NEWSQUEST Cumbria journalists were recognised this week at a leading industry awards event in London.

The Regional Press Awards 2024 presentation and lunch showcases and celebrates the most innovative, exciting and erudite journalists working around the UK, as well as recognising the publications that set new standards for quality.

Several journalists represented Cumbria at Quaglino's, Bury Street, London on Tuesday, April 16.

Dan Taylor, chief reporter at The Mail, and Phil Coleman, chief reporter for the News & Star, were both shortlisted in the Crime & Investigative Reporter of the Year category.

Phil was also 'highly commended' by judges in the Reporter of the Year (Daily) category.

Multi-award-winning reporter Jon Colman, who covers Carlisle United, was also shortlisted for Sports Journalist of the Year.

Newsquest Cumbria's nuclear correspondent and Times and Star Chief Reporter Bridget Dempsey was awarded the Cathryn Nicholl Award which 'focuses on brilliant interviewing and feature writing' of a journalist working for a weekly or daily local or regional newspaper published in the UK, who is aged between 18 and 25.

The award was won for an interview with former Sellafield Ltd. CEO Martin Chown, which was published in Newsquest's in-Cumbria business magazine last year and was also the edition's cover story.

The judges said: "Sellafield is not just the largest nuclear site in Europe, it is a vital contributor to the Cumbrian economy even while it is in the process of being decommissioned, with tens of thousands of people employed either directly by the plant or the associated supply chain. That makes it one of the most important drivers of local news, and a continual source of interest to readers of the local press.

"Thanks to persistent networking over the course of many months, Bridget Dempsey was able to secure a relatively rare interview with Sellafield’s CEO, Martin Chown, which offered not just an insight into future plans for the site but a personal look at a leader of local importance who guided Sellafield through the pandemic and its aftermath.

"Dempsey emphasised Chown’s humility as a leader, and his belief that “everybody is just as important as everybody else” whether they are a nuclear worker, cleaner or security guard. But Dempsey also discussed Chown’s background, from starting his career working on the shop floor as an apprentice to later volunteering as a part-time ambulance driver."

Joy Yates, regional editor, said: “I am enormously proud of our Newsquest Cumbria team and this recognition is testament to the hard work and dedication our reporters demonstrate on a daily basis.”