DC Thomson Media newspapers, including The Press and Journal, have been celebrated at a national awards ceremony.
P&J features writer Ellie House was named one of the best in the country at the 41st Scottish Press Awards.
The competition, which was due to be marked with a prestigious event in Glasgow that was cancelled due to coronavirus, heaped praise on a number of P&J journalists.
Neil Drysdale was in the running alongside Miss House for local feature writer of the year, and digital reporter Stuart Findlay was one of five finalists for video of the year.
Investigations editor Calum Ross and former city council reporter Jon Hebditch were both included in the local reporter of the year category.
The awards organisers named Oor Wullie’s Big Bucket Trail campaign of the year.
It was pioneered by The Sunday Post and heavily supported by The Press and Journal.
Last summer hundreds of statues depicting the cartoon character were displayed throughout the north of Scotland and were later auctioned off, raising £1.3 million for children’s hospitals.
Oor Wullie BIG Bucket Trail: £316,700 raised for Archie Foundation at Aberdeenshire auction
Guides to where each statue could be found, and the vital work the project was raising money for, were covered extensively in special articles and pull-out supplements.
Meanwhile Evening Express sports writer Callum Law and reporter Dale Haslam were runners-up in their respective categories at the Scottish Press Awards.
And in Dundee, The Courier’s digital team was celebrated for its interactive series of articles about the River Tay and The Evening Telegraph took home headline of the year.
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.
“Without the steady source of trusted information our journalists provide, little of this would be possible.
“Be it on mobile, laptop, desktop or print, our titles reach more people than ever before, and much more quickly.
“The role Scottish journalists play was vital before, is vital now in the midst of the greatest crisis anyone has ever experienced, and will be even more vital in the recovery to come.”
The work of The Press and Journal has been praised by prominent figures, including a number of politicians.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone said: “In remote constituencies, such as mine, local papers have one of the highest household readership rates in the country.
“It’s a Highland tradition that we often cut out articles to pass along to neighbours or send them abroad.
“Our Scottish and Highland papers are absolutely crucial. They dare to go deeper on issues that are central to our community.
“I am deeply grateful to them for continuing to provide accurate information during these uncertain times as well as for holding politicians like me to account.”
The awards, though online, received full support from a large group of main sponsors, who were Royal Bank of Scotland, The Law Society of Scotland, VisitScotland, The People’s Postcode Lottery, Johnnie Walker, SGN, Openreach, The Scottish Newspaper Society, The BIG Partnership, Double Tree by Hilton Glasgow Central, Event Consultants Scotland, Women in Journalism Scotland, Amazon and the People’s Energy Company.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart said: “Aberdeen is home to a great local press and some of the most historic titles in Scotland – we have outstanding journalists in this city so it comes as no surprise to see so many awards being picked up by our local reporters.
“The readership of local papers is extremely high in this city so at times like this a good local press is all the more important – my congratulations goes out to all the winners from the north-east.”
