The Courier has won national recognition for its reporting on one of the region’s greatest assets.
Our Shaped by a River: Tales of the Tay series won the prize for digital team of the year at the Scottish Press Awards.
The idea was conceived by group picture editor Mark Asquith and the team set out to tell, over 10 chapters using words, photographs and video, the story of the river from Loch Tay to the North Sea through the eyes of anglers, allotment growers, lifeboat crews and the other local people who live, work and play on it.
Announcing the winners, the judges said: “The Courier displayed exceptional production values that set it above a number of worthy contenders.
“What clinched it for the judging panel was how this entry centred on a specific subject that touches the lives of almost everyone in its target audience area and told a new story at every twist and bend with passion and authority.”
The Courier editor David Clegg said he was delighted with the award.
“Morag Lindsay’s incredible storytelling worked brilliantly alongside exceptional photo-journalism to create a compelling overall package of words and pictures,” he said.
“It is an example of the great online-focused journalism that will stand us in good stead in years to come.”
This year’s judging panel comprised 37 independent judges from across Scottish media, politics and public affairs, including veteran news presenter Jackie Bird, former Scottish Conservative leader and ex-journalist Ruth Davidson and Lib Dem MP and former Press Association Scotland editor Christine Jardine.
The 41st Scottish Press Awards are sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, The Law Society Scotland, VisitScotland, People’s Postcode Lottery, SGN, Openreach, Diageo, Amazon, People’s Energy and BIG Partnership.
Scottish Newspaper Society director John McLellan said: “The awards show how important news publishing is to Scotland, locally or nationally; recognising and celebrating the good, exposing the bad, recording achievement for posterity, reflecting life in our communities, linking people and businesses.”
