16 May, 2018: The Financial Times’ employment correspondent, Sarah O’Connor, has been awarded the Wincott Financial Journalist of the Year award at the 2018 Wincott Foundation Awards, for her coverage of the complexities of the labour market at a time of great change.
Judges reviewed stories which included Left behind: can anyone save the towns the economy forgot?, Never mind the robots; future jobs demand human skills and America’s ‘jobs for the boys’ is just half the employment story and said: “Sarah achieved wide notice with her examination in the FT magazine of Blackpool and the phenomenon of Britain's failing seaside towns. In this piece, she combined powerful on-the-ground reporting, with a deft ability to put the political and policy questions raised to the most relevant politicians and experts. She writes with a calm and confident style, making arguments which pass the common sense test... Her argument that the emergence of the gig economy requires us to rethink what companies are for was another highly original piece.”
Additionally, the late Paul McClean was a joint winner of the Wincott Young Financial Journalist of the Year award for his work on pieces such as After Brexit: the UK will need to renegotiate at least 759 treaties, Will Brexit complicate landing rights for UK flights? and IAG calls for EU to relax ownership laws as Brexit concerns mount.
About Paul McClean, the judges said: “The work submitted here on his behalf was outstanding. People will always remember the news, even if they struggle to recall the number, that no fewer than 759 EU treaties have to be reworked as a result of Brexit. It was Paul's hard digging in Brussels that uncovered this remarkable statistic...For these and other strong stories, the judges were unanimous that Paul deserved our young journalist of the year award.”
The annual awards recognise outstanding achievement in the field of economic, business and financial journalism. Judges look for clarity, depth of understanding, objectivity and above all the ability to write about complex topics in a way that is intelligible to the lay person but also authoritative.
The Wincott Foundation was set up in 1969 in honour of Harold Wincott, the most distinguished economic journalist of his day. It seeks to contribute to a better understanding of economic issues, principally by supporting and encouraging high-quality economic, financial and business journalism, in the UK and internationally.
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