The Times

The famous ‘newspaper of record’ could now be more fairly described as an agenda-setter, in terms both of its content – which is replete with powerful campaigns, undercover investigations, authoritative coverage of domestic and foreign affairs, and a rich diversity of commentary – and its multimedia, multi-platform format, including Times Radio and an array of podcasts which complement its print and online presence.  

Its Clean It Up Campaign, which exposed the scale of the pollution in UK rivers and seas, hit a nerve with the public and forced action from politicians, regulators and the water companies. An equally successful public-interest investigation, which saw Paul Morgan-Bentley pose as a debt collector to expose how British Gas was force-fitting prepayment meters in vulnerable customers’ homes, prompted an outcry and immediate legal changes to ban the practice. 

Meanwhile, the political team continue to hold the powerful to account, foreign correspondents and bureaux staff provide comprehensive international coverage, and columnists including Daniel Finkelstein and Caitlin Moran inform and entertain.

“There is so much to admire at The Times [which] has probably done more than any other outlet to embrace multimedia storytelling,” said the judges, who praised the “consistently high standard” of the content across all the paper’s platforms.