Double scoop - triumphant Telegraph wins big at awards

By Darren Calpin
Published 14th Oct 2022, 16:57 BST
Updated 19th Oct 2022, 11:17 BST
Adam Barker, left, and Stephen Briggs with their Editorial Excellence Awards.Adam Barker, left, and Stephen Briggs with their Editorial Excellence Awards.
Adam Barker, left, and Stephen Briggs with their Editorial Excellence Awards.
Veteran and novice reporters do Peterborough proud at Editorial Excellence Awards

Journalists from the Peterborough Telegraph scooped double honours at a glitzy awards ceremony last night (Thursday). Telegraph stalwart Stephen Briggs and cub reporter Adam Barker each walked away from National World’s inaugural Editorial Excellence Awards with a coveted gong.

39-year-old Stephen Briggs – a fixture at the weekly newspaper for over 14 years – brought home the bacon for Peterborough in the esteemed Journalist of the Year category. Adam, who only started working at the paper nine months ago, was crowned Trainee Journalist of the Year.

Briggs insisted the award represented a team effort:

Winners in each of the 15 categories pose with their awards at the inaugural National World ceremonyWinners in each of the 15 categories pose with their awards at the inaugural National World ceremony
Winners in each of the 15 categories pose with their awards at the inaugural National World ceremony

"It was a real honour, and a big surprise to win the award, with some fantastic journalists nominated alongside me.

"It has been a great team effort at the Peterborough Telegraph over the past year as we have welcomed a number of new faces to our newsroom in 2022, and the awards are testament to the hard work everyone here is putting in."

University of Derby graduate Adam, 22, said:

"I'm incredibly proud to be named as National World's Trainee Journalist of the Year.

"Since joining the team at the Peterborough Telegraph in February this year, I've covered a range of stories and no two days have ever been the same, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to pursue a career in journalism.”

Held at Headingley Stadium in Leeds, the swanky awards ceremony was an opportunity for publisher National World to recognise and reward outstanding journalism across its considerable newspaper portfolio. The event was co-hosted by National World deputy editor-in-chief Gary Shipton and Nancy Fielder, editor-in-chief of the group’s Metro Worlds division.

Speaking of the event, Gary said: “It was a great evening, full of laughter underpinned by our enormous pride.”

He explained that the quality of journalism across National World’s titles was evident:

”As we worked through more than 100 entries for the 15 awards, the extraordinary talent, creativity and expertise of our journalists shone through.”

Gary summed up the evening on a buoyant note:

“As we celebrate this level of achievement we can be hugely optimistic about the future of our industry.”