The Telegraph has been named news website of the year at the prestigious Press Awards.
It was one of several accolades for The Telegraph at the ceremony, including news podcast of the year for the groundbreaking Call Bethel, and interviewer of the year (broadsheet) for Mick Brown’s remarkable meeting with Swedish author Björn Natthiko Lindeblad.
Simon Townsley was highly commended in the photographer of the year category for his stunning work in Afghanistan, Madagascar and Ukraine.
The Telegraph was also highly commended in the investigation of the year category for revealing that patients with mental illness and learning disabilities were given “do not resuscitate” orders during the pandemic.
Judges praised The Telegraph’s digital coverage of the Queen’s death as well as the Call Bethel podcast, which they said “combines gripping storytelling with hard-hitting public interest journalism, to shine a light on the ways in which Jehovah’s Witnesses have let down victims of child sexual abuse”.
The Telegraph Investigations team gathered evidence on the organisation for a year and Call Bethel is the story of that hunt – and what happened next.
Mick Brown’s interview with Swedish author Björn Natthiko Lindeblad about his years as a Buddhist monk was one of 2022’s most revealing and extraordinary reads.
When Mick met Lindeblad, he had no idea that he intended to end his life and the interview is a remarkable story of adventure, life and mortality.
“Breathtakingly beautiful to read,” wrote one Telegraph reader. “I will bask in the beauty of this article today, and not read another word.” “The most beautifully moving piece I've read for many years!” another said.
Simon Townsley was highly commended by the judges for his photography. His images, they said, “capture the despair of families - adults, children and those left in charge when everybody else has fled for their lives. To operate in this environment a photographer needs bravery, tenacity, compassion and the ability to remain calm”.
In the investigation of the year category, The Telegraph won praise from the judges for revealing that families, carers and doctors said that medics decided that patients with mental illness and learning disabilities should not be resuscitated if their heart stopped in 2020.
The judges said: “The newspaper’s revelation that "do not attempt resuscitation" (DNARs) orders were given to people with mental illnesses or learning disabilities during the pandemic was truly shocking and exposed how some of society’s most vulnerable members were facing potentially life-threatening discrimination.”
The Press Awards ceremony was held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, in central London, on Wednesday night.
