The Shortlist
Aberdeen Journal’s Home Delivery Team, The Press and Journal
Young people are often stereotyped as unmotivated screen addicts, with some even being called lazy. The Aberdeen Journal feels the only thing lazy is that stereotype. Their entry highlights the dedication of their 750-strong home delivery network, who throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, surpassed all expectations delivering an increased number of papers as people were forced to stay at home. Watch their heartwarming video here:
What the judges said:
“The news is nothing if readers can’t access it. The Press and Journal are right to feel proud of their 750 paper girls and boys who maintained their impressive home delivery network during a pandemic. A brilliant way of bringing together young people who were on the front line of the battle to keep the public informed.”
Norfolk and Waveney Editorial Team, Eastern Daily Press
When the country went into lockdown, the Eastern Daily Press team quickly rallied to continue to get news out across their websites and titles. Rather than retreat into their homes, they went onto the front foot, implementing a range of community-focused campaigns, while learning to produce the paper entirely remotely for the first time in their history.
What the judges said:
“For a smaller company, with no experience of remote publishing, it can’t have been easy to start publishing two daily papers and a raft of weeklies outside of the office, yet at very short notice, they did. With strong community ideas such as the penpal scheme, as well as dedication to public service when the Christmas floods hit.”
Manchester Evening News, Newsquest Regional ACE network (Team RACE)
The Manchester Evening News’ response to lockdown was to create a Coronavirus blog that featured an automated graphic that kept their readers informed. Their ‘robot reporter’ was crafted at home and allowed readers access to the very latest case figures in their area, and crucially informed them if local restrictions were likely. This is just one example of the innovation and adaptability they employed during the pandemic which allowed them to inform even the hardest to reach communities.
What the judges said:
“Digital journalism came into its own during the pandemic… and this team had the job of making sure all journalists knew how to make the most of the technology available to them. A forward thinking project brilliantly executed. Great to see time invested in training and support paying off.”
The Paper for Bunbury
Thanks to Sue Briggs-Harris, a dedicated local Journalist, the Cheshire village of Bunbury has its own powerful voice in a 24-page free tabloid newspaper format. Launched in April 2019, The Paper publishes 10 editions a year and is much loved by its community. The paper has been quick to support worthy causes, with their hunt to find a rare blood donor for a local family man turning into a worldwide search. The featured image was used as the first illustration in The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast.
What the judges said:
“Colossal effort, motivated only by the desire to serve her community: inspiring!”
YorkshireLive (Reach Plc)
Yorkshire Live, a brand new digital platform launched on March 4 2020, just weeks before the public were ordered to stay at home because of COVID-19. With 12 new journalists working in isolation and no offices to go, they had to rapidly adapt. The newly formed site suddenly needed to reach people who had never heard of them. In just nine months the site became the Number one digital platform in Yorkshire, soaring past more established titles and gaining a place in the UK’s top 10 UK digital news sites. With 30m page views per month, it seems they reached their goals. What the judges said:
What the judges said:
“Yorkshire Live was launched at the start of lockdown – yet within nine months had established itself as the biggest online news platform in its region. Its staff dealt with the unprecedented challenges of Coronavirus during their launch, getting news to their readers in the most difficult of circumstances.”
