Northern Scot journalist’s work recognised at Scottish Press Awards
THE work of a Northern Scot reporter has been recognised at Scotland’s premier press awards ceremony.
Lewis McBlane (26) was named as runner-up in the Weekly Journalist of the Year category at the 45th Scottish Press Awards on Wednesday, May 29.
Two stories covering care homes in Huntly, and one on fly-tipping in Moray, saw Lewis nominated for the award.
And, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow, he was named runner-up in the category, with the nomination going to Highland News and Media colleague Scott MacLennan, based in Inverness.
Craig Christie, long-serving sports reporter at The Northern Scot, was shortlisted in the Sports Reporter category, coming up against four journalists from national newspapers.
Lewis is in the running for another prestigious award, having been shortlisted for Private Eye magazine’s Paul Foot Award 2024, which recognises top-quality investigative journalism.
The nomination came after Lewis published a story in February this year revealing emails from 2020 which showed the scrapping of the pledge to dual the A96 by 2030 - despite the public having never been told.
Having originally made a longlist of 11 for the awards night, Lewis is now in the final six and in with a chance of scooping the prize.