Donegal journalist Mark Tighe named NewsBrands Ireland 2018 News Reporter of the Year

Donegal native Mark Tighe, and journalist with The Sunday Times, has been crowned the NewsBrands Ireland News Reporter of the Year for 2018, which took place in the Dublin yesterday (15 November 2018). 

The award was presented by Vincent Crowley, Chairperson of NewsBrands Ireland, and Siobhan Cronin, a member of the Journalism Awards Judging Panel. The Awards were sponsored for the third year by the National Lottery.

Commenting on the News Reporter award, Ms Cronin said: “In an age when news reporting is increasingly vital for a properly functioning democracy, it’s reassuring to know that there was a very high standard of entry for this category – reflecting the talent, tenacity and professionalism of Irish journalists. The winner in this category can be justly proud of their achievement, given the breadth and depth of the other entries.

"The winning reporter’s range of work spanned human interest stories of personal tragedy, an exposé into working conditions at a top multinational, and a political wrangle over an important public health issue.

Ms Cronin continued, “This insightful and important journalism also prompted some significant changes as a result of the exposés – a true mark of effective journalism. Due to his ability to report on a variety of wide-ranging subjects, and his obvious talent in relaying the message in a clear and uncomplicated way, the judges are delighted to name the 2018 News Reporter of the Year as Mark Tighe of the Sunday Times.”

In addition to the overall Journalist of the Year prize, a total of 26 category awards were presented at the ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House including News, Sport, Business, Campaigning Journalism, Crime, Foreign Coverage, Investigative Journalism, Digital Excellence, Showbiz, Political Coverage, and Young Journalist

Journalism Awards 2018 winners

·         Business Journalist – Tom Lyons, The Sunday Business Post

·         Business Story – Mark Paul & Colm Keena, The Irish Times

·         Campaigning Journalism – Irish Independent Tracker Mortgage coverage (Charlie Weston)

·         Columnist (Broadsheet) – Fintan O’ Toole, The Irish Times

·         Columnist (Popular) – Philip Nolan, Irish Daily Mail

·         Critic – Richard Pine, The Sunday Times

·         Crime Story – Michael O’ Toole, Irish Daily Star

·         Crime Journalist – Stephen Breen, The Irish Sun

·         Digital Excellence – Irish Farmers Journal

·         Features (Broadsheet) – Conor Lally, The Irish Times

·         Features ( Popular) – Aoife Finneran, The Irish Sun

·         Foreign Coverage – Sally Hayden, The Irish Times

·         Front Page – Irish Daily Mail  ( I Found Out Today I’m Dying)

·         Headline – Irish Daily Star (Chilly Wrong Kearney)

·         Investigative Journalism –Sunday Independent Investigative Team ( Maeve Sheehan, Wayne O’ Connor, Mark O’ Regan)

·         News Analysis – Susan Mitchell, The Sunday Business Post

·         News Reporter –  Mark Tighe, The Sunday Times

·         Political Journalist – Fiach Kelly, The Irish Times

·         Political Story – Ellen Coyne, The Times, Ireland Edition

·         Scoop – Rosita Boland, The Irish Times

·         Showbiz Story – Jennifer O’ Brien and Catherine Sanz, The Times, Ireland Edition

·         Showbiz Journalist – Barry Egan, Sunday Independent

·         Sports Story – Vincent Hogan,  Irish Independent

·         Sports Writer (Broadsheet) – Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent

·         Sports Writer (Popular) – David Coughlan, Irish Daily Star

·         Young Journalist of the Year – Amy Molloy, Independent.ie

·         Journalist of the Year 2018 – Rosita Boland, The Irish Times