How to make the Regional Press Awards more representative

Last week Behind Local News celebrated the winners of the Regional Press Awards, rightly highlighting the achievements of the multi-award-winning Belfast Telegraph. As the dust settles on the ceremony though, questions are being asked about whether the industry’s ‘Oscars’ genuinely reflect the industry they serve, with concerns over a lack of diversity and prohibitive ticket prices.

Hundreds of journalists entered the 2024 Regional Press Awards with the hope of winning one of the 11 individual categories.

But for female journalists the odds of scooping a top win at the awards last week were so heavily stacked against them that one entrant expressed the view they “might as well have not bothered”.

Of the 11 awards, nine went to men and only two went to women — a lowly 18 per cent.

In addition, two of the male winners picked up five of the awards between them. Charles Thomson got weekly reporter for the second year running, and also crime reporter, while Sam McBride picked up daily reporter, feature writer and opinion writer.

The awards ceremony took place at Mayfair restaurant Quaglino’s with tickets costing from £225 upwards on top of competition entry fees.

After a drinks reception and two-course lunch, compere Philip Collins, the esteemed journalist and Tony Blair speechwriter, took to the stage to present the awards.

Collins gave a joke-punctuated speech about how invaluable regional journalism was in maintaining democracy and spoke about “shining a light into the dark corners”.

One of those who went away from the awards disappointed was Gill Sutherland, content editor at the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, who was shortlisted for weekly reporter of the year.

She told BLN: “The awards got off to a good start with Philip Collins’ inspirational words, but it quickly fell into a sham.

“In an industry where the workforce is split more or less evenly between the sexes, women picking up just two awards is a shameful statistic that reeks of yesteryear sexism. It’s Ron Burgundy territory.

“All the winners are amazing journalists doing great work,” continued Sutherland. “But to see the awards given to a handful of largely male journalists just isn’t right. I went away thinking I might as well have not bothered.”

Another point of contention was how all the awards went to urban or national titles, including Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, London and Belfast. The Belfast Telegraph in particular swept the board, taking eight of the 21 prizes on offer.

“I’m pleased for all the winners,” continued Sutherland. “But it’s not a level playing field. Rural titles like mine have a very mixed blend of stories compared to places like London or Belfast — high crime rates, including more dramatic murders, and the challenges are different.

“That doesn’t mean that our work is less valuable to the communities we serve, or just as original and worthy of acknowledgement. Although it is the ‘regional’ awards, nothing in the judging process seemed to take this on board.”

The Stratford-upon-Avon Herald is part of IIliffe Media. The group’s editorial director Ian Carter echoed Sutherland’s concerns on social media following the event, highlighting the lack of diversity and high ticket prices.

He said: “Challenging the format of awards ceremonies can be difficult as it inevitably leads to accusations of sour grapes, but that’s genuinely not the case here. Iliffe tends to punch above its weight and our Cambridge Independent, as it often and deservedly does, won small news brand of the year.

“There is much more to local and regional journalism than big city reporters writing about big city topics though, and the Regional Press Awards, in their current guise, seem unable to recognise and reflect that.

“Any awards ceremony ultimately serves to celebrate the industry it is covering, and that’s even more important for local journalism when we are often under attack from all sides.

“The mood in the room — and the lack of traction the event gained on social media — indicates we were not alone in feeling distinctly underwhelmed this year. I suspect we are not the only publisher wondering whether the many thousands of pounds spent entering and attending the awards could be used to recognise our editorial teams in a better way.”

It was a view shared by several others in the room. One told BLN: “It didn’t feel quite right. Where were the female winners? And taking nothing away from the winners who do great work, but seeing the same people winning time and again suggests that more needs to be done on the categories.

“You absolutely need to have impartial judges choosing the winners from what’s in front of them, but the set up of the categories needs looking at to ensure it gives everyone a fair chance.”

The Press Awards started in 1963, and are split into regional and national. Haymarket Media runs the awards on behalf of the industry’s trade body the News Media Association (NMA).

This year there were 50 judges, made up of professionals from across the media industry and academia, who picked the winners.

On its website NMA maintains the awards are the “Oscars of British journalism”.

Given the recent vilification of the Hollywood awards ceremony over its lack of diversity and how it is judged, the comparison is a telling one. Of the 71 shortlisted for the Regional Press Awards’ individual categories all the contenders were white.

Responding to the criticisms, awards event manager Tom Rossage said: “Diversity and representation are crucial values for us, and we recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates the achievements of journalists from all backgrounds.

“The concerns regarding gender balance and the recognition of diverse stories are duly noted, and we are committed to addressing them in our future endeavours. In fact we have been in talks with Women in Journalism who will help us in bringing in more female entrants and judges from all backgrounds.

“Our aim is to honour excellence in regional journalism across various beats and themes, and we acknowledge the need for greater diversity in both winners and categories represented.”

He added: “Sadly as the organisers, we do not have any say in who the judging panel chooses as winners, but rest assured, we will take your feedback into account as we review our judge selection criteria and categories for future editions of the awards.”