Deadline extended in Regional Press Awards

There is no doubt that regional newspapers are facing difficult times at the moment. But their survival is crucial. As I have written so many times before, covering local democracy, shining lights in dark corners, exposing the corrupt, campaigning for local causes, fighting injustices and a lot more will all be threatened without a vibrant regional Press. That is why I am delighted to be joining Alison Gow as chair of the judges in the Regional Press Awards. We had a meeting last week and agreed to extend the deadline - so you now have until midnight on Thursday (November 30) to get your entries in. We have added three categories this year – Opinion Writer, Crime & Investigation Reporter and Best Live Coverage – making 21 awards. The full list is below. So if you are working in the local and regional Press, get your entries in and let's celebrate the great work that still goes on up and down the country. And I look forward to catching up with you at the awards lunch next April. Entry detail are here. 

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Cathryn Nicholl Award
Crime & Investigation Reporter of the Year
Designer of the Year
Feature Writer of the Year
Opinion Writer of the Year
Photographer of the Year
Reporter of the Year (Daily)
Reporter of the Year (Weekly)
Specialist Journalist of the Year
Sports Journalist of the Year
Young Journalist of the Year

TEAM AWARDS

Best Live Coverage
Campaign of the Year
Digital Initiative of the Year
Front Page of the Year
News Website of the Year
Reporting Communities Award
Scoop of the Year
Supplement of the Year

ORGANISATION AWARDS

News Brand of the Year (Small)
News Brand of the Year (Large)

   

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Toby Brown with a personal best of 23. Others on the leaderboard were Marion Fountayne with 21, Thomas Godfrey with 20, George Mann and Robert Rea with 19 and Gavin Devine, Andy Reed and Jayme Bryla with 16. The top teams were the Broad Oak drinkers Pete, Stacey, Nicky and Les and Maura and Phil Parsons both with 21. They were ahead of Neil and Jo Benson and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 19 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 18. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that what would be cut from 12 per cent to ten per cent from January 6, affecting 27 million people?
2. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the state pension would increase by what per cent from April, in line with average earnings?
3. Former chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told the Covid inquiry that scientific and medical advisers were not told about what scheme until it was announced by then Chancellor Rishi Sunak?
4. Notes from Sir Patrick Vallance's diary, which was handed over to the Covid inquiry, said 'watching PM get his head around stats is awful' and added: 'PM is clearly __'. What is the missing word?
5. Who told the Covid inquiry that his family were threatened with 'having their throats cut' during the pandemic and that he was asked by police to leave his house over safety concerns?
6. Home Secretary James Cleverly denied describing which Northern town as a 'shithole'?
7. Why did Shrewsbury Town Council postpone its Christmas lights switch-on?
8. Thirty-four people were arrested and a police officer was seriously injured during a riot following a knife attack in which city?
9. Lorries carrying medical supplies made their way into Gaza from Egypt after a four-day pause in fighting, mediated by which country, was agreed by Israel and Hamas? 

10. Four men received minimum jail sentences of more than 41 years for the murder of 28-year-old Ashley Dale in her home in which city?
11. Firms including Apple, Disney, IBM and Comcast paused adverts on X (formerly Twitter) after it was accused of what?
12. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health warned doctors to be on high alert for what disease as vaccine rates among young children dipped to a ten-year low?
13. Staff at which company, that created ChatGPT, called on the board to resign after the dismissal of former boss and co-founder Sam Altman?
14. Who is to be released from prison on parole in January, nearly 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend?
15. Former TV pundit Javier Milei, who wielded a chainsaw to illustrate his plans to cut down the size of the state, was elected president of which country?
16. What is the name of the leader of the anti-Islam Party for Freedom which became the largest party in the Dutch parliament?
17. R&B singer Cassie accused who of sex trafficking and assault in a lawsuit filed in a New York court?
18. Why did Taylor Swift postpone a concert in Brazil on Saturday night?
19. Who agreed to pay a fine of €7million (£6.1million) in a deal with Spanish tax authorities to avoid a trial?

20. What is the name of the TV presenter, who fronted Posh Frocks And New Trousers, Razzmatazz and appeared on I'm A Celebrity, who died aged 64, four months after being diagnosed with a brain tumour?
21. Researchers in California claimed to have discovered why some people get a headache after what?
22. Why will non-league football team Horsham play in the second round of the FA cup despite losing their first round game 3-0?
23. Australia won the Cricket World Cup by six wickets after a Travis Head century took them to victory over which country?
24. According to a poll by Perspectus Global which word, used to describe something extremely good or impressive, was voted the most irritating in modern culture?

