The Athletic’s football corrrespondent David Ornstein is the newly-crowned SJA Sportswriter of the Year; Sunday Times wins Newspaper category for first time; Telegraph takes Digital Sports Publisher, with Telegraph Women’s Sports getting Specialist title; five individual awards for Guardian writers…
By the SJA
He’s best known for giving football fans the inside track on transfers but now David Ornstein has given us a moment of major breaking news in our own industry.
The Athletic’s football correspondent has been named the SJA Sportswriter of the Year, for the first time in his career.
Having already recognised his outstanding achievements in the Football News Reporter category, which he won for the second consecutive year, the judges selected Ornstein as the recipient of the prestigious John Bromley Trophy.
His unflinching pursuit of stories has elevated him into the upper echelons of sports journalism and there was also appreciation for his contributions to two shortlisted Scoops, which underlined his sharp delivery and also showed great sensitivity.
One of the most coveted categories is Newspaper of the Year, with the 2024 title going to The Sunday Times.
The judges noted “the perfect balance of colour, crunch and context” in the Sunday Times’ entry, which was “big on exclusives and great reads… an excellent newspaper coping admirably with the challenges of the digital age.”
On an individual level, it was an excellent night for Matt Lawton of The Times & Sunday Times, who won the News Reporter category for a fifth time and secured his second Scoop success too.
That award was for his exclusive report from early June about Manchester City launching unprecedented legal action against the Premier League, the repercussions of which are still being felt today.
Other winners from the Times stable included Jonathan Northcroft (Football Journalist), Alex Lowe (Rugby Journalist), and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat (Data Journalist).
There is also a new name on the Digital Sports Publisher roll of honour, as The Telegraph took the top prize. The award was announced alongside that of Specialist Sports Publisher, which went to Telegraph Women’s Sport.
The judges noted the Telegraph’s “mix of innovation across platforms” and the way its women’s sports coverage has led the way in the field and helped the industry to address under-representation.
Nick Hoult added to the Telegraph’s trophy haul as he retained the Cricket Journalist award.
The Guardian celebrated five individual wins in writing categories. Donald McRae kept hold of his Specialist Correspondent and Feature Writer crowns, and Suzy Wrack achieved the same in the Women’s Sport Journalist category.
Their colleague Barney Ronay took the honours in Columnist and also the new Popular Culture Commentator category.
There was a new winner in the Regional Journalist category as the Liverpool Echo’s Everton correspondent Joe Thomas came out on top.
Whisper were named Content Agency of the Year, while ITV News’ Antoine Allen claimed the inaugural Sport for Change Journalism award. Sky Sports News’ Geraint Hughes won another new category, Sports Summariser.
Jayne Pearce, the founder and director of media consultancy Pearce International, won the Doug Gardner Award for services to sports journalism and the SJA.
Aadam Patel (Mail Sport) and Ervin Ang had previously been announced as the winners of the Young Sportswriter and SJA Academy Award categories respectively.
NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
Mail Sport; The Guardian; The Observer; The Sunday Times; The Telegraph; The Times
Winner: The Sunday Times
SPORTSWRITER OF THE YEAR (The John Bromley Trophy)
Winner: David Ornstein
DOUG GARDNER AWARD FOR SERVICES TO SPORTS JOURNALISM AND THE SJA
Winner: Jayne Pearce
DIGITAL SPORTS PUBLISHER
