THE Scots journalist, Catherine Deveney, has been shortlisted in the Scoop of the Year category at the British Press Awards.
Deveney is among a handful of Scots who have earned a nomination in the UK-wide competition, which announced its shortlist – here – on Friday.
She is nominated for a piece in The Observer – UK’s top cardinal accused of ‘inappropriate acts’ by priests – while freelancer, Ian MacNicol, is in the running for Sports Photographer of the Year.
And Fraser Nelson is nominated in the Political Journalist of the Year category.
The winners are announced on the first of next month.
PS Deveney writes about what the last year has been like, since penning her scoop – in a two-page feature in yesterday’s Sunday Herald.
* * *
BEGINS The Scotsman’s Stephen McGinty, at the weekend: “War correspondent, Martha Gellhorn, was one of the reasons I became a journalist and she was one of my first interviewees.”
And so unfolds a fascinating two-page feature. Read more, here.
* * *
THE Scots broadcaster, James Naughtie, is the subject of a lavish interview in The Scotsman’s Weekend Life magazine, on the occasion of his first novel, a political thriller, The Madness of July.
Read David Robinson’s review and interview, here.
And Alan Taylor pens an equally affectionate piece about Naughtie, in The Herald Magazine, here.
* * *
INTERESTING quote from Professor Raymond Boyle, of the centre for Cultural Policy Research at Glasgow University, about the possible impact on the characters in a realty TV series, such as The Street (about Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow) on BBC One Scotland.
He is quoted in a Sunday Herald feature about the topic, saying: “What is complicated is the way in which people very rarely have thought through what the implications of appearing on such programmes are.
“Many people certainly have an assumption that everybody is media savvy these days but I think occasionally that’s over-assumed.
“The participants have certainly not given thought to the legacy or the long-term impact of appearing. Some people may have given it thought but, after the event, you can have an outcry of people feeling that they were misrepresented.”
* * *
STV is reportedly considering paying out a dividend to shareholders – for the first time in seven years.
Says Scotland on Sunday: “STV chief, Rob Woodward, is expected to confirm this week that the broadcaster is resuming dividends after a seven-year hiatus as it benefits from a surge in work at its production arm.
“Shareholders could be in line for a final dividend of 1.5p a share – their first payout since 2006 – and the group is tipped to have beaten its target of getting net debt below two times underlying earnings.”
* * *
MEANWHILE, the production arm of STV has been commissioned to make another four series of the antiques competition TV show, Antiques Road Trip – for the BBC.
Says a STV announcement: “STV Productions has been commissioned to make another four series of long-running hit show Antiques Road Trip for BBC One and a brand new series of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip for BBC Two.
“Series 9-12 of Antiques Road Trip (80 x 45’’) will air over two years with filming starting Spring 2014.”
* * *
A NEW photo library has been launched, specialising in ‘disability-inclusive’ images has been launched – as announced here.
* * *
BEGINS the standfirst in the Sunday Herald’s Essay of the Week, by the author, Janice Galloway: “Growing up in an all-female household, Janice Galloway turned to teen magazines in the hope of finding out about the opposite sex…”
And the essay begins: “My mother, a never-miss reader of The Sunday Post, hated [the magazine] Woman.”
* * *
HE is a former freelance sports journalist and also a tattoo artist. Now, Andy Stewart is making acclaimed short, horror films – as Barry Didcock discovers, in The Herald, here.
And sports journalists of a certain vintage will remember the keen sports radio journalist, Iain Mercer, who is now a commercial property developer and is the subject of an interview by Mark Williamson – also in The Herald, here.
* * *
THE publisher of The Scotsman newspaper is reportedly to ask shareholders for funds as it attempts to cut its “massive debt pile”.
Reports www.telegraph.co.uk: “Johnston Press is looking to raise at least £75 million in a rights issue to be launched in the coming weeks, it is understood.”
It’s believed the debt stands at £300 million.
* * *
SEEN anything you think readers of www.allmediascotland.com should be made aware of? Then just send the weblink to info@allmediascotland.com and we’ll do the rest. All suggestions gratefully received. We’re back at noon tomorrow.
PS Your Noon Briefing is a relatively new venture for allmediascotland.com. We are no longer going to report news, story-by-story. Instead, we are going to find content we hope will be useful, in the belief it will prove to be a more comprehensive service.
