Mail writers honoured at Press Oscars
TWO of the Daily Mail’s star writers – Jan Moir and Sarah Vine – have scooped prestigious prizes at the annual Press Awards, regarded as the Oscars of British journalism.
In a ceremony in London on Tuesday, Vine triumphed in the coveted Columnist of the Year (Popular Newspapers) category while Moir took the award for Interviewer of the Year (Popular).
The judges heaped praise on Vine for her ‘exceptional ability to capture the zeitgeist and articulate the thoughts of her readers into an incisive column which drives a real sense of personality’.
Moir – who was a joint winner with Caroline Graham of our sister paper The Mail on Sunday – was lauded for her ‘hilarious and uplifting’ interviews with John Wayne Bobbitt and an ‘impressive exclusive’ with the royal wedding officiator, Bishop Michael Curry.
The Daily Mail was highly commended in four other categories, including Tom Payne for Young Journalist of the Year, Andy Hooper for Sports Photographer of the Year and Matt Lawton for Sports News Story of the Year. His revelation that Premier League clubs were being asked to pay £250,000 each to fund a leaving gift for £2.5million-a-year Premier League chief Richard Scudamore was praised as ‘an exclusive that provoked an immediate storm in the sporting world’.
The Daily Mail was also highly commended in the Newspaper of the Year category.
In a glittering night for Mail newspapers, the Society of Editors also honoured legendary cartoonist Stanley ‘Mac’ McMurtry – who retired last year – with a special Fellowship Award for his ‘razor-sharp’ wit over a 50-year period, while The Mail on Sunday won five awards including Health Journalist of the Year, Specialist Journalist of the Year, Critic of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year (Popular).