E&S crowned Midlands Newspaper of the Year

The Express & Star was last night named the Midlands Newspaper of the Year.

It won the top prize at the Midland Media Awards, presented at a dinner held at Warwickshire Cricket Club's Edgbaston Stadium.

Judges said they were impressed with the Express & Star's commitment to same-day news and coverage of big events.

The newspaper submitted three editions as part of the entry – coverage of the summer riots, the Royal Wedding and the announcement that Jaguar Land Rover was coming to Wolverhampton's i54 site.

In each case the newspapers were updated through the day to ensure readers were given the very latest news.

The judges, chaired by former editor Steve Dyson, made a particular mention to a double-page spread given to the Buckingham Palace balcony kiss of Kate and William, which was taken by Express & Star photographer Alan Evans and sent from the scene with seconds to spare before the paper's City Final deadline.

The award was collected last night by a team from the newspaper including editor Adrian Faber. Photographer Gavin Dickson, Business Editor Simon Penfold and feature writer Mark Andrews were also nominated for individual awards.

Mr Faber said: "This is a reward for the hard work carried out by a thoroughly professional team at the Express & Star.

"We pride ourselves on covering news stories big and small quickly and accurately. With the Royal Wedding and the summer riots in particular, we had a team of reportersand photographers working very long hours to ensure that we got all the information we needed.

"We are a same-day newspaper that provides our readers with all the local and national news they need. It is a real boost to everyone working at the Express & Star for that principle to be recognised by the judges at the Midland Media Awards."

The Express & Star is now one of the only regional newspapers in the country to print on the same day as it reaches the news stands.

It is also the only regional newspaper in the UK that sells more than 100,000. And it has the fastest growing regional newspaper website in the UK.

The Audit Bureau of Circulation electronic audit for July to December 2011 found Expressandstar.com had the biggest increase in average monthly traffic to record 788,444 unique users.

This figure marked a 35.6 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2010.

Last night's awards were sponsored by Birmingham Airport, Barclays and Bournville College.