Making our own headlines!
The power of advertising in the Tribune was underlined when the paper took one of the top prizes at last week’s Local Ireland Media Awards – for a campaign the paper ran with Athenry Credit Union.
That took the prize for Best Local Advertisement – coincidentally in the same week that Athenry Credit Union renewed its advertising contract with the paper for a further twelve months.
Connacht Tribune Group Business Development Manager Kieran Rabbitte expressed his delight at the award.
“This is testimony to the hard work of the advertising team, but also to the long-standing links between the Tribune and a host of blue chip organisations and companies across the county – of which Athenry Credit Union most definitely is one,” he said.
“We are grateful to all of our advertisers – but we also know this award shows how powerful and effective advertising with the Tribune can be,” he added.
The Tribune topped the list of nominations for this year's Local Ireland Media Awards with a dozen entries making the shortlists – by far the most nominations for any regional newspaper in the country.
Stephen Corrigan’s reporting and Joe O’Shaughnessy’s photographic coverage of the miracle rescue of two paddle boarders in Galway Bay resonated with the judges on a number of fronts, with Stephen’s work in the Galway City Tribune nominated for News Story of the Year and Best News Series, and the coverage itself shortlisted for Best Front Page.
The Connacht Tribune was nominated for Best Use of Photography for ‘Hen-Pecked’ and ‘Back In Our Bubble’ and Joe O’Shaughnessy was nominated for Best Photograph for ‘Off Target’, taken at the Prairie in Salthill during Prince William and Kate’s visit.
Our Covid coverage was also recognised, with nominations for Best Front Page for ‘Bringing Out Our Very Best’, Best Use of Photography for ‘Back in Our Bubble’.
The Tribune was shortlisted for Best Use of Social Media for Enda Cunningham’s regular Covid updates from the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
We were also nominated for Best Advertising Campaign for the Connacht Hospitality group – and received three out of four nominations for Best Local Advertisement, with the Athenry CU campaign winning the award.
All of the winners were announced in a virtual ceremony last week, after the in-person event was cancelled because of Covid.
Host Marty Morrissey revealed the winners in 14 categories – and industry stalwart Pat Ryan of the Nenagh Guardian was honoured in-person with a Lifetime Achievement award.
“Pat has made an immense contribution to local journalism both at a local and national level through his stewardship of the Nenagh Guardian and his active involvement in the work of Local Ireland,” said Local Ireland Executive Director Bob Hughes.
President of Local Ireland and Connacht Tribune Operations Manager Declan McGuire said that it was heart-warming to still be able to celebrate journalism excellence in regional publishers – despite the pandemic restrictions.
“It is important that our achievements are recognised. I want to congratulate all the winners and nominees and pay tribute to all the journalists and staff who deliver our regional news titles week in, week out to such a high professional standard,” he said.
Andrew Algeo, CEO of the National Lottery, underlined the company’s commitment to the competition, by confirming that they had renewed their sponsorship for a further three years.
“In these challenging times, we need great journalism to uncover, to explain, to challenge and to give perspective to what we are all experiencing,” he said.