Four Irish Times journalists were among the winners at the ESB media awards, announced in Dublin yesterday.
Mary Hannigan won in the sport print category for her Special Olympics 2003 Supplement and the award in the features category went to Frank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan for their series on the social and economic effects of commuting. A special judges award went to Mary Holland for her outstanding contribution to journalism.
The awards were presented by ESB chief executive, Mr Pádraig McManus, and special guest, BBC correspondent and author Fergal Keane.
The journalist of the year award was received jointly by David Power, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain for their documentary Chavez: Inside the Coup which was a Power Pictures Production for RTÉ.
In his acceptance speech, Mr McDonald called on the chairman and governors of The Irish Times Trust to "restore some balance" to the remuneration structures following reports of executives receiving large sums of money. He thanked the editor, Ms Geraldine Kennedy, for commissioning the series and others who had helped to produce it.
"I also want to pay tribute to all of my hard-working colleagues, both present and former in The Irish Times, who bore the brunt of serious cutbacks over the last two years, especially in view of the publication last week of the accounts, which showed that a number of people at the top of the organisation have been and are still being paid staggering sums of money which are a multiple of journalists' salaries.
"In times when further cutbacks are being asked for and when the company is still losing money, I appeal to the chairman and the governors of The Irish Times Trust to restore some balance," Mr McDonald said.
He was referring to The Irish Times accounts for 2002 which showed the board's decision to allocate €3.28 million to be shared by 11 executive directors and an agreement under which the former editor, Mr Conor Brady, is to receive an index-linked payment of €100,000 a year until 2014.
The award to Ms Holland was introduced as being for a journalist who, for more than three decades, had left an indelible mark on the record of events in Northern Ireland, in an astonishing range of newspapers, magazines, radio and television programmes.
The award was accepted by her daughter, Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland, who explained that her mother had been ill. "I know how delighted and chuffed and touched she is to get this," she said, before reading out a message from Ms Holland:
"I've been privileged to write for some of the finest newspapers, which still believe that the function of the media is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
The opinion print category was won by David McKittrick of the London Independent who said he was glad the awards had been extended to the North. "They would hear a lot more from them," he said.
Kathleen Barrington of the Sunday Business Post, who won the business category, hoped that restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act and gardaí talking to journalists would be lifted.
Overall Journalist of the Year Award: David Power, Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain, Power Pictures Production for RTÉ
Special Judges Award: Mary Holland
Young Journalist of the Year: Shane Phelan, The Star
Political/Current Affairs: Niamh Sammon, Steve Carson, a Mint Production Ltd for RTÉ
Business: Kathleen Barrington, Sunday Business Post
Journalist Through the Medium of Irish: Breandán Delap, Foinse
Scoop of the Year: Greg Harkin, The People (for an article headed: "Stakeknife Unmasked")
Features: Frank McDonald, Kathy Sheridan, The Irish Times
Sport Print: Mary Hannigan, The Irish Times
Opinion: David McKittrick, London Independent
Regional/Provincial Print: Jimmy Woulfe, Evening Echo
Sport Broadcast: Barbara Galavan, Maurice Linnane, XS Management for RTÉ
TV Documentary: David Power, Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain, Power Pictures Production for RTÉ
Radio Documentary: Paula Carroll, Clare FM Radio
Regional/Provincial Broadcast: Teresa O'Malley, Mid-West Radio