Two media award nominations for Westmeath Independent
The Westmeath Independent has received two nominations in the annual Local Ireland awards.
It is one of a whopping 14 nominations for four titles in the Celtic Media Group, which includes Westmeath Independent
The Meath Chronicle received seven shortlistings, the Anglo Celt four and Westmeath Examiner one.
The Westmeath Independent received both nominations in the Best Advertising Campaign category for advertising campaigns it ran with TUS Athlone and Build Warmth with Grant.
The other two nominees are Meath Chronicle for its High Street Heroes advertising campaign and Southern Star for Kerr’s Bookshop
The Local Ireland Media Awards, sponsored by the National Lottery, celebrate excellence in local journalism and the regional news publishing industry.
President of Local Ireland Declan McGuire said: “We are delighted to have had more than 600 entries this year, which is a record.
“It reflects the huge popularity of the awards and the intense competition to get a nomination.
“We are grateful to the National Lottery for their continued support and I want to thank all our judges for their time in considering so many entries.”
National Lottery CEO Andrew Algeo said: “At the National Lottery, we are so proud of our long-standing partnership with the Local Ireland Media Awards and we are especially looking forward to this year’s in-person event, which will allow us to celebrate the impact that local media has on the communities that they serve.
“We are excited to host our very own category once again, the Best Community Story of the year, which will recognise community spirit and the impact of people working together to make a difference to their communities.”
The judging panel for the awards is chaired by entrepreneur and broadcaster Áine Kerr. She is joined by author and broadcaster Dearbhail McDonald, Emeritus Professor at TUD Michael Foley, Dawn Wheatley of DCU School of Communications, Managing Director of Kinetic Ireland Andrew Sinclair, photographer and former Irish Times Picture Editor Frank Miller, broadcaster and writer Valerie Cox, and journalist and author PJ Cunningham.
This year’s awards will be held at the Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar on Thursday October 13th. Guest Master of Ceremonies will be celebrity sports commentator Marty Morrissey.