The Financial Times’ emerging markets editor James Kynge (@JKynge) has been named Journalist of the Year at the 2016 Harold Wincott Journalism Awards in London for his coverage of China.
Merryn Somerset Webb (@MerrynSW), FT columnist and editor in chief of MoneyWeek, won the Personal Finance Journalist of the Year Award for her Saturday column in FT Money.
Runners up were FT Money’s Aime Williams (@Aime_Williams) and FT Alphaville’s Kadhim Shubber (@kadhimshubber) for Young Journalist of the Year, and Martin Sandbu (@MESandbu) in the Video Journalism category for his Punk FT series.
The Wincott Foundation was set up in 1969 in honour of Harold Wincott, a distinguished former FT columnist and editor of Investors Chronicle. The purpose of the Wincott Foundation’s annual press awards is to “recognise outstanding achievement in the field of economic, business and financial journalism”.
The award entrants were judged on four criteria: clarity, depth of understanding, objectivity, and the ability to write authoritatively about complex topics in a way that is intelligible to the layperson.
James Kynge was praised by the judges for for his “high level vision” and for “altering understanding of a hugely important part of the world” with his “forensic and multi-faceted exposure of China’s economic vulnerabilities”.
According to the judges, Merryn Somerset Webb has become “the ‘doyenne’ of UK personal finance journalism — Merryn’s weekly columns in the FT are essential reading for anyone concerned about house price trends, pension policy and [...] the fund management industry’s egregious charging practices”.
Earlier this week, FT Money scooped two prizes at the Headline Money Awards. Josephine Cumbo was named Journalist of the Year, and Claer Barrett won Financial Commentator of the Year.
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