Top Midlands media honours listed

Finalists announced for media awards.

Three weekly publications will be competing against three ‘big city’ neighbours for the accolade of Newspaper of the Year at this year’s Midlands Media Awards.

The Ashbourne News Telegraph, Hinckley Times and Tamworth Herald have been short-listed together with the Coventry Telegraph, Wolverhampton-based Express & Star and last year’s winner, the Derby Telegraph.

The Awards, being organised by Cloud 9 Event Management as the flagship event of Birmingham Press Club’s 150th anniversary year, take place at Villa Park on Thursday, September 10.

The finalists are as follows:

Blogger of the Year
• Ross Hawkes, Lichfield Live
• John Hess, BBC East Midlands
• Thomas Lane, The UK Basketball Hub
• Peter Rhodes, Midlands News Association (Express & Star)
• James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury

Business Journalist of the Year
• Mark Gough, ITV News Central
• Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail
• Ann King, The Sentinel
• Enda Mullen, Birmingham Post
• Les Reid, Coventry Observer
• Gemma Toulson, Nottingham Post

Campaign of the Year
• Birmingham Mail, Anna Jeys, “Thunderclap Campaign”
• Burton Mail, Emma Turton, ‘’Pennies For Our Heroes’’
• Capital FM East Midlands, James Lloyd, “Get Involved”
• Coventry Telegraph, Simon Gilbert, “Bring City Home”
• Derby Telegraph & BBC Radio Derby, Zena Hawley & Aftab Gulzar, “The Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal”
• Shropshire Star, Mark Drew, “Shropshire Star Get Us Connected Campaign”

Columnist of the Year
• Carolyn Bointon, Ashbourne News Telegraph
• Gemma Collins, Leicester Mercury
• Neil Elkes, Birmingham Mail
• Jeremy Lewis, Nottingham Post
• Mike Lockley, Birmingham Mail

Feature Writer of the Year
• Richard Ault, The Sentinel
• Gemma Collins, Leicester Mercury
• Justine Halifax, Birmingham Mail & Sunday Mercury
• Enda Mullen, Birmingham Post
• Gemma Peplow, Leicester Mercury
• Graham Young, Birmingham Mail

Headline of the Year
• Birmingham Mail, ‘‘LLLLLLDDDWWLDLDDLLLL.’’
• Birmingham Mail, ‘‘Serial killer next door.’’
• Derby Telegraph, ‘‘Stay up mi duck.’’
• Leicester Mercury, ‘‘Preposterous.’’
• Sunday Mercury, ‘‘Tuba’s Priest.’’
• Sunday Mercury, ‘‘Mocha Angelo.’’
• Taste The Season, ‘‘It’s called a cob.’’

Magazine of the Year
• Birmingham Living, Jonathan Carter
• Taste The Season, Andy Darlington
• Wolverhampton Magazine, Karen Knowles
• Artsbeat, Amanda Penman
• Sutton Coldfield Observer Journal, Gary Phelps
• Shropshire Magazine, Neil Thomas
• Nottinghamshire Today, Simon Wilson

Newcomer of the Year
• Qasa Alom, BBC Inside Out West Midlands
• Laura Barton, Global’s Newsroom
• Nicholas Fletcher, Lincolnshire Echo
• James Forrest, Worcester News
• Rachel Jenkins, Shropshire Star
• Sam Jones, Tamworth Herald
• Noel Phillips, BBC Radio West Midlands/Midlands Today

News Photo of the Year
• Alex Cantrill-Jones, Derby Telegraph, “Deepak Kunwar father of Nadish.’’
• Tim Easthope, Birmingham Mail, ‘’Blues offer could pave the way for a takeover.’’
• Mark Fear, Nottingham Post, ‘’EGGSIT FARAGE.’’
• Will Johnston, Leicester Mercury, ‘’Richard III.’’
• Tim Thursfield, Express & Star, “FORDE.’’
• Angela Ward, Nottingham Post, ‘’Political goals and ugly face of beautiful game.’’

News Reporter of the Year (Daily)
• Sam Dimmer, Coventry Telegraph
• Nick McCarthy, Birmingham Mail
• Jeanette Oldham, Birmingham Mail
• Andy Richards, Sunday Mercury
• Aly Walsh, Derby Telegraph
• Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury
• Gary Bills Geddes, Worcester News

News Reporter of the Year (Weekly)
• Annette Belcher, The Solihull News
• Lee Kettle, Walsall Advertiser
• Helen Machin, Central Independent News and Media
• Les Reid, Coventry Observer
• Adam Smith, Halesowen News

News Website of the Year

• BBC Online East Midlands
• BBC Online West Midlands
• Birmingham Mail
• ExpressandStar.com
• Hinckley Times
• ITV News Central

Newspaper of the Year

• Ashbourne News Telegraph
• Coventry Telegraph
• Derby Telegraph
• Express & Star
• Hinckley Times
• Tamworth Herald

Radio Journalist of the Year
• Lyndsey Alder, Free Radio
• Dan Dawson, Free Radio
• Sian Grzeszczyk, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
• Kathryn Stanczyszyn, BBC
• Emma Thomas, BBC Radio Stoke
• Robert Trigg, Free Radio

Scoop of the Year
• Jonathan Gibson, BBC Inside Out West Midlands, “Chip & Pin Fraud.”
• Simon Gilbert, Coventry Telegraph, ‘’Jaguar Land Rover.’’
• Martin Naylor, Derby Telegraph, ‘’The True Identity of City’s Would-Be Suicide Bomber.’’
• Jeanette Oldham, Birmingham Mail “Council Hid Asian Cabbies’ Child Sex Links for 23 Years”
• Catherine Phillips, Worcester News, ‘’ Former rogue’s gift of kidney.’’
• Free Radio, Free Radio News Team, ‘’Coventry Teenager Joins ISIS.’’

Sports Journalist of the Year
• Michael Beardmore, Walsall Advertiser
• Steve Clamp, ITV News Central
• Leigh Curtis, Nottingham Post
• Simon Gilbert, Coventry Telegraph
• Steve Nicholson, Derby Telegraph
• James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury

Sports Photographer of the Year
• Alex Cantrill-Jones, Derby Telegraph
• Andrew Compton, Andy Compton Photography
• Tim Easthope, Birmingham Mail
• Ian Hodgkinson, Derby Telegraph
• Will Johnston, Leicester Mercury
• Mike Sewell, Leicester Mercury

Supplement of the Year:
• 50th Anniversary Edition, The Shropshire Star
• Extra Time, Central Independent News and Media
• Hidden Spaces, The Birmingham Post
• Historic Tamworth, Central Independent News and Media
• Shrovetide, Ashbourne News Telegraph
• The King’s Final Journey, The Leicester Mercury

Television Journalist of the Year
• Pete Bearne, ITV News Central
• Andy Bevan, ITV News Central
• Jonathan Gibson, BBC Inside Out West Midlands
• Mark Gough, ITV News Central
• Sian Grzeszczyk, BBC Sunday Politics, West Midlands
• John Hess, BBC East Midlands
• Gareth Owen, ITV News Central

The Tony Flanagan Award for News Photography
• Alex Cantrill Jones, Derby Telegraph
• Anna Draper, Lincolnshire Echo
• Geoff Girvan Merryweather, Derby Telegraph
• Ian Hodgkinson, Derby Telegraph
• Jamie Ricketts, Shropshire Star
• Tim Thursfield, Express & Star