Entries have opened for the Society of Editors’ Regional Press Awards for 2020, celebrating the best of UK regional and local newspaper journalism.
Following a turbulent year which has seen regional journalists go above and beyond to continue delivering local news of the highest quality to communities in need, the Society is determined to reward their efforts with a wide range of categories to cater for all achievements.
Executive director of the Society of Editors and chair of the judges, Ian Murray, said: “In any year the regional press in the UK performs an important and vital service in binding communities together and policing local democracy, however during 2020 it stepped up to the mark to play an even more significant role.
“The regional and local press has performed magnificently and under extremely difficult circumstances to perform its duties and keep communities well informed during what has surely been the greatest challenge to us all in modern times.
“The fact the crisis is not over should not and will not prevent us from recognising the amazing professionalism and sheer determination shown by local journalists and their publications during last year.”
The awards, organised by the Society of Editors, will this year include a Chairman’s Special 2020 Award to recognise individual journalists, teams and support staff who have gone that extra, extra mile to ensure their publications/websites continued to function during the crisis. And the Society will be collating and reporting on these stories during the countdown to the awards which will take place in May of this year.
This category will be free to enter.
Ian Murray added: “We know that it has taken Herculean efforts to keep the presses rolling, the news reported, the IT running and newsrooms to function during these times. We want to acknowledge this tremendous work by the industry at this time, so such stories are not lost.”
New categories for this year include Special Supplement of the Year and a separate category for Sunday Newspaper of the Year to acknowledge the work of Sunday teams as a distinctly unique offering to that of existing categories celebrating Weekly Newspaper and Daily Newspaper of the Year.
Once again in some established categories, awards have been split to ensure that journalists working on smaller titles with less resources are recognised without having to compete with larger, better-funded regional daily newsrooms.
The Cathryn Nicoll Interviewer of the Year Award will run for its third consecutive year at the Regional Press Awards. The award, set up by the News Media Association (NMA), was launched in 2019 in memory of Cathryn Nicoll who held the position of news editor at the Croydon Advertiser during her career as a journalist.
The award is open to any journalist working for a weekly or daily local or regional newspaper published in the UK, who is aged between 18 and 25 and rewards a £500 cash prize to its winner.
Paul Sinker, News Media Association, said: “Since its launch, the Cathryn Nicoll Award has gone from strength to strength, highlighting the brilliant work of young journalists across the UK. Local and regional journalism continues to play a critical role in keeping communities informed during the coronavirus pandemic and the Regional Press Awards will shine a spotlight upon this brilliant work.”
To celebrate the sterling campaigns produced across regional and local journalism, entries for the Campaign of the Year categories will also be included in the Making a Difference ~ People’s Choice public vote organised by the NMA, and announced as part of Journalism Matters later in the year.
Entries will be open until 23:59 on Friday 30 April 2021 and early entries are encouraged. The entry price has been kept at the same level as last year.
The awards are planned to be announced at a virtual awards ceremony to be announced. The Society of Editors will monitor the situation with regards to coronavirus and re-evaluate the circumstances closer to the date.
The Regional Press Awards are made possible due the support of headline sponsor Facebook Journalism Project, and Camelot which has supported the Society since 2001. With thanks to Amazon, HoldTheFrontPage and Journalists’ Charity.
Enter the awards here.
A full list of categories appears below.
If you have any queries, please contact: office@societyofeditors.org
Regional Press Awards Categories
Entries can be made for work published in print, website, online, mobile, video, audio or any other news delivery format in any UK regional or local newspaper or any news website or platform covering UK regional news (excluding broadcast media).
All entries must be endorsed by the editor or managing editor in or on whose publication or digital platform they appeared. Entry guidance can be found here.
Notes for categories
- * Journalists in these categories can submit three articles, including up to one joint byline
- ** Two or more journalists working together on up to three examples of work. Can include work by full section teams. Judges’ focus will be on strength of examples submitted rather than numbers of journalists
Young Journalist of the Year *
Open to journalists aged 26 or under on 31 December 2020 who have not previously been shortlisted for this award. Entries may include work from any journalistic discipline. Judges will be looking for the individual who has made significant impact over the year.
Business and Finance Journalist of the Year *
For reporters and commentators covering all aspects of business and personal finance. Judges will be looking for the ability to break stories and explain issues to a general audience.
Specialist Writer/ Impact Journalist of the Year *
For journalists with specialisms not covered by any other category such as health, fashion, travel, science, health, environment, motoring and politics. The judges will look for journalists who break stories, analyse and explain their subject for a wider audience.
Feature Writer/ Long Form Journalist of the Year*
Quality of writing is paramount. Judges will be looking for journalists who demonstrate a compelling style in news reportage, colour writing, analysis and backgrounders.
Please consider very carefully whether your entry is more suitable for this category or Reporter of the Year (Weekly or Daily/ Sunday).
