Two journalists at The Royal Gazette were delighted to be recognised with 2025 Best of Bermuda Awards.

Sam Strangeways, an investigative reporter, was “very grateful” to win her third award for journalism from The Bermudian magazine.

Owain Johnston-Barnes, a senior reporter who specialises in court and planning stories, was excited at receiving a second thespian award for his role in theatre.

“Sam and Owain are to be celebrated — and rightly so,” said Dexter Smith, Editor of The Royal Gazette. “While not two peas in a pod, they are essential to the successful running of the News team.

“Every newsroom could use a Sam Strangeways. She knows my view that she would not look out of place on Fleet Street [in London], but we are grateful that the Bermuda story continues to stoke her journalistic fires.

“Owain’s honour may not be directly linked to his role at the Gazette, but the professionalism and determination he brings to the world of theatre is the mirror image of what we see daily at 2 Par-la-Ville Road.

“Congratulations to them both.”

Ms Strangeways joined the Gazette in 2006 after working for several newspapers in the North of England and winning North-East Journalist of the Year in 2005.

She won the Best of Bermuda Award in 2014 and again in 2018.

Ms Strangeways recalled her transition to the field of journalism 25 years ago after working as a press officer for a charity.

She said: “I just realised that I would prefer to be on the other side of it.

“I always thought of going into journalism, so I trained and I started off at a little weekly paper.”

Ms Strangeways had moved on to work for a regional British newspaper when she picked up the award in 2005.

Moving to the island was “a very different environment” for her in 2006, but she noted that there are “so many good stories to be had in Bermuda”.

She said she loved covering public-interest issues and delving into how people are affected by the decisions of public authorities.

“I’m mostly interested in people’s rights and how public officials carry out their work — and whether they do it correctly,” she added.

She said she experienced challenges in putting together her stories but added that one must be “tenacious and try to think your way around the story, to come at it from many angles”.

She said news stories required all corners to be covered.

She explained: “Some stories just don’t pan out and I think you have to sort of take those knocks and move on to the next one.”

She cited her coverage recently of the Savvy Entertainment saga as well as issues within the Bermuda Police Service as among her more challenging assignments.

She said her pre-pandemic coverage about children in care, along with Fiona McWhirter, the Gazette’s news editor, “was just something really worth writing about”.

Ms Strangeways said she was a regular “requester of records” and, in that regard, she made use of the Public Access to Information Act to gather her data for such stories.

Mr Johnston-Barnes, the vice-president of the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society, said: “It is always amazing to be recognised.”

He added: “It takes a lot of work to put on a show. It can be nerve-racking and it can be stressful.

“I have to take time away from work to make these things happen.

“So, when people recognise that, that is always hugely appreciated.”

Mr Johnston-Barnes entered the world of theatre before he was even born.

He explained: “Literally, I made my stage debut when my mother was pregnant with me during a production of South Pacific.”

He said that, while attending Flagler College in Florida, he became more interested in the field and read for a minor in theatre.

The 17-year theatre veteran added: “When I came back to the island, I started becoming entrenched in the local scene.”

Mr Johnston-Barnes has been closely involved in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and he also acts in murder mysteries.

He said that working as a journalist required plenty of time to balance both the theatre and the day job.

Mr Johnston-Barnes often relies on the kindness of his co-workers to “take up some of the slack” for rehearsals.

He said the community had been “incredibly” responsive to local theatre.

He noted that some of the acts put on by the BMDS “go toe-to-toe with what we see on Broadway”.

He said playing a part in theatre was a “great way of meeting people”, with collaboration standing out as critical to the success of the venture.

He added: “You are working with other people to bring a singular vision alive.

“It is a fantastic feeling when everything works together and people are able to see the results of their hard work.”

Mr Johnston-Barnes recently started rehearsing for the staging of Ordinary Days — a musical production that will be hosted by the BMDS at the end of July.

He said the small-cast musical production was almost entirely in song — and, to keep himself going, he relied on a frequent boost of caffeine.