“Our journalists know the weight of responsibility of working here” — Editor’s pride at big awards win
The editor of the newsroom named news brand of the year at the Regional Press Awards has spoken of her pride at her team’s success — and of the weight of responsibility which sits on the shoulders of reporters.
The Liverpool Echo was named News Brand of the Year (Large) at the Regional Press Awards, beating titles including BirminghamLive, Manchester Evening News, Western Mail, Belfast Telegraph and the Irish News.
Judges said the the Liverpool Echo has had a stellar year, not least because of the “brilliantly handled, first rate coverage” of the Southport murders and subsequent violence across Britain, “but because the team has demonstrated time and again commitment to serving their communities and audiences”.
Editor Maria Breslin said: “Normally I’d err on the side of modesty and say no one becomes a journalist to win awards — and that is true.
“Our journalists understand the weight of responsibility that comes with working for an historic brand like the Liverpool Echo and, in a world awash with misinformation and disinformation, they work extremely hard to deliver the trusted news you both expect and deserve.
“Are we perfect? No of course we’re not. Is there room for improvement? Always. But we strive to inform and entertain every day of the week and the award recognised the breadth of content we publish.
“I know how much winning meant to our journalists who are often subject to slurs and abuse in an often toxic social media landscape.
“And it’s always disappointing, and a little undignified, when other media outlets wade in.
“So it was reassuring to see our work recognised and a real privilege to celebrate in the company of so many other outstanding journalists from across the regional news industry.”
Describing the coverage of events in Southport, judges said the real-time reporting sought to combat the misinformation shared on social media and provide a public service for a community in shock. Judges said this was achieved across both digital platforms and the print title, with “painstaking attention to accuracy and lack of sensationalism”.
Demonstrating its passion for agenda journalism, the Echo produced an immersive report into the impact of austerity on Liverpool, and published it ahead of the general election as a pitch to the next government to halt harmful cost-cutting policies. Judges said the piece “combines the best of data journalism and investigative reporting”.
When departing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp chose the Echo to share his love letter to Liverpool, judges said it “spoke volumes of the regard the publication is held in, at all levels”.
The Echo’s approach is working, concluded judges: it reaches 4.6m readers every month, and in September its stories were read 35.7m times. It sells more than 10,000 newspapers a day, has 361,000 newsletter subscribers and a thriving WhatsApp news community.
