The Lead North wins national journalism award
Original reporting by The Lead praised by judges as we scoop newsletter prize at Press Gazette's Future of Media Awards
The Lead's northern titles have been named as the best in the country.
Press Gazette's Future of Media Awards crowned The Lead North as the winner of the best specialist/regional newsletter of the year.
At the ceremony in London last night Lead North senior editor Luke Beardsworth and The Lead's National Editor Natalie Morris collected the prize.
The judges praised the original reporting of our titles which focus on towns and regions beyond the major cities of the North of England, unearthing stories, setting the agenda and debunking misinformation within communities.
Press Gazette reports The Lead North as being "a wonderful example of local news journalism fighting back with original reporting, and an eye to rebuilding a local news ecosystem fit for the 21st century.”
Luke said: "News is worth paying for and it's a privilege to work with such wonderful journalists to demonstrate that twice a week in Lancashire, Blackpool, Southport, Teesside and Calderdale.
"We're unlikely to celebrate for very long. I don't recall seeing as much misinformation as we do right now and we'll keep digging in, debunking and investigating to bring readers the sort of reporting that would otherwise be at serious risk."
The Lead North has built an audience of thousands of readers across Blackpool, Teesside, Lancashire, Southport and Calderdale and stories from the North regularly feature as part of The Lead's news and features in its national newsletter. A subscription to The Lead helps ensure we can keep doing rigorous in-depth reporting in these communities.
Other winners in the awards included The Guardian, Politico Playbook and the Financial Times.