HR deputy editor Peter Crush was also highly commended in the training and development category.
HR won the award for its innovative, engaging and thought-provoking articles, according to the judges, who comprised respected figures from the UK's human resources profession. In the most hotly-contested category Harrington won for her articles on what makes an HR leader and her in-depth feature marking the anniversary of the publication's Make a Difference CSR campaign, as well as an interview with Metropolitan Police HR director Martin Tiplady.
The awards, now in their fifth year, attracted 138 entries from over 88 journalists working across the national, regional and HR trade press. Other winners included Stefan Stern from the Financial Times, who won the national media HR journalist of the year award, and Paul Hill, from the Eastern Daily Press, who won the award for regional media. Professional Pensions scooped HR publication of the year in the specialist category.
Chantal Free, UK head of talent and reward at Towers Watson, said: "Last year showed some dramatic changes, pushing business firmly to the front of newspapers and magazines. These awards continue to seek out, recognise and reward excellence among HR journalists in the national, regional and trade press. The submissions show that in these times HR management issues are both important and high on the corporate agenda."
The judging panel included Mark Wells, group director of HR at Experian, Alison Dalley, head of reward at Fujitsu, Stephen Kelly, group HR director at Logica, and Carol Frost, head of HR at Centrica Energy, as well as last year's winner Emma De Vita, section editor at Management Today and Towers Watson's Jim Crawley and Chantal Free.
