Wilmington Group has announced that it will not be holding the Regional Press Awards this year.
Wilmington retained the rights to Press Gazette’s events when it sold the magazine and website to Progressive Media International in April last year.
It held a consultation with key figures in the regional newspaper publishing industry, with the assistance of the Newspaper Society, “to assess the options for the Regional Press Awards in the current economic environment”.
The company said that this has resulted in the conclusion that it would not be viable to hold the event this year.
Event director Doug Marshall said: “Newspaper publishers understand the important role these awards play in celebrating the achievements of their journalists and editors, and appreciated our proposal to reduce entry fees and ticket prices.
“However, some felt in the current climate they were unable to commit to entering the awards. To be credible and prestigious these awards require the support of all major newspaper publishers, so we’ve decided to rest the awards for this year.
“We’re grateful for all the feedback we’ve received from key industry figures. I’d also like to thank the Newspaper Society for assisting our discussions with senior executives.
“Although we’re disappointed not to be able to hold the awards this year we remain committed to liaising with the industry regarding future years.”
Wilmington also runs the British Press Awards and reported increased entries for that event this year.
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