Salford lecturer named Multi-Media Journalist of the Year

Caroline Cheetham was given the honour alongside co-producer and co-host Liz Hull, the Northern Correspondent for the Daily Mail at the London Press Club 2022-23 Awards this week.

The popular podcast followed the trial of Lucy Letby, the former neo-natal nurse who was found guilty in August of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others in her care at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

It racked up over 12.5 million downloads across all podcast platforms, featuring as the number one podcast in five countries at one point whilst attracting praise and acclaim across the national media for its innovative and modern day approach to court reporting.

Caroline said: “We’re really proud to have been recognised by the London Press Club which is such a prestigious organisation. Liz and I are both huge admirers of the other journalists on the shortlist so it was such a shock to win.

“We’re especially pleased to win an award for Multimedia Journalism because together, we covered this story across every platform, something every journalist of today and of the future should embrace.

“But most importantly, at the heart of this court case were families who have been through, and are still enduring, the most unimaginable suffering, and what we’re most proud of is that we kept them at the heart of our reporting.”

Caroline and Liz could yet win more awards for their work as they are also in the running for Podcast of the Year and the Innovation Award at the Society of Editors Media Freedom Awards on Wednesday 8 November in London.

After more than 60 episodes on the Lucy Letby trial, Caroline has taken her focus to another criminal case with The Trial returning for a second series by focusing on the case into the murder of teacher Ashling Murphy in Ireland with Nicola Byrne, Deputy News Editor for The Mail on Sunday Ireland.