Columnist of the Year – Daily/ Sunday Papers *
Entrants should have a regular by-lined column or blog. The winner will be a journalist with a special style and the ability to provoke debate that may annoy as much as delight.
Columnist of the Year – Weekly Papers *
Entrants should have a regular by-lined column or blog. The winner will be a journalist with a special style and the ability to provoke debate that may annoy as much as delight.
Sports Journalist of the Year – Daily/ Sunday Papers*
Open to sports news writers, match reporters, feature writers and columnists on daily/ Sunday newspapers. Entries may be from a variety of sports or one specialist area. Judges will be looking for good writing and agenda setting reporting.
Sports Journalist of the Year – Weekly Papers*
Open to sports news writers, match reporters, feature writers and columnists on weekly newspapers. Entries may be from a variety of sports or one specialist area. Judges will be looking for good writing and agenda setting reporting.
Social Media Journalist of the Year*
Open to anyone who regularly uses social media to enhance the public’s awareness of their own work and that of their publication/website. Entries may focus on an individual’s year-long all-round input or specific cases where an individual has shown imagination, technical awareness and flair to use the medium to full effect.
Reporting Communities Award
This award seeks to recognise the tremendous work that goes on in regional newspapers to ensure all communities are well covered. Entries can come from individual journalists or news teams that can show how they have ensured the diverse communities in their publication’s region are well served and that their journalists reach out to provide reporting that is inclusive and all-encompassing regardless of ethnicity, ability, faith or sexuality.
Weekly Reporter of the Year *
The category for weekly newspaper reporters who provide the heart and soul of any newspaper. The judges will be looking for well-researched exclusives brilliantly told. Tenacity, flair, investigative skill and an ability to handle difficult subjects carefully will score highly.
Daily/ Sunday Reporter of the Year*
The category for daily/ Sunday newspaper reporters who provide the heart and soul of any newspaper. The judges will be looking for well-researched exclusives brilliantly told. Tenacity, flair, investigative skill and an ability to handle difficult subjects carefully will score highly.
Visual Awards
Weekly Photographer of the Year
News, sports and features pictures used in a weekly newspaper are eligible. Judges will look for versatility, technical skill and the ability to capture the picture that matters. The mood of an interview, subject or feature needs to come across strongly.
Daily/ Sunday Photographer of the Year
News, sports and features pictures used in a daily/ Sunday newspaper are eligible. Judges will look for versatility, technical skill and the ability to capture the picture that matters. The mood of an interview, subject or feature needs to come across strongly.
Designer of the Year – Newspaper
An award for designers and graphic artists. Judges will look at finished pages that demonstrate innovative and skilled design and layout.
Designer of the Year – Magazine/ Supplement
An award for designers and graphic artists. Judges will look at finished pages that demonstrate innovative and skilled design and layout.
Team Awards
Supplement/ Section of the Year
Entries will be judged on outstanding content, design, use of photography and readability. The supplement or section should be published at regular intervals – be that daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly – either with the newspaper or clearly linked to a local or regional paper.
Special Supplement of the Year
Entries will be judged on outstanding content, design, use of photography and readability for a special supplement produced as a one-off to mark a special event or achievement, either with the newspaper or clearly linked to a local or regional paper.
Magazine of the Year
Many publishers and individual regional news centres produce high standard, superbly designed, monthly or regular standalone magazines, but not one-off or annual publications. These are packed with wonderful content, are beautifully illustrated and give the national magazines a run for their money. This award recognises the growth in the quality of these magazines and seeks to reward one of the outstanding success stories of the regional press. The magazine must be produced as part of a stable of products from a regional news publisher. Entries will be judged on outstanding content, design, use of photography and readability.
Front Page of the Year – Weekly Papers
Judges will be looking for the outstanding and most memorable front page published in a regional or local newspaper during the year.
Front Page of the Year – Daily/ Sunday Papers
Judges will be looking for the outstanding and most memorable front page published in a regional or local newspaper during the year.
Scoop of the Year
The story or series of stories that everyone else wished they had broken. This can be a team or individual award.
Campaign of the Year – Daily/ Sunday Papers
Judges will be looking for campaigns that made waves, struck a chord with readers and simply made a difference. This can be a team or individual award. Entries will also be automatically considered for the Making a Difference award, organised by News Media Association.
Campaign of the Year – Weekly Papers
Judges will be looking for campaigns that made waves, struck a chord with readers and simply made a difference. This can be a team or individual award. Entries will also be automatically considered for the Making a Difference award, organised by News Media Association.
Website of the Year
The judges will look for excellent reporting, writing or flair and innovation in content, design and delivery and interaction with readers and will seek to recognise journalistic achievement online. Screengrabs showing examples of a brand’s use of an app are encouraged for those entries which have shifted or expanded into this medium.
