FREELANCE financial journalist, Francis Shennan, will find himself competing with his ‘boss’ for a national press award this summer.
For both he and The Herald’s personal finance editor, Simon Bain, have been shortlisted for the British Insurance Brokers’ Association Journalist of the Year Award.
Shennan is shortlisted for three stories he wrote for The Herald’s Personal Finance page, under his own by-line, but he is also shortlisted for three stories on which he shared the by-line with Bain.
Being shortlisted is not a new experience for either – Bain and Shennan already have a collection of UK and Scottish Press awards between them – but it is the first time they have been short-listed together for the same entry.
Although freelance, Shennan has frequently deputised for Bain on The Herald Personal Finance page. He said: “I have worked for Simon on Scotland on Sunday and The Herald for 16 years and he is rightly one of the most respected business and financial journalists in Scotland.
“He is also one of the best commissioning editors: he is open to suggestions but has very clear ideas and knows how to explain what he wants.”
The winners will be announced at an award ceremony and lunch in London on July 5. “I’m hoping Simon and I will both get there,” said Shennan, “because, with his being based in Edinburgh and me in Glasgow, we don’t meet for months on end. And I think it’s his round.”