25. The King presented members of which South Korean K-pop group with honorary MBEs at Buckingham Palace?

Answers here

It's time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Liz Gerard and Andy Reed both on 22. Others on the leaderboard were Giles Borg on 21, George Mann on 20.5, Janet Boyle on 20, Toby Brown on 19.5, Robert Rea on 19, Jo Wadsworth and Chay Quinn on 18, Claire@Savy on 16.5, Gavin Devine on 16 and Ed Mortimer on 15.5. The top scoring team was Meike Leonard, Pieter Snepvangers and Sam Lawley on 21.5, ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 19.5, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and Neil and Jo Benson on 19, Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 18.5 and Jack Elsom and Monica Greep on 17. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score.

Tuesday's Cabinet reshuffle front pages

1. In a letter responding to her sacking as Home Secretary, which of these did Suella Braverman not say about Rishi Sunak? a) He failed to deliver on every single key policy b) He needed to resign and call a General Election c) He opted for wishful thinking as a comfort blanket to avoid hard choices d) He was uncertain, weak and lacking in leadership. 
2. David Cameron’s appointment as Foreign Secretary was celebrated by which country, saying it had the 'potential to breathe new life' into its relationship with the UK?
3. Lord Cameron’s first trip abroad as Foreign Secretary was to which country?

4. In the Cabinet reshuffle, who replaced Steve Barclay as Health Secretary?
5. Esther McVey made a return to the Cabinet, as a minister without portfolio, with Downing Street sources saying she would be Rishi Sunak's '__ __ tsar'? What are the two missing words?
6. Sir Keir Starmer suffered a rebellion over his position on the Israel-Gaza war, with how many Labour MPs voting for an immediate ceasefire?
7. How many judges at the Supreme Court upheld a Court of Appeal ruling that the Government's Rwanda asylum policy was unlawful?

8. Former deputy prime minister Damian Green compared Suella Braverman's five-point proposal to get the Rwanda flights off the ground to the behaviour of who?
9. Inflation fell to what per cent in October, its lowest level for two years?
10. Health Secretary Michael Matheson made a statement to the Scottish Parliament in which he blamed what on his sons?
11. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said doing what was 'unfortunate' and 'inflammatory in certain ways' but it was not illegal?
12. Which county's police force apologised for 'failing' 23-year-old Gracie Spinks, who was stabbed to death by a former colleague?
13. What was the name of the eight-month old baby at the centre of a legal battle who died after her life support was turned off at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham?
14. Six people, including three children, died in a house fire in which London borough?
15. Two children of what age were charged with murder after a man was stabbed to death in Wolverhampton?
16. Why was the town of Grindavik being evacuated?
17. Everton FC said it was shocked and disappointed to have been deducted how many points for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules?
18. At what occasion did Russell Watson sing How Great Thou Art at Manchester Cathedral on Monday?
19. King Charles celebrated his 75th birthday with the launch of a project to help people facing what?
20. Why were people living in the Italian seaside town of Ladispoli told to not leave their homes on Saturday?
21. Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, the co-founders of which company, are to receive £144million each after agreeing to sell their business to Mars?
22. What was director Ridley Scott's three-word message for those pointing out factual inaccuracies in his new film Napoleon?
23. Who raised more than £4million for Children in Need by running and walking 115 miles from Leicester to Bolton over four days?
24. Where will politician Nigel Farage, This Morning presenter Josie Gibson and Britney Spears's sister Jamie Lynne be meeting this weekend?
25. According to Samsung research what is the most popular song that Brits play when dusting and vacuuming?

Answers here

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was George Mann with a score of 22, just ahead of Marion Fountayne, Toby Brown and Janet Boyle on 21. Others on the leaderboard were Robert Rea, Johnny Jenkins and Gavin Devine on 20 and Jack Surfleet on 18. The top teams were Jack Elsom and Monica Green and Maura and Phil Parsons on 20, just ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 19.5 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 19. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s news stories. Give it a go and let me know your score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. There were calls for Home Secretary Suella Braverman to be sacked after Downing Street said it had not cleared an article, published in which newspaper, that accused the Met police of bias?
2. Which Cabinet minister said of Suella Braverman’s comments about police bias, that they 'are not words that I myself would have used’?
3. During a debate on the King's Speech, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned Rishi Sunak that without a serious what he could not be a serious Prime Minister?

4. Prince Charles delivered the first King’s Speech in more than 70 years as he outlined how many laws that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants get through Parliament before the next election?
5. Reacting to the pro-Palestinian marches planned for the weekend, the founder of the English Defence League Tommy Robinson posted a video calling for a gathering where on Saturday 'to show that British people aren’t happy’?
6. Home Secretary Suella Braverman was criticised after saying: ‘We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a__ __. What are the two missing words?
7. The White House said Israel had agreed to enforce humanitarian pauses in fighting for how long every day to allow Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate?

