently finds new angles for as she grows her skillset, experience and reputation as a storyteller and campaigner.
“Her writing is made all the more powerful because she tells the story through her own experience and from a young person’s perspective. Her determination to change the lives of all women by confronting societal perceptions shows she has true journalistic grit which will set her up for a stellar career.”
Fellow Inverness Courier reporter Val Sweeney won the feature writer of the year award, with Ms McAlley adding: “The winner is a highly experienced journalist who has consistently delivered high-quality, in-depth features and reports on a wide range of topics for more than 20 years.
“Her sensitive approach to challenging circumstances allowed her subjects to open up and provide a human insight into a range of issues, such as a family caught up in the infected blood scandal and Ukrainian families spending their second Christmas in Inverness during the conflict with Russia. Her feature writing has become a constant to readers who trust her to take them on a journey into other people’s lives.”
The Inverness Courier’s third award was for local website of the year - a title it has now won for two years running, with judges explaining the reason: “Our judges described our winner as the best and busiest of the bunch with local storytelling platformed through a comfortable and habit-forming user experience that puts some larger publishers to shame.
“The growth in online news consumption has driven a surge in innovative content and audience engagement. This year’s winner seamlessly integrates multi-media storytelling into everyday reporting, focusing on human-centred stories with a personalised touch.
“With a free daily digest and a data-driven approach, they have refined their strategy to resonate with their audience, showcasing the evolving power of digital journalism.”
The Northern Scot won its three awards in the categories, newspaper of the year, reporter of the year, and photographer of the year.
Lewis McBlane was reporter of the year. Ms McAlley sad: “A series of front pages included an exclusive on how the dualling timetable of the A96 was dropped, a controversial Save Our Surgeries spat and another exclusive on a data breach by Moray Council – his writing gets to the heart of local matters and brings the issues that matter to light. His writing is classy, crisp and conscientious.”
Moving on to photographer of the year Daniel Forsyth, she added: “All the finalists displayed ability and understanding of what the judges were looking for and by the narrowest of margins our winner was selected.
“A consistent performer who has won before, this year’s best entry had a good mix of news related subjects catching the eye of the judges. In particular, the image of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, clearly enjoying a dram.”
And hailing The Northern Scot’s win for newspaper of the year she added: “The newspaper of the year boasted a strong year of impactful storytelling, crammed with content, and all well presented. It gets to the core of local issues, and is a trusted voice for its community, highlighting the things that matter the most to the readers and the region it represents. It is a paper that oozes confidence in service to its patch.”
Principal sponsor of the awards evening, which took place at the Kingsmill Hotel in Inverness, was Diageo, with additional support from Statkraft, Chivas Brothers, the National Union of Journalists, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Hub North Scotland, Kane Partnership, Highland CIC, Inverness Chamber of Commerce, DP Digital Media, SafeKab, Miele's Gelateria and Bord an Gàidhlig.
The event will benefit four local charities – Safe, Strong & Free is dedicated to keeping children and young people safe from bullying, strangers and sexual abuse; The Oxygen Works provides a range of therapies to individuals living with various conditions; James Support Group helps support family or friends who are affected by suicide and Prostate Scotland (Maggies Highland) offers support to men with prostate cancer.
