Tait scoops award

A SHETLAND journalist was named best feature writer at the Highlands and Islands Press Awards in Inverness on Friday night.

Shetland Times news editor Jim Tait, who began working for the company as a typesetter as a teenager, won the award for a portfolio including an interview with convicted drug dealer Paul Grant and a profile of D-Day veteran Geordie Mainland.

Tait said it was “an honour and a privilege” to win the award, singling out former editor Vaila Wishart for her support when he made the move into the newsroom. He also thanked current editor Adam Civico, the rest of the company’s staff and Grant and Mainland for telling him their respective stories.

Civico said: “Jim speaks of the high standards readers expect of The Shetland Times. As a news editor and writer he provides a fine example of how to uphold those standards and his award is well deserved.”