DC Thomson receives four nominations at the 2023 ACE NMAs

DC Thomson has been shortlisted four times across three categories at the 2023 Newspaper and Magazine Awards (ACE NMAs).

The NMAs give the publishing industry the opportunity to come together, showcase and celebrate the many success stories that have emerged in the last 12 months.

This year sees Puzzler Magazine shortlisted for ‘Newsstand Magazine of the Year – General Interest’.

Puzzler’s head of innovation, Shameem Begg, said: “We are delighted to have our 50-year-old Puzzler mag shortlisted as a finalist in this year’s NMAs. As the UK’s first ever puzzle magazine, it’s wonderful for Puzzler to be recognised and a testament to its quality content that it continues to innovate, entertain and attract new audiences after five whole decades. Congratulations to all the finalists!”  

Both The Press & Journal and Evening Express are shortlisted in a brand-new category, ‘Newspaper Newsstand Campaign of the Year’. This award is for the newspaper that has excelled in engaging with their audience and added genuine value to the market. The Press & Journal has been nominated for its ‘Win a £90,000 Lodge Campaign, while the Evening Express is recognised for ‘The EscapEE’.

The P&J’s campaign saw the £90,000 lodge provided by Riverview Holiday Park draw in thousands of entries and huge attendance at a gala day where the winner was announced for the title’s largest ever giveaway. The winner took ownership of the lodge at the gala and then and was ready to move in that day.

The EscapEE ran in the Evening Express and provided lots of fun and massive interest across our evening title and Original 106 Radio. The competition works as an exciting and unique manhunt, where audiences seek out “The EscapEE” to claim different cash prizes. The main objectives were to encourage readers of the newspaper to also become listeners to the radio station and vice versa.

DC Thomson is nominated for ‘Newsstand Team of the Year’, an award that recognises the team that has demonstrated consistent high performance and delivered great results across campaigns, challenges, initiatives, projects or strategies.

Neil Mackland, head of newspaper sales and marketing, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted in a number of categories at the NMAs this year. It’s a great achievement to be recognised as a finalist in the ‘Newsstand Team of the Year’. As a small but multitalented team, we feed into various aspects of the business including editorial, advertising, radio, events and production, helping to make numerous projects a reality.  

“We’re up against some stiff competition for ‘Campaign of the Year’ but both the Evening Express and P&J campaigns had massive reader engagement and generated huge revenue for our commercial team. Congratulations to all the nominees and everyone who helped get us nominated!”  

The awards ceremony takes place on May 18th 2023 at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London.
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The full shortlist is available here.

bunkered celebrates 200th issue with increase in magazine investment and UK distribution

bunkered this week celebrates the 200th issue of its print magazine. First launched in 1995, the magazine is set for a bumper 2023 as it increases in frequency and gains more retail distribution across the UK.

Golf fans can now enjoy ten issues of bunkered a year – up from eight – alongside additional supplements and selected bookazines at newsstand. The magazine has also been redesigned to a new, more compact size.

Alongside print investment, retail distribution for bunkered has increased since January 2023 to more than 200 additional Tesco, Waitrose and WH Smith stores across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

bunkered editor Bryce Ritchie commented, “bunkered is nothing without its loyal readers and that will never change. I am well aware – and immensely proud – that many of our subscribers have an even longer association with the magazine than me, and that makes publishing issue No.200 even more special for us.

“In recent years, we have expanded beyond the page to create hugely successful and fast-growing digital platforms. We have exciting and ambitious plans to expand our digital footprint on all fronts in the coming months and years but our magazine remains a critical cornerstone of our business.

“This is an incredibly exciting time in the history of our brand and we are excited to see where the next 200 issues take us.”

bunkered magazine was launched in 1995 and is now supplemented by an authoritative digital network centred around bunkered.co.uk, highly engaged social media platforms, a fast-growing YouTube channel, live events and a multi-award-winning podcast.

bunkered.co.uk.

DC Thomson shortlisted for 15 awards at the UK Regional Press Awards

DC Thomson is celebrating the end of 2022 with an incredible 15 nominations at the UK Regional Press Awards.  

The Courier, The Press and Journal, Evening Telegraph and Evening Express have been shortlisted across a number of categories, and several members of the editorial team have also been recognised with individual nominations.  

Dale Haslam, part of the newsroom’s content development team, has been shortlisted for Daily Reporter of the Year for impact investigations such as Gangster Granny and a series on cyber fraud. 

 The data journalism team, led by Lesley-Anne Kelly, received three of the eight shortlisted nominations in the Digital Initiative category with nods for their analysis of baby name trends, NHS waiting times tracker and a project mapping local victims of WW1, while The Press & Journal’s football show, Highland League Weekly, has been nominated in the same category.  