MailOnline Sport; Opta Analyst; Sky Sports; The Athletic; The Guardian; The Telegraph; The Times & Sunday Times
Bronze: The Athletic; Silver: The Times & Sunday Times; Winner: The Telegraph
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST
Daniel Storey – The i Paper; Ian Ladyman – Mail Sport; Isaan Khan – Mail Sport; James Ducker – The Telegraph; James Gheerbrant – The Times & Sunday Times; Jonathan Liew – The Guardian; Jonathan Northcroft – The Times & Sunday Times; Sam Wallace – The Telegraph
Bronze: Sam Wallace – The Telegraph; Silver: Ian Ladyman – Mail Sport, and James Ducker – The Telegraph; Winner: Jonathan Northcroft – The Times & Sunday Times
CRICKET JOURNALIST
Ali Martin – The Guardian; Chris Stocks – The i Paper; Mike Atherton – The Times & Sunday Times; Nick Hoult – The Telegraph; Simon Wilde – The Times & Sunday Times; Stephan Shemilt – BBC Sport; Tim Wigmore – The Telegraph; Will Macpherson – The Telegraph
Bronze: Tim Wigmore – The Telegraph; Silver: Mike Atherton – The Times & Sunday Times; Winner: Nick Hoult – The Telegraph
RUGBY JOURNALIST
Alex Lowe – The Times & Sunday Times; Daniel Schofield – The Telegraph; Gavin Mairs – The Telegraph; Nik Simon – Mail Sport; Stephen Jones – The Times & Sunday Times; William Kelleher – The Times & Sunday Times
Bronze: Stephen Jones – The Times & Sunday Times; Silver: Daniel Schofield – The Telegraph; Winner: Alex Lowe – The Times & Sunday Times
REGIONAL JOURNALIST
Ciaran Kelly – The Journal/Chronicle Live; Dafydd Pritchard – BBC Sport Wales; Heather Dewar – Scottish Daily Mail (freelance); Joe Thomas – Liverpool ECHO; Jon Colman – Newsquest Cumbria; Jordan Cross – Portsmouth News; Neil Allen – Portsmouth News; Simon Collings – The London Standard
Bronze: Neil Allen – Portsmouth News; Silver: Jon Colman – Newsquest Cumbria; Winner: Joe Thomas – Liverpool ECHO
SPECIALIST CORRESPONDENT (THE MIKE DICKSON TROPHY)
Barney Ronay – The Guardian; Dominic King – Mail Sport; Donald McRae – The Guardian; Jeremy Wilson – The Telegraph; Lee Mottershead – Racing Post; Molly Hudson – The Times & Sunday Times; Riath Al-Samarrai – Mail Sport
Bronze: Riath Al-Samarrai – Mail Sport; Silver: Barney Ronay – The Guardian; Winner: Donald McRae – The Guardian
WOMEN’S SPORT JOURNALIST
Caroline Barker – Sky Sports; Charlotte Harpur – The Athletic; Fiona Tomas – The Telegraph; Jessy Parker Humphreys – The Athletic; Kathryn Batte – Telegraph/Mail; Katie Whyatt – The Athletic; Suzanne Wrack – The Guardian; Tom Garry – The Guardian
Bronze: Kathryn Batte – Telegraph/Mail; Silver: Charlotte Harpur – The Athletic, and Katie Whyatt – The Athletic; Winner: Suzanne Wrack – The Guardian
COLUMNIST
Barney Ronay – The Guardian; Ian Herbert – Mail Sport; James Wallace – Freelance; Jonathan Liew – The Guardian; Kate Mason – Metro; Oliver Brown – The Telegraph; Oliver Holt – Mail Sport; Riath Al-Samarrai – Mail Sport
Bronze: Oliver Holt – Mail Sport; Silver: Jonathan Liew – The Guardian; Winner: Barney Ronay – The Guardian
FEATURE WRITER
Alyson Rudd – The Times & Sunday Times; Daniel Storey – The i Paper; David Walsh – The Times & Sunday Times; Donald McRae – The Guardian; James Gheerbrant – The Times & Sunday Times; Nik Simon – Mail Sport; Oliver Brown – The Telegraph; Owen Slot – The Times & Sunday Times
Bronze: Owen Slot – The Times & Sunday Times; Silver: David Walsh – The Times & Sunday Times; Winner: Donald McRae – The Guardian
NEWS REPORTER
Ben Rumsby – The Telegraph; Elizabeth Ammon – The Times & Sunday Times; Heather Dewar – Scottish Daily Mail (freelance); Liz Perkins – ITV Wales/Daily Telegraph; Martyn Ziegler – The Times & Sunday Times; Matt Hughes – Hughes Media Group; Matt Lawton – The Times & Sunday Times; Mike Keegan – Mail Sport
Bronze: Martyn Ziegler – The Times & Sunday Times; Silver: Heather Dewar – Scottish Daily Mail (freelance); Winner: Matt Lawton – The Times & Sunday Times
