Belfast Telegraph

The Belfast Telegraph is a “big brand, doing what it should be doing – and doing it brilliantly with impressive audience growth figures”, according to the judges. In 2023, that meant it threw its weight behind the biggest political stories, with the absence of a Stormont Executive providing a dramatic backdrop to events. The brand’s in-depth rolling coverage of the results of council elections in May delivered around 2 million page views over two days, for example. A number of exclusives highlight the role the paper plays in its community, including an exposé on the pollution of Lough Neagh and a story outlining meetings between the chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare, and paramilitaries. The Telegraph doesn’t just excel at hard news – it puts business, sport, entertainment and human interest stories at the heart of its output, judges noted. The most popular print edition of the week on Saturdays includes a Review pullout, Weekend magazine, and an extensive sports section. The judges also praised the publication’s BelTel podcast, which celebrated its first birthday in April and has now hit 30,000 downloads a week. They said it was a great step forward and a strong indication that the title is adapting to the changing demands of the readership.