Voting HAS launched today for the Making a Difference Awards in which our Keep Hitachi on Track and Stop Illegal Vaping campaigns are nominated.

We are among 27 contenders in the running for the prize which is awarded to mark Journalism Matters week from Monday (October 27) and we are urging readers to cast their vote for us. 

The public vote will be open until Wednesday, October 30, with the winners announced later in the week.

The award is designed to showcase of agenda-setting investigations, campaigns and scoops from national, regional and local news brands demonstrating the power of original news content.

The annual Making a Difference award sees members of the public vote for their favourite campaign from the past year during Journalism Matters week, the NMA’s campaign to highlight the immense value journalism creates for our society.(Image: The Northern Echo)

The Northern Echo launched its campaign ‘Keep Hitachi on Track’ to urge the government to step in and help train builder Hitachi by extending a vital contract to secure the future of its Newton Aycliffe plant. Business leaders, unions and politicians backed the call, as hundreds of jobs were at risk with the company’s order books running dry.

The Echo had campaigned ten years ago to bring the factory to the region and was now urging the government to keep it on track – or do everything in its power to find other orders to plug the gap. Real concerns had been growing since Hitachi bosses revealed that it had failed to reach an agreement with the government to keep their order books full. The factory keeps 750 people in work on-site, alongside another 1,400 jobs indirectly.(Image: The Northern Echo)

Earlier this year, Northern Echo reporter Phoebe Abruzzese visited three stores in Durham city centre and, within 14 minutes, was able to buy devices which were either illegal, unregulated, or untraceable according to regulators.

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In an update, officers from Durham Constabulary and Darlington Borough Council’s Trading Standards department have now said that “little is known about this substance and its safety” after testing the devices.

Phoebe’s investigation made the Darlington-based Echo’s front page in January.

For more information and to vote click here.