THE Northern Echo has been named North-East Newspaper of the Year for a record fifth time.

Judges at the North-East Press Awards, at Newcastle Civic Centre, praised the paper for its balanced approach, its creativity and its strong relationship with the communities it serves.

It is the fifth time The Northern Echo has won the overall award for excellence and the third in the past seven years.

Columnist Mike Amos was again named North-East journalist of the year for the breadth of his work, which comprises the Backtrack, John North, Eating Owt, At Your Service and Gadfly columns.

Mike, who was last year presented with a lifetime achievement award for his 40 years of service to journalism, has won the journalist of the year title an unparalleled seven times. He also won the North-East sports writer of the year award.

The Northern Echo's team of writers also picked up a string of key awards.

Joe Willis won the best exclusive of the year for his story about Elaine Walker, from Redmire, North Yorkshire, who abandoned her 15-year-old daughter to set up home in Turkey with her holiday romance boyfriend.

Sarah Foster was named feature writer of the year for an impressive portfolio, including an evocative series on her trip to India to spend time with Leah Pattison, of Weardale, County Durham, who looks after lepers.

Lindsay Jennings became women's writer of the year and Olivia Richwald won the award for best hard news.

There were also commendations for Sarah Nicholson in the photography section, and Business Editor Julia Breen for her business writing.

The lifetime achievement award was presented to Robin Crowther for his outstanding service as a journalism lecturer at Darlington College of Technology, where he became one of the country's most respected specialists in media law.

Editor Peter Barron, collecting the region's leading newspaper award, paid tribute to his staff and acknowledged the outstanding contribution made to the paper by former managing director David Kelly, who retired last month after 30 years with the company.

The guest speaker at the awards was television journalist Martin Bell, who became an independent MP after his anti-sleaze campaign in the safe Conservative seat of Tatton in 1997.

The awards, in memory of journalist Tom Cordner, were celebrating their 25th anniversary and judges said they go from strength to strength.

Lifetime achievement for media expert

RESPECTED journalist Robin Crowther was recognised by his peers after spending decades keeping hundreds of reporters on the right side of the law.

The 65-year-old, who retired in March as media law tutor at Darlington College of Technology, was presented with the Graeme Stanton Award for contribution to journalism.

Mr Crowther, of Darlington, said: "I had absolutely no idea I was getting such a great award. It was a real shock, but I am delighted."

Over the past 47 years, he has worked as a journalist in the North-East and South Africa. His first taste of newsroom life was in 1959 as an office boy with the Newcastle Evening Chronicle before he became a reporter.

He then worked for the Sunday Sun and The Northern Echo, before he moved to South Africa in 1967.

During his 11 years there, he edited a weekly newspaper and was a reporter for the Daily News.

He and his wife, Barbara, returned to England with their four sons in 1978, and he took up a sub-editing post with The Northern Echo. In 1980, he began teaching part-time at Darlington College's journalism school, and later took up lecturing full time. Since then, he has established a reputation as a media law expert and has trained hundreds of journalists from around the world.

He said: "Since I retired in March, I have been asked to do a lot of work with the National Council for the Training of Journalists so I am keeping busy."

Newspaper of the year citation in full

THE North-East Press Awards reflect craft and creativity - the two key aspects of journalism. Both are running at impressive levels, according to the overall quality and increased quantity of entries.

The region's press is clearly in very good shape. The judges had to take a long, hard look in singling out their chosen newspaper of the year. What does the paper do? How well does it do it?

They saw papers re-thinking and re-expressing their relationship with their community. There were changes in presentation and content, in places subtle and elsewhere bold. The evidence was substantial and widely spread among the region's titles.

Judges settled on a paper that has strengthened its grip on the essential craft of journalism - news sense, thoroughness, judgement in matters of presentation, balance, taste or public interest, and so on -and also demonstrated a new flourish of creativity.

Its strengths brought awards in individual categories for hard news, features, exclusives, sports writing, and women's writing, and it was a strong contender for others.

This adds up to a consistent and reliable service in its core content. The material reflects deep-rooted skills and techniques. The paper is confident in what it does, but does not hold back from trying something new now and again.