Georgina Henry Award winner announced
We are pleased to announce Rhiannon Davies as the winner of the 2023 Georgina Henry Award, at the British Press Gazette’s British Journalism Awards sponsored by Wiggin LLP.
The award was presented to Rhiannon on stage by Gaelyn Fuhrmann from Wiggin LLP and Women in Journalism committee member Jane Martinson. She won for her local news collaborative project: The Scottish Beacon.
The project was commended in the Scottish Parliament in a motion which highlighted their aim to "re-invigorate local public interest news and overcome common challenges such as long-term sustainability."
“The aim is that the website will bring insightful stories from around Scotland to a wider audience, who will be able to participate in polls, surveys, and crowd-sourced investigations. We share stories from communities that have resonance with others around the country.”
- Rhiannon Davies
Rhiannon said of her project: “The Scottish Beacon is a project I developed via Greater Govanhill CIC, an award-winning community-led media project that I also founded. During COP26, we created a pilot print publication that included the work of 11 different independent community-based publications around Scotland. It centred around how climate change was impacting communities around Scotland, and how communities were meeting that challenge.
Building on the success of that pilot magazine, we have now launched The Scottish Beacon as a collaborative digital platform which brings together the best stories published by Scotland’s independent media in a curated new website and newsletter that features the work of publishers from across Scotland, offering readers a community-led alternative to centralised media coverage.”
Judges at the awards said: “At a time when local news publishers are under real pressure, the winner gives underserved communities a much-needed voice. It is a truly collaborative project that brings community-based outlets together to hold the powerful to account and to help strengthen democracy. Having already achieved an impressive amount in the short time it’s been running — we can’t wait to see what it brings to Scotland next.”
Rhiannon will now join our committee as a Women in Journalism fellow.
You can read more on the Scottish Beacon website.
