Entries are now open for the Regional Press Awards 2018, with new categories introduced as part of a “renewed focus on digital journalism excellence”.
The awards, organised by the Society of Editors, will celebrate the best local and regional journalism of 2018 with a dinner and ceremony hosted by LBC presenter Nick Ferrari in London on 17 May.
New categories this year include Digital Live News Reporter of the Year, Data Journalist of the Year, Magazine of the Year, Magazine Designer of the Year and Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year.
Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors and chairman of the judges said the new categories were introduced to “better reflect the new skills and platforms used by the regional media”.
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“Anyone who works in a regional newsroom knows that the emphasis is now firmly on digital journalism and after addressing this with some new categories for last year’s awards we have gone further this year to reflect those changes,” he said.
“It is also important to recognise the diversity of products now produced in local newsrooms and so we have included two awards recognising the superb magazines now created by regional newspaper publishers.
“Another reality is the strength of many free weekly papers and again we have introduced a new category that recognises the tremendous publications that exist in that field.”
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A new award has also been launched by the News Media Association in memory of former Croydon Advertiser news editor Cathryn Nicoll to recognise top interviewing and feature writing skills in young journalists.
The Cathryn Nicoll Interviewer of the Year Award has a £500 prize and is open to any journalist working for a UK weekly or daily, local or regional newspaper aged between 18 and 25, after Nicoll left a provision in her will for an annual award for young journalists.
The SOE said Nicoll’s colleagues had described her as a “good and fair interviewer who believed passionately in journalistic standards and training and would devote her time to young journalists in the newsroom who showed promise”.
Find out more about how to enter the awards here. Deadline for entries is 5 March.
Picture: Society of Editors
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