HERALD reporter Lorna Martin last night was credited with breaking one of the biggest national and international stories of last year when she won the accolade for Scoop of the Year in the Scottish Press Awards.
Ms Martin broke the news that Madonna was to marry Guy Ritchie, the British film director, in the romantic royal burgh of Dornoch in Sutherland.
The awards, which were presented at a gala dinner in Glasgow by Henry McLeish, the first minister, also brought accolades for The Herald's sister papers the Sunday Herald and the Evening Times.
Our Sunday title collected awards across four categories, with Muriel Gray recognised as Columnist of the Year; Kenny Kemp taking the title of Financial/Business Writer of the Year; Iain Bruce gaining the top award in the IT/New Media Writer category, and Richard Bath being named Sports Journalist of the Year.
The Evening Times team of Emma Nugent and Andrea Tuckerman was awarded the Campaigning Journalist of the Year title for work in campaigning for a dedicated children's commissioner in Scotland.
The breadth of awards throughout Scottish Media Group's newspapers is significant, given that more than 300 entries from journalists throughout Scotland were submitted.
In particular, the Herald's revelations on Madonna's wedding were commended by the judges who said: ''For many readers, this was the media event of the year. This scoop had worldwide impact and significance.
''The winner managed to nail one of the biggest secrets of the year.
''As a result of this story, the world's press descended upon Dornoch and life there has not been the same since.''
In all, four Herald journalists were nominated in this year's awards.
Simon Bain was joint runner-up for Financial/Business Writer of the Year, John MacLeod was nominated in the Columnist of the Year category, and Kristy Dorsey in the IT/New Media Writer of the Year section.
The full list of winners is:
Journalist of the Year - Alastair McKay of the Scotsman; Scoop of the Year - Lorna Martin of The Herald; Reporter of the Year - Bob Dow of the Daily Record; Journalist Team of the Year - the Daily Record; Feature Writer of the Year - Catherine Deveney of Scotland on Sunday; Columnist of the Year - Muriel Gray of the Sunday Herald; Campaigning Journalist of the Year - Emma Nugent and Andrea Tuckerman of the Evening Times; Financial/Business Writer of the Year - Kenny Kemp of the Sunday Herald; IT/New Media Writer of the Year - Iain Bruce of the Sunday Herald; Political Journalist of the Year - Kenny Farquharson of the Sunday Times; Sports Journalist of the Year - Richard Bath of the Sunday Herald; Arts/Entertainment Writer of the Year - Alastair McKay of the Scotsman; Cartoonist of the Year - Bill Caldwell of the Sunday Mail; Young Journalist of the Year - Derek Alexander of the Sunday Mail;
Weekly Newspaper Journalist of the Year - James Doherty of the Big Issue; The David Boyle (Erskine Hospital) Memorial Award - James Doherty of the Big Issue; Gaelic Journalist of the Year - Roddy Maclean of the Inverness Courier.
Alex Cameron, former chief sports writer of the Daily Record received the 2001 Scottish Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his 55 years service.
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