The Northern Scot reporter Lewis McBlane named Reporter of the Year at Highlands and Islands Media Awards
A Northern Scot journalist scooped the prestigious Reporter of the Year title at the Highlands and Islands Media Awards.
Lewis McBlane was presented with the Jim Love Memorial Award at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness on Friday evening.
The former Forres Academy pupil, who has been with the Scot and its sister titles for several years, was honoured for his in-depth coverage of the A96 dualling and a data breach at Moray Council, among other things.
The award win was one of three for The Northern Scot - with Elgin-based Daniel Forsyth winning Photographer of the Year and the Scot winning Newspaper of the Year.
Lewis’ work was described by host Nicola McAlley, of STV News. She said: “A series of front pages included an exclusive on how the dualling timetable of the A96 was dropped, a controversial Save Our Surgeries spat and another exclusive on a data breach by Moray Council.
“His writing gets to the heart of local matters and brings the issues that matter to light. His writing is classy, crisp and conscientious.”
The Northern Scot’s sister title The Inverness Courier was named Website of the Year.
Feature Writer of the Year - which Scot reporter Alistair Whitfield was nominated for - went to the Courier’s Val Sweeney, while former Courier reporter Annabelle Gauntlett was crowned Young Reporter of the Year aged just 21.
Elsewhere, there was also an emotional win for the late, great Inverness Courier and Press & Journal reporter Neil MacPhail, who sadly passed away in November, and was named Diageo Journalist of the Year in honour of his five decades of fine work within the industry.
To support Lewis’ journalism, use code LEWISMCBLANE when choosing a Digital+ subscription on The Northern Scot website.
This will grant you access to all content produced by The Northern Scot, Forres Gazette and more - including e-editions of every newspaper, for just £1 a month.