•Some of the front pages which helped the JEP win the prestigious award
JEP wins newspaper of the year at press awards
THE JEP has been crowned Daily Newspaper of the Year – the best local paper of its size in Britain – at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards.
Recognised throughout the industry as the Oscars of the newspaper world, the awards this year saw the JEP finally win after two consecutive years of reaching the final. It is the first time in the JEP’s history that it has won the prestigious award.
This year, the paper beat a strong shortlist of regional titles from across the country in one of the two Daily Newspaper of the Year categories, one for publications with above 400,000 monthly reach and other for titles below 400,000. The Liverpool Echo won the award in the category for larger papers.
The other finalists in the JEP’s category were the [Dundee] Evening Telegraph, Grimsby Telegraph, North Wales Daily Post, The Argus [Brighton] and the Western Mail, which covers the whole of Wales.
In crowning the JEP Newspaper of the Year, the judges said: ‘A genuine must-read – with a huge reach of the adult population every week during the pandemic year. It stands up to authority on behalf of readers, provided free advertising for small businesses during the crisis and even used its business contacts to source 50,000 testing kits. No wonder the paper proudly claims that it is “the vital community glue that brought people together”.’ JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: ‘After twice missing out at the final hurdle, the award is great recognition of all the hard work every member of the JEP team put in during 2020, a year defined by the pandemic and the way that the newspaper worked in partnership with so many Islanders, Jersey businesses and local organisations to support the community. It was a challenging 12 months, but also a time when we were able to celebrate the very best of our Island.
‘The pandemic gave us the opportunity to demonstrate the enduring importance and relevance of the Island’s newspaper.
To have peer recognition from colleagues within the wider newspaper industry is the icing on the cake.
‘Once again, I think the JEP demonstrated why local newspapers provide such essential community glue, bringing people together when it is needed most.’ He added: ‘A massive thank you to all the people who help and support us, from readers and advertisers who fund our journalism, to the contributors and writers who complement our talented in-house team.
‘Thank you all – we could not do it without you.’ JEP managing director Matt Ross said: ‘It’s an honour to receive such an accolade for the first time in the JEP’s 131-year history.
‘It’s testament to the passion and dedication of the team at the JEP to have been recognised in this way. We are tremendously grateful to all of our readers, advertisers and contributors without which this award would not have been possible.’
Recognised throughout the industry as the Oscars of the newspaper world, the awards this year saw the JEP finally win after two consecutive years of reaching the final. It is the first time in the JEP’s history that it has won the prestigious award.
This year, the paper beat a strong shortlist of regional titles from across the country in one of the two Daily Newspaper of the Year categories, one for publications with above 400,000 monthly reach and other for titles below 400,000. The Liverpool Echo won the award in the category for larger papers.
The other finalists in the JEP’s category were the [Dundee] Evening Telegraph, Grimsby Telegraph, North Wales Daily Post, The Argus [Brighton] and the Western Mail, which covers the whole of Wales.
In crowning the JEP Newspaper of the Year, the judges said: ‘A genuine must-read – with a huge reach of the adult population every week during the pandemic year. It stands up to authority on behalf of readers, provided free advertising for small businesses during the crisis and even used its business contacts to source 50,000 testing kits. No wonder the paper proudly claims that it is “the vital community glue that brought people together”.’ JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: ‘After twice missing out at the final hurdle, the award is great recognition of all the hard work every member of the JEP team put in during 2020, a year defined by the pandemic and the way that the newspaper worked in partnership with so many Islanders, Jersey businesses and local organisations to support the community. It was a challenging 12 months, but also a time when we were able to celebrate the very best of our Island.
‘The pandemic gave us the opportunity to demonstrate the enduring importance and relevance of the Island’s newspaper.
To have peer recognition from colleagues within the wider newspaper industry is the icing on the cake.
‘Once again, I think the JEP demonstrated why local newspapers provide such essential community glue, bringing people together when it is needed most.’ He added: ‘A massive thank you to all the people who help and support us, from readers and advertisers who fund our journalism, to the contributors and writers who complement our talented in-house team.
‘Thank you all – we could not do it without you.’ JEP managing director Matt Ross said: ‘It’s an honour to receive such an accolade for the first time in the JEP’s 131-year history.
‘It’s testament to the passion and dedication of the team at the JEP to have been recognised in this way. We are tremendously grateful to all of our readers, advertisers and contributors without which this award would not have been possible.’