News / The best news website in the north
THE TEAM behind Shetland News has won a Highlands and Islands Media Award for the best use of digital media.
Company partner Pete Bevington was in Inverness on Friday night where he received the award from Scottish education secretary Mike Russell during a glitzy ceremony at the New Drumossie Hotel.
“It is very satisfying to receive such recognition for the work that we do,” Bevington said.
“We would like to thank all the people who have helped make Shetland News such a success – our readers, our advertisers and the growing number of contributors.”
The award comes as the website celebrates the 10th anniversary of its re-launch in 2003.
The website, unique in that it is independent of any newspaper and is funded entirely by local advertising, has proved highly popular.
Despite serving a population of just over 22,000 people it received more than two million visits during 2012, and numbers continue to grow.
The award was based on three examples of the website’s work during the year:
When the website was first set up in 1995 by former Shetland Times editor Jonathan Wills and internet entrepreneur Graeme Storey, it was the first internet-only news website in the UK.
Storey helped relaunch the website in March 2003 with Bevington and Hans J Marter, freelance journalists running Shetland News Agency.
The team has now been joined by advertising manager Chloe Mackie, webmaster Clement Duncan and administrative assistant Susan Boardman.
Bevington said: “Shetland is an extraordinary community with an amazing appetite for local media, and we are proud to play our part alongside The Shetland Times, BBC Radio Shetland, SIBC, i’i Shetland, Shetland Life, The New Shetlander, Shetlink and more besides.
“A diverse media is a healthy ingredient in any society and helps make Shetland such a vibrant place to live.”
Marter added: “For almost 100 years Shetland had two newspapers in The Shetland Times and The Shetland News, and now, thanks to the internet, it has two again.
“We are not aware of any other local news website that employs journalists and finances itself entirely from local advertising that is not attached to a printed newspaper.
“What we have been doing for the past 10 years has been an experiment that, so far, has proved to be a success and we hope it continues to be so. We could not do it without all the support that we have received over the years.
“I would reserve special thanks to Clement Duncan for the invaluable technical support he has given us over the past two years, creating a platform that we feel gives room for the kind of creativity that has won us this award.”
The winners of the other categories were:
Barron Trophy, for services to journalism – John Ross
Bòrd na Gàidhlig Award for Best Gaelic Entry – Andreas Wolff, BBC ALBA
Photographer of the Year – Willie Urquhart, West Highland Free Press
Top Shot of the Year – Alasdair Allen, Scottish Provincial Press
Young Journalist of the Year and the Alex Main Trophy – Kaye Nicolson, Press and Journal
Sports Writer of the Year – Keith MacKenzie, West Highland Free Press
Reporter of the Year and the Jim Love Memorial Trophy – Jenna Conti, Highland News
Top Story of the Year – Eric Mackinnon, Stornoway Gazette
Feature Writer of the Year – Dave Flanagan, freelance
Community Newspaper of the Year – Fios
Newspaper of the Year – Inverness Courier
The Classic Malts Journalist of the Year – Murray MacLeod, West Highland Free Press.
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