Media Awards by the Mental Health Awareness Group
Nicola Barry (centre) just after being presented with the Best Journalist
Award by Rae Donnelly (left)
is congratulated by MHAG Chair Mary Lou McDermott (right).
Major mental health charities in Scotland, journalists, psychiatrists, users and carers and mental
health activists came together today to present media awards to journalists (at a national
event held during mental health week at Nairns Restaurant in Glasgow) they considered
responsible for the best and worst articles written on issues relating to mental health in Scotland
since January
The Vincent Donnelly award was presented by Rae Donnelly, wife of former Glasgow Journalist
and former Convenor and founder member of the Scottish Users' Network to journalist Ms.
NICOLA BARRY, of the Press and Journal for a series of articles which
were written in a sensitive and compassionate manner.
George Ronald, Director of Scottish Users' Network spoke
passionately as a former service user about the effect which
positive and negative mental health reporting affected mental
Health service users.
He commended the articles written by
Nicola Barry and the other journalists who had received
commendations, and spoke of the need for those journalists who
had been nominated as being poor reporters to listen carefully
and emulate the style of positive reporting of today's award
winners, which gave him, hope for the future.
In echoing these sentiments, Mary Weir, Chief Executive of the
National Schizophrenia Fellowship Scotland said she believed the
Press shaped the way people in Scotland portrayed mental health
rather than simply reflecting it.
Mary Lou McDermott, Chair of the Mental Health Awareness
Group stated that the work of the MHAG would be an annual
event. She congratulated and thanked the members of the Press
who had taken the time to attend and said, " I look forward to
working with you, and the other journalists in Scotland to raising
the awareness of the needs of people who have mental health
problems through positive reporting.
" If you take Nicola Barry's
lead and treat the person you are writing about as a person first,
with the diagnosis as a part of the person, but in a compassionate
way, you won't go far wrong. "I think we have a way to go but
today's event that has been in the planning and organising for
almost two years with the major national mental health charities
in Scotland actively involved, is a firm basis for us making the
Vincent Donnelly Award an annual event."
In accepting the award of Best Journalist, Nicola Barry spoke of
the need for mental health organisations and activists to have more
trust in responsible journalists like her and those commended
today.
She went on to say she was delighted to receive the award,
which on a personal basis meant a great deal to her and hoped the
success of today's event could be built on and that more journalists
could see the need for events such as these which rewarded
journalists for doing their job well.
At the end of a speech in which
Nicola was visibly overwhelmed with her achievement, in an
emotional acceptance speech, the first winner of the Vincent
Donnelly award went on to say that she was not simply
"sensitive " in her reporting, that is how she is.
"I write, how I
would want to be written about, that's honest and that's how I
am. I have done that for twenty years now and it is great to be
recognised for it, this is one of the best days of my life."
My job is dealing with people as human beings and I treat people
as I would like to be treated myself. "
The full award categories were:
Best Journalist: NICOLA BARRY
Special Commendation (Newspaper): ABERDEEN PRESS &
JOURNAL
Commendation: (Newspaper): NORTHERN SCOT
Wally Dug Award (Worst Journalist): MARION SCOTT
(SUNDAY MAIL)
Commendations: (Journalist): MARIAN PALLISTER
(HERALD)
CATHERINE DEVENEY
(SCOTLAND ON
SUNDAY)
DAWN THOMSON
(ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL)