13-03-2025
Liverpool ECHO named daily news brand of the year at Regional Press Awards
The Liverpool ECHO was named large daily news brand of the year at the 2025 Regional Press Awards. The ECHO won the honour at the awards ceremony in London, along with the Best Live Coverage award, in recognition of its coverage of major events including the riots which followed the horrific murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King in Southport in July.
Political editor Liam Thorp won the Specialist Journalist of the Year award, as well as being highly commended in the Daily Reporter of the Year category. Reporter Ben Roberts-Haslam was highly commended in the Young Journalist category.
The ECHO's live coverage was praised as an "integral part of its storytelling", while live coverage of the disorder during the summer "sought to combat the disinformation widely shared on social media.
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"Echo journalists were on the streets late into the night to cover the rioting, using a live blog to verify facts and amplify messages released by official sources."
Live coverage of Taylor Swift's huge Anfield concerts last summer was also praised, with the judges describing this as a "refreshing and positive approach."
Hundreds of guests from across regional media in the UK gathered for the awards ceremony on Wednesday in central London. Judges praised the ECHO's "brilliantly handled, first rate coverage" of the Southport murders and subsequent violence across the UK, with judges adding "the team has demonstrated time and again commitment to serving their communities and audiences."
Also singled out was the ECHO's special data-led report on the impact of austerity on Liverpool, published ahead of the general election to highlight the challenges facing the incoming government. Meanwhile, judges said Jurgen Klopp's love letter to Liverpool, published through the ECHO before he left Liverpool FC in May, "spoke volumes of the regard the publication is held in, at all levels."
In awarding Liam Thorp the Specialist Journalist prize, judges said he was "a journalist who understands his newspaper's readers and is at the top of his game."
As well as the award wins and high commendations, the ECHO was nominated for the Supporting Communities Award, while photographers Iain Watts and Colin Lane were nominees for Photographer of the Year. Liam Thorp was also nominated for Feature Writer of the Year.
ECHO editor Maria Breslin said: "I could not be prouder of my Liverpool ECHO colleagues who go above and beyond to deliver the trusted news our audience deserves and expects.
"Last year was challenging and I know how much the harrowing murders of Elsie Dot, Bebe and Alice impacted them as they did people around the country. But their resilience and determination to honour the little girls' memories shone through and their reporting was always compassionate and considered.
"No one embarks on a career in journalism to win awards of course. But every once in a while it's nice to see our hard work and passion for the Liverpool city region and its remarkable people recognised."
