Independent local news website Bristol24-7 has today been nominated for the prestigious Best Local/Regional News Website in the national Online Media Awards 2012.
The site, set up by former Western Daily Press and The Independent journalist Chris Brown less than three years ago, will be up against the very best in online local media at the awards ceremony in London next month.
Ten other online publications, including the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo and Northcliffe’s This is Cornwall, were nominated alongside Bristol24-7 by a panel of international journalists and publishers.
The nomination comes just 48 hours after Bristol24-7 was shortlisted as South West Website of the Year by EDF Energy for the second year in a row – an award the site won last year.
Traffic to Bristol24-7, which shares stories with Bristol Business News, has soared since a major redesign went live last week, with more than 2,000 unique visitors a day – double the number of less than a year.
Chris said: “This is major honour for Bristol24-7 and shows just how far the site has come in a short space of time.
“When we won our first award last year, it was a real delight. But to be nominated for a national award, where we will be up against the cream of Britain’s regional journalism and mixing with some of the world’s best publishers, is incredible.
“It’s a testament to all the contributors who have given up their time to produce fantastic content for the site. Bristol24-7 is made for Bristol, by Bristol, and the nomination shows just what a vibrant community there is in the city – which is really engaged with its political and cultural life.”
In the past year Bristol24-7 has been on the front line of some of the city's biggest news events. Last August Chris was on the police front line reporting on the riots in St Pauls. The story gained more than 20,000 views in less than 24 hours and led to an appearance the following day on Radio 4’s World at One programme.
Speaking to journalism website Hold the Front Page this morning, chairman of the judges Gordon Young praised the quality of the entrants, adding it showed just how far online media had grown up.
“This year’s nominations truly reflect the rapid development and investment in the online side of the newspaper publishing business,” he said “They provide strong evidence that publishers are really beginning to understand the online dynamic.
“The standard and variety of entries has been extremely high and this has ensured a high-octane shortlist. Our judges really have had their work cut out in terms of deciding who will pick up the prestigious awards in June.”
The ceremony for the Online Media Awards takes place at the Emirates Stadium in London on June 21 while the EDF Energy South West Media Awards are the following week in Bath.
Check out Bristol24-7 at www.bristol247.com
For more information about the Online Media Awards, and a full list of nominees and judges, visit http://www.onlinemediaawards.net/
For more information about the EDF Energy South West Media Awards, visit http://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/media-awards/
