Oscars of regional journalism will showcase talent across print, broadcast and online

The coveted O2 Media Awards for 2013 have been launched for North West England.

Now in their sixth year, the Awards have become the most popular and highly regarded regional media event in the UK, attracting hundreds of entries from those working across print, broadcast and online.

Once again the awards competition will be free-to-enter. Finalists will also be invited to a glittering presentation evening. This year’s awards ceremony will take place at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on November 6.

Among the 17 categories to be judged will be a special award for Outstanding Contribution to the industry together with an Emerging Talent Award to recognise those considering careers in media.

Many of the most popular award categories remain, such as the Weekly and Daily newspapers of the year titles as well as Scoop of the Year and Editorial Team of the Year. A new category for the best free distribution newspaper will feature this year, alongside a category to find the region’s best specialist writer.

Journalists from TV, radio and newspapers will again go head-to-head in the News Reporter of the Year category while there will be separate awards for the region’s top radio and television reporters.

Criteria for each award is available with the official entry form.

Nicola Green, Director of Communications and Reputation for O2 UK, said a Specialist Publication of the Year category had also been introduced to mirror the changing nature of the media industry.

“It reflects the growth of niche publications, the emergence of new online sites, digital broadcasting initiatives and the new ways journalists are finding to deliver news and information to readers,” he added.

The Emerging Talent Award is open to all college and university students in the North West studying media related courses and looking to enter the industry. The award has the backing of the Press Association, ITV and Trinity Mirror Newspapers who have all offered work shadowing placements to winning entrants.

Once again judges will comprise of experts from the media industry and include working journalists, editors and publishers.

O2 launched its Media Awards six years ago to celebrate the role of regional journalism in communities across the North West. The awards have become so popular that O2 also hosts a similar awards event in Yorkshire and the Humber. O2 employs around 2,000 people at its Customer Service Centres in Preston Brook, Cheshire and Bury, Greater Manchester as well as its retail stores.

Nicola added: “The O2 Media Awards are a wonderful opportunity to showcase the media talent across the region. The North West is becoming an internationally recognised hub for newsgathering, media production and the distribution of material across the world. Regional journalism is a valuable element of this operation and is vital to our local communities. The O2 awards enable us to highlight that.”

Deadline for entry nominations is September 11.

Journalists will be able to enter the following categories:

• New Media Journalist of the Year
• Photographer of the Year
• Feature Writer of the Year
• Sports Journalist of the Year
• Young Journalist of the Year
• TV Broadcast Journalist of the Year
• Radio Broadcaster of the Year
• News Reporter of the Year
• Specialist Writer of the Year
• Scoop of the Year
• Editorial Team of the Year
• Emerging Talent Awards
• Specialist Publication of the Year
• Free Distribution Newspaper of the Year
• Weekly Newspaper of the Year
• Daily Newspaper of the Year
• Outstanding Contribution Award

Entry forms are available by contacting Rossiter Media on 01829 741371 or by e-mail request to O2mediaawards@rossitermedia.co.uk

For more information, contact

O2 Press Office contacts

t +44 (0)1753565656

e: pressoffice@o2.com

All O2 news releases can be accessed at our website: www.o2.co.uk/news