The East Kilbride News has won a prestigious prize at the Scottish Press Awards.
Paul Thomson was today announced as winner in the Local/Weekly Sports Writer of the Year category.
The awards showcase the best journalistic talent in Scotland and have quickly become the top awards for the newspaper industry.
This year's judging panel included veteran news presenter Jackie Bird, former Scottish Conservative leader and ex-journalist Ruth Davidson MSP and BBC investigators Sam Poling and Lucy Adams.
Paul's entries included an exclusive about Darren O’Dea putting his retirement on hold to join East Kilbride FC, an exclusive interview with Kyle Lafferty about coaching at EKYM and a feature on Lee Alexander’s Women’s World Cup journey coming full circle in Paris last year.
Judges praised the quality and range of Paul's work in their comments, saying: "Throw some strong exclusives into the mix, add writing of a style and quality which would grace the sports pages of national titles, and you have a entry which truly set the standard for others to beat."
Paul, 34, was East Kilbride News sports editor from 2008-2019 and last year came runner-up in the Press Awards' Local/Weekly Sports Writer category.
In February, he launched Lanarkshire Live Sport, where he is now editor. Paul also covers matches in the SPFL for the Daily Record and Sunday Mail.
The former Duncanrig pupil, from Gardenhall, said: “I’m thrilled and proud to win this prestigious award, particularly up against so many strong writers and a number of my talented colleagues.
“The last year has produced many great moments for East Kilbride sports stars and clubs, so I’m honoured that the judges believe I’ve done them justice.
“I’ve just become a dad for the first time, so to have my daughter Summer here safely and win this as well has made it a very special couple of weeks.”
Paul will take the trophy home later this year with the awards ceremony at Glasgow's Doubletree by Hilton, due to be held tonight, being rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The East Kilbride News was nominated in two other categories this year: Local/Weekly Campaign of the Year for our exposé 'Living with Lindsay House' and senior news reporter Andrea Lambrou was named as a finalist for The Nicola Barry Award for a series of campaign articles on medical cannabis for the treatment of epilepsy in children.
The Scottish Press Awards were established by the Scottish Newspaper Society (SNS) 41 years ago.
They have quickly become the top awards for the newspaper industry, in both print and digital formats, in Scotland and have flourished into a prestigious event in the diary of every journalist.
