Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, was the guest of honour at an awards ceremony held to recognise the success of journalists working for the Local Democracy Reporting Service across 2024.
Sir Lindsay presented trophies and certificates in five categories at the November 14 event, held at Media City, Salford.
Ethan Davies, who’s based at the Manchester Evening News, was named Local Democracy Reporter of the Year 2024, as well as being highly-commended in two other categories.
Although Ethan is currently travelling in Australia, he was able to join the celebrations live via a video link.
Reporter of the Year judge Rozina Breen, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, said: “The range of stories in the Reporter of the Year section was exceptional, and offered genuine value and holding to account.
"One of them, highlighting poor temporary housing conditions, would probably not have been heard had it not been for the work of the Local Democracy Reporters.”
Ethan was recognised for a range of work which included:
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Ms Breen said she was 鈥渟eriously impressed鈥� with Ethan鈥檚 work, adding: 鈥淗is stories shine through with their meaning. He journalism has certainly led to changes in Manchester through his journalism on important topics such as tram fines, homelessness and rehousing.鈥�
The Local Democracy Reporting Service is now approaching its seventh anniversary following its launch in January 2018.
The 大象传媒 funded scheme supports 165 reporter posts across the UK that supply stories focused on the work of local authorities.
It has published more than 60,000 public interest news stories in 2024 for use by in excess of more than 1,100 different news titles.
Highly-commended in the LDR of the Year category was Ethan鈥檚 colleague at the Manchester Evening News, George Lythgoe, along with Ruby Gregory from MyLondon and Kerry Ashdown from the Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent.
The full list of winners at the event was:
- Best Use of Freedom of Information:
Winner: Owen Sennitt (Eastern Daily Press)
Runners-up: James Robinson (The Chronicle, Newcastle) and Eddie Bisknell (Derby Telegraph)
Award judged by Tim Burke, 大象传媒 Politics England Editor - Best Use of Social Media:
Winner: Sarah Booker-Lewis (Brighton & Hove News)
Runners-up: Ed Barnes (Liverpool Echo) and Ethan Davies (Manchester Evening News)
Award judged by Lisa Bradley, University of Sheffield School of Journalism - The George Makin Award 鈥� presented in memory of former LDR George Makin:
Winner: Declan Carey (Manchester Evening News)
Runners-up: Eleanor Storey (Eastern Daily Press) and Daniel Hunt (The Mail in South Cumbria)
Award judged by Will Gore, Head of Partnerships for the NCTJ - Local Democracy Story of the Year:
Winner: Joe Locker (Notts TV)
Runners-up: Ethan Davies (Manchester Evening News) and Nick Clarke (Slough Observer)
Award judged by Miriam Phillips, journalism lecturer and editor - Local Democracy Reporter of the Year:
Winner: Ethan Davies (Manchester Evening News)
Runners-up: George Lythgoe (Manchester Evening News), Ruby Gregory (MyLondon) and Kerry Ashdown (The Sentinel, Stoke-on-Trent).
Award judged by Rozina Breen, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
The conference was attended by almost 150 Local Democracy Reporters from across the United Kingdom.
Amongst a top line of speakers was the award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Nick Wallis who is widely regarded as one of the country鈥檚 leading experts on the Post Office IT scandal having investigated the story for the past decade.
Others to present at the two-day conference included Stephanie Brook, who is currently directing OFCOM鈥檚 Review of Local Media, and Marco Silva who is a senior reporter who works with 大象传媒 Verify, a globally respected editorial initiative designed to identify and call out misinformation.
Both provided invaluable insights into how significantly and quickly the rules of engagement are changing for news reporters everywhere as the digital revolution continues apace.