Charlie Weston wins Campaigning Journalism award for tracker coverage

[Brendan Burgess]

Richly deserved

Independent journalists scoop six awards for top-class reporting

Coverage of the tracker-mortgage scandal and extensive reports on the homeless crisis have put Irish Independent journalists on top at this year's Newsbrands Ireland Journalism awards.

Journalists at Independent News & Media won a total of six awards at the awards ceremony sponsored by the National Lottery at the Mansion House.

Journalist Charlie Weston won the Campaigning Journalism award for his in-depth coverage on the tracker-mortgage scandal.

The vivid testimonies of homeowners who wrongly had their tracker rates removed by banks made lead headlines across the print, broadcast and online media.

But Personal Finance Editor Mr Weston has championed the cause of the victims of the banks' greed since 2009.

Throughout the banking collapse, economic crash and the recovery, he continued to highlight the plight of the mortgage holders who were unfairly ripped off by the banks.

 

[tonymac]

An excellent journalist and media operator who as you say Brendan has kept our issues in the spotlight. He also does great work highlighting issues on his spot on Matt Coopers, the last word. Keep up the good work Charlie

 

[PadKiss]

I want to pass on my congratulations to Charlie delighted for him and richly deserved
He has certainly help to highlight many issues over the years and challenges the status quo all the time. He has certainly been an enormous help to the tracker investigation and wrote about it when no one knew the true size of the issue as far back as 2009
And that was after he advised people to take tracker rates back in 2006/07 onwards
Well done Charlie and thanks
Pádraic

 

[notabene]

Well done Charlie!

 

[Miakk]

I only recently got my tracker back and was just thinking today of a number of people who I would like to thank even if I have never been in direct contact with them, Charlie was one who came to mind immediately. Well done!

 

[Stitcher]

Me too.
I have always found Charlie Weston's reporting to be fair and informative. I hope he will continue to cover those of us with "PTSB discounted trackers" who have been there from the beginning, who are still deemed "not impacted " and still waiting for justice. This is despite some similar individuals having been found "impacted" and restored to their "undiscounted" trackers and been compensated.
I know tracker news is old news now, but there are cohorts whom the bank are steadfastly not engaging with because the central bank does not have the power to enforce certain things.
My fight still goes on.