Catriona Stewart wins Nicola Barry Award at Scottish Press Awards

Pictured L-R are WIJ Scotland co-chair Anna Burnside, Catriona Stewart and chair of judges Richard Neville at the Scottish Press Awards. Credit: Jeff Holmes.

Congratulations to all WiJ Scotland members who were shortlisted in the 46th Scottish Press Awards.

We were thrilled to see WiJS mentors taking home some awards: Dani Garavelli (Interviewer of the Year and Columnist of the Year) and Chitra Ramaswamy (Food and Drink Writer of the Year).

Melanie Reid, previously of The Times Scotland, was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other winners and runners-up included: Sian Maher; Susan Egelstaff; Rachael Revesz; Jane Barlow; Caroline Wilson; Helen McArdle and Ailsa Sheldon.

WiJ Scotland sponsored the Nicola Barry Award category, which was open to all women journalists working in print and online media in Scotland.

The award honours the memory of Nicola Barry, one of Scotland’s most respected journalists, who passed away in 2017. It recognises women journalists for their work in issue-led reportage or commentary.

The panel was impressed with the quality of this year’s entries – thanks to Anna Burnside, Cat MacPhee, Jean West and Jan Patience for judging.

The award went to freelance writer and broadcaster Catriona Stewart, with Lindsay Bruce of the Press and Journal named as runner-up.

The panel said that Lindsay’s work had Nicola Barry written all over it, discovering how the Raac crisis was affecting people in communities around the north-east. The judges loved the huge effort she made to humanise a building materials story.

Winner, Catriona Stewart, produced outstanding and tenacious journalism over an extended period to tell the story of a prolific abuser preying on vulnerable women in Scotland and beyond. She won the trust of his victims and gave them a voice. Her work led directly to a conviction and a 12 year jail sentence, preventing countless other women being targeted.

View the full list of winners here.