THE Wokingham Paper’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has been hailed as some of the best in Britain.
Earlier today, Press Gazette – the industry bible – revealed its top examples of breaking news and live blogs, part of its Journalism Matters series aimed at showcasing excellence in reporting coronavirus.
And it was to The Wokingham Paper that the judging panel turned when it came to highlighting the work of the regional press.
It was our coverage on Wokingham.Today of the very first confirmed case of coronavirus in Wokingham borough that the judges highlighted.
This was a staff member of a Woodley primary school on Saturday, February 29. We broke the news on our website at 9.30pm that evening and kept updating throughout the evening and on Sunday.
The story was read by more than 30,000 unique users, and was followed by daily updates online as it emerged the infected worker had attended a course with other schools before they were diagnosed.
And judges also acknowledged the work that went into producing that week’s print edition.
We led with an image of the coronavirus and the headline ‘The cause of a week’s uncertainity’ instead of featuring images of the affected schools, so as not to cause any undue distress to pupils and staff members.
Editor Phil Creighton was delighted that The Wokingham Paper’s work was highlighted by Press Gazette — the only regional newspaper in this category.
“We’re a small team and we live and work in the borough, so we know the communities affected,” he said.
“We worked hard throughout the week to bring you accurate information as calmly and precisely as possible.
“And when it came to devising that week’s front page, not featuring the affected schools was an important, sensitive decision aimed directly at the affected pupils.
“Since then we have worked tirelessly, despite some staff members being on furlough, to bring you a comprehensive round-up of what Wokingham borough is doing to help people through these difficult times.
“This recognition is a great honour from our peers.”
