British Press Awards 2009: Content, content, content

It’s not a good time to be a journalist. We stand accused of writing the world into recession. Jobs and entire news organisations are disappearing around us. Those lucky enough to still have a salary are working longer hours for less money. And yet there are still those of us who refuse to give up on our dreams of making our mark in the media.

Lara King and Alison Battisby at the British Press Awards 2009

Last night, I remembered why. My City colleague Alison Battisby and I attended the British Press Awards as guests of Women in Journalism, and spent the night mingling with Fleet Street’s finest at Grosvenor House. After an evening in the company of some of the most impressive journalists of the decade, it was hard not to be inspired by their sensational scoops and influential investigations.

We chatted to Guardian blogger Dave Hill after he had received his award for Digital Journalist of the Year. He complimented our hard work on the Hackney Post and urged us to continue developing the site beyond the constraints of our course. We also swapped training tales with Tom Harper, a former City student who won Young Journalist of the Year for his work on the Mail on Sunday, and caught up with Stephen Wright, chief crime correspondent at the Daily Mail, after he had bagged both the Specialist Journalist of the Year prize and the Cudlipp Award.

Jon Snow presents the British Press Awards

The night was hosted by Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow, who insisted that the much-maligned media masses still have a role to play in the brave new world of news. “Without us, the internet will crumble. We are the key to the future,” he told 700 dubious journalists. But his emphasis on “content, content, content” and the need to pursue journalistic excellence with more determination than ever struck a chord.

It was a good night for…

• The Times: It scooped Newspaper of the Year for its transformation under James Harding, who refused to indulge his “inner Kate Winslet” in his pleasantly punchy acceptance speech. Camilla Cavendish also won Campaign of the Year for her excellent work in making family courts more accountable.
• Geeks: Journalist of the Year Gillian Tett credited the financial crisis with making geek journalism a sought-after style, and guest speaker Vince Cable said the recession had made celebrities out of “people otherwise regarded as boring anoraks, like me and Robert Peston”.
• Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross: Their behaviour may not have been award-winning, but Miles Goslett’s coverage of “Sachsgate” in the Mail on Sunday won Scoop of the Year for follow-up it received everywhere from the papers to Parliament.

It was a bad night for…

• Jon Snow’s jokes: “What’s the capital of Iceland? One krona.” “What’s the difference between a pigeon and an investment banker? A pigeon can still put a deposit down on a Bentley.” And so on.
• A. A. Gill, Jeremy Clarkson and Piers Morgan: All were booed emphatically, simply for having their names read out.
• Bob Satchwell: The executive director of the Society of Editors was so moved by the performance of classical cuties Escala that he declared his desire to return in his next life as a cello.

For full details of the winners, visit Press Gazette. And if we remember Snow’s emphasis on “content, content, content”, perhaps Alison and I will be able to add our names to the list one day.