Society of Editors launches campaign to support local press

The Society of Editors will tomorrow reveal the winners of the 2019 Regional Press Awards online.

The event should have taken place last week in London, but as with so many things, has been cancelled due to Coronavirus.

Instead, award winners will be confirmed via social media — and the SoE is using the event to launch a campaign celebrating the vital role of the regional press.

Marking the start of the campaign, a video short has been launched today amplify the important work of regional journalism.

The organisation is asking people to share what they love about their local paper using the hashtag #LoveLocalMedia on Twitter.

It could be a picture with your local newspaper, sharing the link to your favourite article this week, or a campaign you feel has really made a difference to a community.

The countdown culminates with the online video announcement of the Regional Press Award winners on Friday lunchtime at societyofeditors.org where details of all of those shortlisted can be found.

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #LoveLocalMedia and tag @EditorsUK in your posts. Please do also include #RegionalPressAwards.

Executive Director of the SoE, Ian Murray commented: “The regional press has never been more needed and recent events have shown how vital a role it plays in our communities. The Regional Press Awards are our way of shining a light on the tremendous excellence that exists in the journalism created by local titles.”

The Society of Editors organises the awards on behalf of the industry and is supported by: headline sponsor Facebook Journalism Project; Camelot since 2001; Amazon Prime Video; Google News Initiative; Cision; PA Media, HoldTheFrontPage, Luther Pendragon and the Journalists’ Charity.