Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Caerphilly Observer has been nominated for a ninth year in a row in the Community Journalism of the Year category at this year’s Wales Media Awards.

This year we have been nominated alongside papurau bro Blewyn Glas, Llais, and Papur Dre. We are hoping to make it five wins in the category, having been successful in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Our independent news service is also in the running for News Website of the Year – an award we previously won in April 2021 in the pandemic-delayed 2020 awards.

In this category we will be going up against WalesOnline and BBC Cymru.

The awards, organised by the Journalists’ Charity, celebrate and promote great journalism in Wales, and will be hosted by BBC Wales presenter Lucy Owen and ITV Cymru Wales’ Jonathan Hill.

Richard Gurner, Publisher and Editor of Caerphilly Observer, said: “I started Caerphilly Observer 15 years ago with a budget laptop from my kitchen table.

“Since then we have grown to become a leading light of independent media – not just in Wales, but the UK.

“Including myself, we now have a team of seven employees – not to mention several volunteers – whose work is invaluable in keeping our website updated and producing our fortnightly print edition.

“As I’ve said many times before, we do not have the backing of a big media company behind us and operate out of the amazing Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community.

“We rely on the support of our paying members and our advertisers to continue being an authoritative, trustworthy, news source for communities across Caerphilly County Borough, so a big thank you to those who make it possible for us to operate in really challenging circumstances.

“I first realised my dream of becoming a journalist 20 years ago this month, with the now defunct Campaign, and over the past two decades the news industry has changed beyond recognition.

“With Caerphilly Observer we try to be a back-to-basics news service. Researching, writing, and featuring articles that we hope readers find valuable, we’re not interested in ‘getting the clicks’, we want to do work that people find useful and informative, and its great that we’ve been recognised with these nominations.”

The awards ceremony takes place this year on Friday November 15, at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff.