Caerphilly Observer nominated for Wales Media Awards

From left to right, Caerphilly Observer’s Barry Withers, Joanne Burgess, and Richard Gurner with Warren Carr from Spencer David and BBC Wales’ Lucy Owen. Picture by Natasha Hirst — From left to right, *Caerphilly Observer*’s Barry Withers, Joanne Burgess, and Richard Gurner with Warren Carr from Spencer David and BBC Wales’ Lucy Owen.

Caerphilly Observer has been nominated for two prestigious industry awards.

The independent news service has been nominated in the Community Journalism of the Year and the News Website of the Year categories for this year’s Wales Media Awards.

It is the sixth time Caerphilly Observer has been nominated for the Community award – having won it four years in a row between 2015 and 2018.

Richard Gurner, Publisher and Editor of Caerphilly Observer, said: “Being nominated for these two awards is a huge honour.

“Being an independent and locally-owned company, without the backing of a large organisation, we operate on a tiny budget.

“To be in the running for two awards is a huge achievement for us. We are a very small team who work really hard to keep our readers informed.

“I’d like to thank our readers, our advertisers, and all the places that stock our newspaper for their continued support.”

The awards ceremony takes place this year on Friday, March 20, at the Mercure Holland House Hotel in Cardiff.

Alongside Caerphilly Observer in the Community category are Grangetown Community News and Cwmbran Life, while in the News Website category there are Wales Online, ITV Cymru Wales, Leader Live, and North Wales Live.

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.

• A full list of the nominees across all categories can be found at www.walesmediaawards.co.uk

Natasha Hirst