8. Which two former prime ministers visited Israel, saying they were there to express solidarity with the Netanyahu government? Half a point for each.
9. United Nations secretary general António Guterres said: 'We must act now to find a way out of this brutal, awful, agonising dead end of destruction. Gaza is becoming a __ for children.’ What is the missing word?
10. Lord Sedwill, who was Cabinet Secretary until the autumn of 2020, told the Covid inquiry that he had left then Prime Minster Boris Johnson 'under no doubt’ that who should be replaced?
11. Former Tory Party chairman Jake Berry sent a letter to police exposing an alleged cover-up of what offence committed by an MP?
12. In her book, The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson, former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries revealed that a Tory known as Dr No cut up what and nailed it to a former girlfriend’s family's front door? 
13. A 14-year-old was charged with murder after a 15-year-old boy died in a stabbing near a school in which city?
14. British Steel announced a £1.25 billion plan to replace two blast furnaces in which town - threatening up to 2,000 jobs?
15. Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested after smashing the glass on the Rokeby Venus painting at the National Gallery in London, which had previously been targeted by which campaign group?
16. Two men pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court to health and safety offences after 11 customers were left with spinal injuries while doing what?
17. Who left her weekly BBC Radio Wales show, saying she would 'not be silenced' by the corporation’s new social media guidelines?
18. Disney was criticised for recreating what in London for a TV drama?
19. Arkansas military veteran Aaron James became the first person in the world to have what transplanted?
20. Which retailer reported better-than-expected results for the first half of the year - with pre-tax profits rising 56 per cent to £326million?
21. What is the name of the newspaper company, owners of the Mirror, Express, Star and more than 200 regional titles, which announced plans to cut 450 jobs?
22. The drug anastrozole was licensed by the NHS regulatory agency after trials showed it could reduce the incidence of what by almost 50 per cent?
23. Nestle announced it had made the 'difficult decision' to scrap what confectionary bar after 64 years due to low sales?
24. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that British women topped the list as the world’s biggest what?
25. Britain’s loneliest sheep, rescued by farmers after being stranded on a beach in Scotland for two years, was given what name?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Janet Boyle with 21.5, just ahead of George Mann on 20, Marguerite Turner on 18, Jayme Bryla on 17.5 and Toby Brown on 17. The top team was Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 17.5, ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 17 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 16.5. It was clearly a tougher week with a lot of quiz regulars posting below average scores. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

A selection of today's front pages

1. The Covid inquiry heard that former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance had written that Boris Johnson was obsessed with older people accepting what? 

2. At the Covid inquiry, who described the Cabinet Office as a 'bomb site' and a 'dumpster fire', with many officials in the wrong job?

3. The Covid inquiry heard that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock told officials that he – rather than the medical profession – 'should ultimately decide what’?

4. What six-word phrase did Palestinian supporters chant in London, was described by Home Secretary Suella Braverman as an 'expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased’ and led to Labour MP Andy McDonald being suspended?

5. Speaking after a Cobra meeting, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said of the London pro-Palestine protests: 'To my mind there is only one way to describe those marches: They are __ marches’? What is the missing word?
6. A mob shouting antisemitic slogans stormed an airport in which Russian republic, hunting for people arriving from Tel Aviv?

7. An activist tossed dozens of what, painted in the colours of the Palestine flag, into a Birmingham McDonald’s?

8. What is the name of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt that opened for the first time in more than three weeks to allow the evacuation of injured Palestinians and foreign passport holders?

9. A video of a window being blown-in was caught on a baby monitor, hailstones 'bigger than golf balls' hit locals and dozens of people were evacuated to hotels when Storm Ciarán brought 104mph winds to which island?

10. How old was Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in Friends, who was found dead in a hot tub at his LA home? 

11. What name was given to the declaration signed by 28 governments, including the UK, US and China, on the first day of the AI safety summit?

12. In a discussion with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at the end of the AI safety summit, tech billionaire Elon Musk predicted: 'There will come a point where no __ is needed.' What is the missing word?

13. Police investigated the death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson, who died after a 'freak accident', while playing for which team?

14. Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced that plans to do what had been withdrawn because they failed to meet the required standards?

15. Former leadership candidate Ash Regan quit the SNP to become the first ever MSP for which party?

16. The Colombian government said the father of which Premier League footballer had been kidnapped by left-wing rebels?

17. Marks & Spencer apologised after a clip from its Christmas advert was criticised for showing burning paper hats resembling what?

18. Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales, who kissed a player following the Women's World Cup final, was banned from all football-related activities for how many years by Fifa?

19. Who withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, saying 'this is not my time’?

20. King Charles acknowledged the 'abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against’ the people of which country in their struggle for independence?

21. Yorkshire Cricket Club agreed to sell its ground, Headingley, for £23million to who?

22. In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: 'I am excited to say that I am shortly going to be joining you on __ __’ What are the missing words?
23. In the Rugby World Cup, All Blacks captain Sam Cane became the first player to do what?

24. Lionel Messi won the men's Ballon d'Or, for the best footballer in the world for 2022-23, meaning he has collected the award for a record number of times. How many?

25. The Beatles song Now And Then was released with the help of AI and audio tech pioneered by which film director?

Answers here