Northern Echo shortlisted for Making a Difference public vote

From covering the national stories that matter to you to highlighting the cost of living crisis and campaigning for change, we are proud to be your trusted newspaper.

Read more: 'We need to ensure highly trusted journalism has a sustainable future'

And for Journalism Matters Week, we are proud to say that two campaigns brought to you by The Echo have made the shortlist for recognising campaigning journalism.

The 'Making a Difference' awards from the News Media Association sees members of the public vote for their favourite campaign from the past year.

They include agenda-setting investigations, campaigns and scoops from a mix of national, regional and local news brands from across the UK.

This year, the vote goes live on Monday, October 31 and will run for three days before the winning local and national campaigns are announced on Friday, November 4.

Take a look at our entries below

Picture: NORTHERN ECHO (Image: Picture: NORTHERN ECHO)

When Will This End?

Back in October 2021, The Northern Echo published a powerful front page in the wake of Sarah Everard’s tragic case, urging that more must be done to protect women in our society.

Read more: Journalism Matters Week: What Culture Secretary Michelle Donellan says

The Echo published a special report, with the front page showing the images of 80 women who had allegedly been killed by men in the six months prior to Sarah’s murder.

The report shone a spotlight on the culture of male violence against women and highlighted that eight months after the death of Sarah Everard, this violence still continued.

Your Money Matters

Meanwhile, The Echo has been no stranger to looking at the cost-of-living crisis and how it has left thousands of people on the brink of ruin.

In March this year, The Echo, along with many other Newsquest titles, launched our campaign Your Money Matters in a mission to shine a spotlight on readers’ insightful stories from the region on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

The campaign urged the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to combat the crisis which was creating difficult living situations for millions of people in their region.

The campaign also highlighted money-saving deals, competitions, and giveaways for readers, as well as profiling charities and organisations that offered practical and emotional support.

Gavin Foster, Editor of The Northern Echo, said: "The Northern Echo has a long tradition of fighting for what's right, challenging and holding authorities and organisations to account and championing our communities.

"To be shortlisted is a huge achievement but just a small part of the huge amount of work that has been done by the team to deliver trusted journalism over the last twelve months."

How to vote 

As mentioned, the Making a Difference public vote for the best local and national campaigns will go live at 9.30am on Monday, October 31 and close at 5pm on Wednesday, November 2.

The Northern Echo will be updating this article with a direct link to where you can vote shortly before entries open. And we very much hope you will support us!