The Courier’s Alan Temple has been nominated for Sports Journalist of the Year, for a series of articles produced in light of the controversial signing of footballer David Goodwillie at Raith Rovers.  

Alex Watson, head of comment for the Press and Journal, and fellow P&J columnists Catherine Deveney and Kerry Hudson are shortlisted for Columnist of the Year, and Ellie House received a nomination for Features Writer of the Year. 

Staff photographers Mhairi Edwards and Steve MacDougall are each nominated for Photographer of the Year for their work across all titles.  

The Big Food Appeal, a campaign organised by the Press and Journal, Evening Express and Original 106 to tackle food poverty, is shortlisted for Campaign of the Year.  

DC Thomson has been nominated for News Brand of the Year and News Website of the Year following the digital transformation which saw the daily news brands hit the milestone 25,000 paid subscribers earlier this year.  

Tom Miller, chief transformation officer said: “With DC Thomson’s ongoing transformation, we are learning more about our readers, their needs and mindsets with every day that passes.  

“There is much to be proud of, and these nominations are testament to the immense effort that our writers and photographers put into blending insight with creativity to produce outstanding journalism every day.” 

The full shortlist is available here. 

Six Wins for DC Thomson at the PPA Scotland Awards!

It was a brilliant night for DC Thomson at the PPA Scotland Awards on Wednesday night (30th November) where our brands scooped six wins.  

Robert Wight was awarded The Editor of the Year for his personal contribution to the ‘all round brilliance’ of The Scots Mag.  

The People’s Friend was an ‘outstanding winner’ in the Media Brand of the Year category being both a multi-channel and multi-layered brand. 

Beano took home two awards. The team were awarded Children’s Magazine of the Year for evolving into a modern publication whilst keeping the essence of their roots. Their second win was Event of the Year for the Art of Breaking the Rules which judges dubbed both ‘creative and innovative’ while perfectly capturing their audience.  

Wullie Marr was awarded the Editorial Photograph of the Year for ‘Amanda Buchan’ in Evening Express as his entry exemplified the power of great photography. 

The team at My Weekly picked up the award for Newsletter of the Year with judges commenting specifically on the high quality of their newsletter. 

Special mention to bunkered who were nominated in a staggering five categories including, Event of the Year for bunkered Live, Podcast of the Year and Magazine Cover of the Year, Bryce Ritchie for Editor of the Year and Michael McEwan for Columnist of the Year.  

Find the full list of winners here.  

 

Beano partnerships helping kids navigate modern life

The team at Beano have brought their expertise in communicating to kids and engaging with them to two partnerships this summer, to help young people manage money and stay safe online.

In late July, international footballer and author Marcus Rashford became guest editor of the world’s longest running comic. As well as appearing on the cover, Marcus penned the editor’s letter and featured in strips across the magazine.

The guest editorship is part of NatWest’s financial education programme Thrive, which the bank launched with the footballer earlier this year to improve money confidence in young people.

20p from the sale of every comic will also be donated to the Marcus Rashford Book Club, created in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and Macmillan Children’s Books.

The front cover of the special Beano sees Marcus in cartoon form wearing a Beano Editor’s t-shirt, with Dennis and Minnie either side of him. Marcus also appears with The Bash Street Kids, Billy Whizz and Bananaman and even creates his own prank as part of Harsha’s Prank Academy.

In Marcus’ editor’s letter, he told readers: “My favourite thing about Beano is how the comic brings together all sorts of different children. Instead of our differences dividing us, we embrace them here, and we find strength in them. We should be celebrating all things that make each of us unique.”

Then, in early August, to help parents learn how to support and educate their children on safe phone usage, Beano partnered with EE in a licensed promotional partnership to launch a specially created Beano comic strip starring iconic characters.

In the strip, Mrs Menace and Dennis showcased the potential perils of the online world, and provided parents with tips to ensure their kids stay safe and are kind online.

The comic strip shows Dennis picking up his first phone before getting into some characteristic scrapes by making prank calls, uploading a video of his cousin Minnie without her consent and downloading age-inappropriate apps – all of which can occur without the correct guidance.

Beano Studios’ franchise planning and partnerships director, Vanessa Andreis, developed the partnerships with NatWest and EE. She said: “Our work with NatWest is a first of its kind, combining both Beano’s ability to engage families through the bespoke strip and presence across the many brand touchpoints. This special issue is just the start of our partnership with much more fun to come.

“Likewise, the EE campaign harnesses Beano’s multi-generational appeal and decades of engaging and communicating to kids to deliver essential tips and tricks about the online world to families. We look forward to seeing the campaign across the UK and are proud to be part of this very worthwhile initiative”

To see more about the NatWest and Beano collaboration, visit Beano.com/Marcus
To find out more about the EE and Beano campaign and see the comic strip, visit ee.co.uk/beano