Society of Editors announces new Regional Press Awards

The Society of Editors today announced it would launch a new awards event for the regional press later this year.

The new awards, which will be called 'The Society of Editors Regional Press Awards', will judge the work of regional and local newspapers during 2010.

The move follows an arrangement between the Society of Editors and the Newspaper Publishing Association to also organise a National Press Awards this year.

Last year the National Union of Journalists took over the Regional Press Awards after former organisers Wilmington Group announced it would not be running the awards. The awards were previously organised by Wilmington Group's trade title the Press Gazette until Wilmington sold the title to Progressive Media in April last year but retained control of the awards.

It is not yet known if the NUJ plans to run its own event again this year. Last year general secretary Jeremy Dear said the union would consider running the event this year if no one else did.

According to a release from the Society of Editors today its new regional awards will be launched in the next ten days, with details on how to enter to be provided on a new website.

Entries can be made from 14 February until 8 March and shortlists will be published in April.

"We are glad to help recognise the tremendous skills and achievements of regional newspapers that report tirelessly on behalf the communities they serve," Robin Esser, president of the Society of Editors and executive managing editor of the Daily Mail said in the release.

The release added that the scheme will be reviewed after the first year.

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