Celebrating the regional Press

I had a really enjoyable day at the Regional Press Awards yesterday. The lunch at Quaglino’s in London was a reminder that, despite the hefty challenges our newsrooms face, there is still excellent work by first class and committed journalists out there. As chairman of the judges, alongside Alison Gow, I know that selecting the winners was the toughest of tasks. The quality of submissions was outstanding. So congratulations to all those shortlisted. A special mention has to go to the Belfast Telegraph which collected eight of the 21 awards, including large news brand. Sam McBride picked up three individual awards. Impressive.

The Belfast Telegraph's winning team

The full list of winners and nominations is here. Thanks to Haymarket, the judges, presenter Philip Collins and in particular to Tom Rossage who worked hard to make the day a big success. It was a bonus to meet up with old friends too, some who I had not seen for years. 

Golden oldies: Judges Cathy Duncan, Dave Nicholson, me, 

Neil Fowler, Terry Ramsey, Alan Geere and Michael Crozier

We inevitably continued the celebrations in the Chequers Tavern around the corner. A lovely way to round off a cracking day.