Celebrating Great Journalism - 7 June

Welcome to our weekly round-up of impactful journalism from across our 120+ trusted brands, from national titles like the Mirror, Express, Daily Record and Daily Star, to local brands like MyLondon, BelfastLive and the Manchester Evening News, as well as our US-based brands.

This week we’ve covered the D-Day 80th anniversary, the general election trail, and much more.?

D-Day 80 Years

Our newsrooms around the country have been marking the anniversary of D-Day this week, with coverage of the commemorations in the UK and Normandy and moving stories of the veterans taking part. Yesterday’s Daily Express front page was particularly striking, with Jonathan Buckmaster’s fabulous exclusive picture of 99-year-old veteran Peter Smoothy. Chief Reporter Giles Sheldrick has spent months, if not years, interviewing and working with veterans for the content in yesterday’s edition.

The General Election trail

On the UK election front, BelfastLive Reporter James McCarthy hit the campaign trail by asking PM Rishi Sunak if there was a metaphor in his decision to visit the Titanic Quarter so early on. His question: “Are you the captain of a sinking ship?” made waves across the media, including a replay on the Laura Kuenssberg Show.? His backgrounder on what went on at the visit is well worth a read.

In Scotland, Planet Holyrood, the Daily Record’s political video series and podcast, has gone daily during the election campaign. An early visitor was Angela Rayner, who sat down for a chat with Sunday Mail editor Lorna Hughes and Daily Record political editor Paul Hutcheon.

Meanwhile, across the UK

While the election dominates the headlines, we also have to make sure we continue to cover other stories and content that is important to our readers.

The Mirror’s Youtube channel has been doing just that, livestreaming the Post Office Horizon Inquiry for weeks now. On Wednesday, 3,500 people were following it at any one time, with over 65,000 views during the course of the day.?

The Mirror also scooped a world exclusive at the weekend when US Editor Christopher Bucktin sat down with Stormy Daniels for a world exclusive interview. The actress was at the centre of the Donald Trump conviction, which was a global story. The interview was also filmed, and well viewed across the Mirror’s website and YouTube channel.

Liverpool’s Queen Anne ship

In Liverpool this week, 30,000 spectators crammed onto Liverpool's Pier Head on Monday to watch the official naming of Cunard's Queen Anne ship in the River Mersey. As well as being a huge audience driver for the Liverpool Echo in print and online, Reach Sport were at the forefront of the day's celebrations having provided the special souvenir programme for the event.

Designed by Chris Collins, the 300 VIPs, Cunard's leaders and the thousands who bought the programme were all delighted by its quality and range of interest. Although Reach Sport mainly specialises in football and rugby, the skill across the design floor ensures they can produce amazing printed content for any major event.

Talking of big events, Taylor Swift arrived in the UK this week, appearing first in Edinburgh. The team at EdinburghLive and the Daily Record delivered great coverage - including this liveblog on EdinburghLive.

Rob Burrow dies

And finally, one of the saddest headlines of the week was the news that rugby league legend Rob Burrow had died, following a battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). His determination to raise the profile of MND with fellow player and friend Kevin Sinfield won him admiration from across the world. On LeedsLive, Content Editor Matthew Shaw paid this beautiful tribute to Rob.

Thanks for reading, we’ll be back with more highlights next week.