THE Greenock Telegraph has been named on the shortlist for one of the most prestigious awards in Scottish journalism.

Organisers of the Scottish Press Awards yesterday announced that the Tele is in the running for the hugely-coveted Journalist Team of the Year prize.

The nomination is for our coverage of the Elaine Doyle case.

Our ‘Justice for Elaine’ special edition was published as Elaine’s killer John Docherty was finally convicted last summer — 28 years after her murder in Greenock’s west end. It traced the investigation from beginning to end, along with the Telegraph’s key role in ensuring that the case remained in the spotlight as the years passed by.

Our special publication followed our detailed daily reporting of the trial and told the behind-the-scenes story of how police pieced together crucial clues and made the vital breakthrough.

In an exclusive interview, the detective in charge of the inquiry as it was finally cracked praised the Telegraph’s persistence and reporting of the case over almost three decades.

We also secured an exclusive interview with Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, who made a personal visit to Inverclyde to meet editor Brian Hossack and members of the reporting team.

The Doyle family also spoke to the Telegraph for their only interview at the end of the trial, with Elaine’s brother telling of his relief that she could finally rest in peace.

The other nominees in the category are: Daily Record - Glasgow Bin Lorry Tragedy; Edinburgh Evening News - Mikaeel Kular case; Evening Times - Bin Lorry Crash; Scottish Daily Mail - Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Sunday Herald - Independence Referendum.

Tele editor Brian Hossack said: “We are honoured to have been nominated for such a significant national award, but just as proud of the fact that the Telegraph played such an important part in ensuring that the murder investigation remained in the public eye over such a long period. It’s a considerable achievement to be shortlisted alongside national titles in this category in any year, but even more so when 2014 was such a big news year with the referendum, Commonwealth Games and other big national stories.

“This is well deserved recognition for the first-rate, highly professional and hard-working team of journalists we have here at the Telegraph.” The award winner will be announced at a black tie dinner in Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel on 16 April.