Yorkshire Bank Northern Business Journalist of the Year Award Winners Announced

The 2002 Yorkshire Bank Northern Business Journalist of the Year Award winners were announced at a presentation dinner in Leeds on Wednesday.

The 2002 Yorkshire Bank Northern Business Journalist of the Year Award winners were announced at a presentation dinner in Leeds on Wednesday.

Daily Newspaper Journalist of the Year was Sheryl Moore, of the Manchester Evening News. Shortlisted were: Jane Charnley, of the Yorkshire Post; Kieran Howlett, of the Lancashire Evening Post; David Parkin, of the Yorkshire Post; and Patricia Roberts, of the Manchester Evening News.

Nick Garbutt, Yorkshire Banks head of corporate affairs and a member of the judging panel, said: Sheryl stood-out as a mature, well-balanced writer of growing authority -- someone whose pieces showed flair, insight and original approaches. Her writing often gave an impressive local feel to issues of national or even global importance. Her interesting material was well-considered and presented, and written in an accessible and entertaining way."

Weekly Newspaper Journalist of the Year, for the second successive time, was Martin Spooner, formerly of the Wakefield Express, with David Sudworth, of the Southport Visiter and Martin Shaw, of the Press, Dewsbury, also shortlisted.

Nick said: Martin provided particularly punchy, bright and entertaining copy. The pieces showed local newspaper journalism at its best -- seeing a newsworthy angle to an issue on the doorstep and getting to the heart of it, talking to the people involved and analysing the impact on the community. His analysis was always penetrating and thoughtful, showing great depth, and his attention to detail and determination to inform were also praiseworthy."

Magazine Journalist of the Year was Rachel Bristowe, of North-West Insider, with her colleague David Chadwick and Alastair Gilmour, of the Journal Business Magazine, being highly commended.

Nick said: The judges felt Rachel wrote with flair, insight and wit, which gave her a slight edge in a quality field. Her reports were interesting, smoothly-written and thoughtful, with one of them being a quite outstanding example of investigative journalism."

The Broadcast Journalist of the Year title was won by Alan Whitehouse, BBC North transport correspondent. Last years winner Andy Gill, of BBC Televisions North-West Tonight, and Steve Parks, of The Red Tape - the organisation producing business material on compact disc, audio cassette and the internet - were highly commended.

Nick said: Alan produced detailed coverage of regional and national issues in his specialist field. His material was highly relevant and stimulating, with a national radio programme he entered being described by one of the judges as "superb". His submissions showed impressive versatility -- they included TV and radio items, news reports and a detailed documentary."

Newspaper of the Year was the Yorkshire Post. The other shortlisted entries were the Telegraph & Argus, Bradford, and the Journal, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Nick said: The Yorkshire Post produced an outstanding entry -- beautifully laid-out, imaginative, lively, varied and interesting. The judges saw the publication as an agenda-setting newspaper that knows its business community and serves it excellently, covering issues that concern it as well as many of the nationals."

Magazine of the Year, for the second successive time, was North-West Business Insider. Highly commended were its sister publication Yorkshire Business Insider and Business Contact, the monthly magazine of North-East Chamber of Commerce.                

Nick said: North-West Insider remains for the judges the one to beat. They praised its range of material, meticulous research, fine writing and cutting-edge. They also liked its layout and design."

New Media Outlet of the Year was The Red Tape, with web-site Manchester Online highly commended.

Nick said: The winner was ambitious and interactive. It was varied and organised, and sophisticated in content and approach. We were also impressed by the preparation and research put in by the experienced journalists the organisation employs."

All the winners were presented with engraved trophies and framed certificates by Nick Garbutt. Journalists who won categories for individuals also received cheques for 1,000.

The 2002 scheme was expanded through the addition of the New Media Outlet category. New records were set this year for the number of entries received and business journalists attending the presentation dinner, held at the Marriott Hotel, Leeds.

-Ends-

Notes To Editors:

1.   For further information please contact Alexander Wright at Yorkshire Bank on 0113 247 2510 (e-mail:alexander.wright@eu.nabgroup.com) or Tim Curran, at Ptarmigan Consultants, on 0113 242 1155 (e-mail: tim@ptarmiganpr.co.uk)

2.   Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks are part of National Australia Bank Group, (NAB), an international financial services group operating across four continents and 15 countries including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Asia. NAB has an asset base of over (A$377bn) 131 billion, assets under management and administration of (A$65bn) 21 billion, assets under custody and administration of (A$365bn) 127 billion, almost eight million banking and more than 2.8 million wealth management customers globally and is ranked as one of the 50 largest banks in the world by revenue. Other members of the group in Europe are Northern Bank in Belfast and National Irish Bank in Dublin. For information on Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, visit our web-sites at www.cbonline.co.uk and www.ybonline.co.uk