Social Media Team of the Year **
Open to news teams that have as a unit made the best use of social media platforms to reach out and engage with the public. Entrants may focus on sustained overall year-long achievements or pinpoint specific cases with breaking stories or campaigns. The judges will be looking for imagination, flair and technical know-how across a broad range of social media options.
Data Journalist of the Year *
This award seeks to recognise those journalists who are making use of the wealth of data and information that is now available to newsrooms. It could be using their skills to mine data bases for that nugget of information that cracks a story wide open, or fantastic use of FoI, or tracking down and interpreting facts for readers that reveals a true insight into an important story.
Digital Live News Reporter of the Year *
This award seeks to recognise those journalists who go live either on Facebook or via live blogs or live tweeting that through their skill and understanding of the medium take the reader and viewer with them to the heart of the action. Submissions could include reporters bringing to life the latest breaking news stories or sports journalists producing the latest sporting updates.
Digital Initiative of the Year
This category focuses on those bright ideas that changed the face of digital coverage. This could be an individual’s single idea that shaped a massive response from the public, or a team effort that showed flair and imagination as well as technical know-how.
The Overall Digital Award
The judges will look for the newspaper that produces the best journalism and service to readers on a range of platforms whether this be website, mobile or any other means. Special attention will be made to innovation and use of social media including blogs.
Other Awards
Chairman’s Special 2020 Award
This award is to recognise individual journalists, teams and support staff who have gone that extra, extra mile to ensure their publications/websites continued to function during the 2020 Covid-19 crisis. The award will acknowledge the Herculean efforts that have been undertaken in the regional press to overcome the challenges during the pandemic of ensuring the news got through under the most difficult of circumstances.
The award can recognise efforts to ensure the day-to-day, week-to-week news production and delivery, the launch of one-off special initiatives, individual initiatives.
The award is not just open to journalists, but also the ‘backroom’ teams – IT, production, administration – who worked to achieve miracles.
Entries for the award will be highlighted in the Society of Editors’ regular Bulletins, on its website and as a record of the Covid-19 Response from the UK Regional Media.
The Cathryn Nicoll Award
The award is open to any journalist working for a weekly or daily local or regional newspaper published in the UK, who is aged between 18 and 25 as of the entry closing date of 5 March 2020. Entrants must submit a published feature or news story based on an interview that they have carried out with a well- known person or celebrity between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. The judges will be looking for what they consider to be the best entry on the basis of quality, flair and originality of the prose and contribution to public debate or entertainment.
Set up by the News Media Association, the Award has been launched in memory of Cathryn Nicoll who held the position of news editor at the Croydon Advertiser during her career as a journalist. Cathryn was known for her passionate belief in journalistic standards and training, and the award will highlight and reward brilliant interviewing and feature writing by young journalists, with a cash prize of £500 for the winner.
Journalists’ Charity Award
The winner will be chosen by the Journalists’ Charity and is in the gift of the charity’s council and recognises an individual or body that has made an outstanding contribution to journalism and journalists in any way. This award cannot be entered.
Newspaper of the Year Awards
Paid for Weekly Newspaper of the Year
i) Above 50,0000 total monthly reach for U.K. publications (not including Northern Ireland) + above 10,000 circulation for Northern Ireland titles
ii) Below 50,000 total monthly reach for U.K. publications (not including Northern Ireland) + below 10,000 circulation for Northern Ireland titles ***
These categories will be judged by panels of experienced senior journalists or former journalists from all parts of the media. They will consider the achievements of each of the entries across all platforms set out in submissions by editors. The judges will look for service to the local community, great exclusives and successful campaigns, editorial achievements and other outstanding journalism.
Daily Newspaper of the Year
i) Above 400,000 total monthly reach for U.K. publications (not including Northern Ireland) + above 15,000 circulation for Northern Ireland publications
ii) Below 400,000 total monthly reach for U.K. publications (not including Northern Ireland) + below 15,000 circulation for Northern Ireland publications***
Daily Newspaper of the Year categories will be judged by panels of experienced senior journalists or former journalists from all parts of the media. They will consider the achievements of each of the entries across all platforms set out in submissions by editors. The judges will look for service to the local community, great exclusives and successful campaigns, editorial achievements and other outstanding journalism.
*** Category figures for total monthly reach are calculated using data from JICREG, November 2019. For titles from Northern Ireland, the entry criteria has been kept the same as that of last year’s Newspaper of the Year categories as JICREG data does not cover Northern Ireland.
Sunday Newspaper of the Year
This category – new for 2020 – will be judged by a panel of experienced senior journalists or former journalists from all parts of the media. They will consider the achievements of each of the entries across all platforms set out in submissions by editors. The judges will look for service to the local community, great exclusives and successful campaigns, editorial achievements and other outstanding journalism.
Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year
Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year will be judged by panels of experienced senior journalists or former journalists from all parts of the media. They will consider the achievements of each of the entries across all platforms set out in submissions by editors. The judges will look for service to the local community, great exclusives and successful campaigns, editorial achievements and other outstanding journalism.