FOOTBALL NEWS REPORTER
Adam Crafton – The Athletic; David Ornstein – The Athletic; Matt Hughes – Hughes Media Group; Matt Law – The Telegraph; Sami Mokbel – Mail Sport; Tom Garry – The Guardian
Bronze: Sami Mokbel – Mail Sport; Silver: Matt Law – The Telegraph; Winner: David Ornstein – The Athletic
SCOOP
Anderson’s summer swansong – Ali Martin (The Guardian); Bill Sweeney pay – Alex Lowe (The Times & Sunday Times); Dan Ashworth leaves Manchester United after five months as sporting director – David Ornstein, Laurie Whitwell and Adam Crafton (The Athletic); England turn to Thomas Tuchel – Rob Dorsett (Sky Sports News); I got into Wembley without a ticket – Aadam Patel (Mail Sport); Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari – Craig Slater (Sky Sports News); Man City launch unprecedented legal action against Premier League – Matt Lawton (The Times & Sunday Times); Marcus Rashford to leave Manchester United – Henry Winter (Freelance); Sir Alex Ferguson’s contract ended by INEOS – Adam Crafton (The Athletic); Thomas Tuchel agrees to become England manager – Jonathan Northcroft (The Times & Sunday Times); ‘Unacceptable’ handling of sexual assault claims linked to Fulham Football Club raises more questions for police – David Ornstein and Laura Williamson (The Athletic); United set to axe a quarter of their staff – Mike Keegan (Mail Sport)
Bronze: Bill Sweeney pay – Alex Lowe (The Times & Sunday Times); Silver: England turn to Thomas Tuchel – Rob Dorsett (Sky Sports News), and Thomas Tuchel agrees to become England manager – Jonathan Northcroft (The Times & Sunday Times); Winner: Man City launch unprecedented legal action against Premier League – Matt Lawton (The Times & Sunday Times)
CONTENT AGENCY
Getty Images; Opta Content; Sportsbeat; The Content Club; Whisper
Bronze: Sportsbeat; Silver: Getty Images; Winner: Whisper
DATA JOURNALIST
Ali Tweedale – Opta Analyst; Andy Zaltzman – BBC; Ben Wylie – Plot the Ball; David Segar – Opta Analyst; Hamzah Khalique-Loonat – The Times & Sunday Times; Mark Carey – The Athletic
Bronze: Ali Tweedale – Opta Analyst; Silver: Mark Carey – The Athletic; Winner: Hamzah Khalique-Loonat – The Times & Sunday Times
POPULAR CULTURE COMMENTATOR
Barney Ronay – The Guardian; Caoimhe O’Neill – The Athletic; Jon Holmes – Freelance; Laura Howard – She’s A Baller; Phil Hay – The Athletic; Rob Maul – The Sun; Simi Iluyomade – VERSUS
Bronze: Jon Holmes – Freelance; Silver: Caoimhe O’Neill – The Athletic; Winner: Barney Ronay – The Guardian
SPECIALIST SPORTS PUBLISHER
FootBiz; Opta Analyst; Rugby Journal; Sébastien Chapuis (Substack); Sports Media LGBT+; Telegraph Women’s Sport; The Cricketer; The Cutback
Bronze: The Cricketer; Silver: Opta Analyst; Winner: Telegraph Women’s Sport
SPORTS SUMMARISER
Alex Crook – talkSPORT; Geraint Hughes – Sky Sports News; Matt Slater – The Athletic; Rob Smyth – The Guardian; Scott Murray – The Guardian
Bronze: Scott Murray – The Guardian; Silver: Matt Slater – The Athletic; Winner: Geraint Hughes – Sky Sports News
SPORT FOR CHANGE JOURNALISM
Antoine Allen – ITV News; Bespoke Content Team – Sky Sports News; David Lockwood – BBC Sport; Owen Slot – The Times & Sunday Times; Summaya Mughal – BBC; Versus
Bronze: Bespoke Content Team – Sky Sports News; Silver: David Lockwood – BBC Sport; Winner: Antoine Allen – ITV News
ONES TO WATCH – WRITING (THE IAN WOOLDRIDGE TROPHY)
Aadam Patel – Mail Sport; Ben Fisher – The Guardian; Charlotte Daly – Mail Sport; Jessy Parker Humphreys – Freelance; Jordan Campbell – The Athletic; Lewis Steele – Mail Sport; Sonia Twigg – The Telegraph / The Independent; Um-E-Aymen Babar – Sky Sports
Bronze: Charlotte Daly – Mail Sport; Silver: Ben Fisher – The Guardian; Winner: Aadam Patel – Mail Sport
SJA ACADEMY AWARD, IN ASSOCIATION WITH talkSPORT
Highly Commended: Alice Wright; Emma Seligman; Nadan Hadzic; Winner: Ervin Ang