The shortlist for the 2013 EDF Energy East of England Media Awards shortlist has been announced today.

Archant Norfolk figures highly in the list of nominations for the annual awards, held in association with HoldtheFrontPage.

The Eastern Daily Press is nominated for website, campaign, daily newspaper and two front page of the year awards, along with individuals shortlisted for digital, specialist and sports journalist, photographer, designer, columnist and feature writer of the year.

The EDP vies for the title of daily newspaper alongside Cambridge News and East Anglian Daily Times in the awards, now in their ninth year.

Last year’s newspaper of the year winner The Echo, Basildon missed out on a nomination this time round but has five journalists shortlisted in the individual categories.

In the weekly categories, Bedfordshire on Sunday, Cambs Times, Hunts Post and The Comet compete for Weekly Free Newspaper of the Year, with Brentwood Gazette, Essex Chronicle, Lowestoft/Southwold Journal and North Norfolk News shortlisted for Paid-for Weekly.

The awards aim to honour the best in journalism across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. There were more than 200 entries for this year’s awards, across 20 categories.

Glenn Ebrey, editor of the Croydon Advertiser and a member of the judging panel, said: “We were looking for creativity, quality, and originality across the categories. We saw some fantastic work in amongst the entries and it was a tough task to whittle them down to a shortlist.”

Joining Glenn on the judging panel were Ian Carter, editorial director at KM Group, Ian Murray, editor of the Southern Daily Echo, Simon Harris, ITV News London political correspondent, Andrew Worden, editor of the Crawley News, Deanne Blaylock, editor of the Surrey Mirror and Dorking Advertiser group, Andy Steggall of Pergall Media and BBC South, Simon Dack, photographer at The Argus and Paul Linford, publisher of HoldtheFrontPage.

The full shortlist is as follows:

Newcomer of the Year

Helen Barnett, Basildon Echo
Emma Burrows, ITV Anglia
David Cosgrove, Hertfordshire Mercury
Lauren Hewitt, Heart East Anglia
Peter Walker, Essex Chronicle

Digital Journalist of the Year

Michael Bailey, Archant Norfolk
Luke Jacobs, Essex Chronicle
Peter Raven, Archant Norfolk

Specialist Journalist of the Year

Jon Austin, Basildon Echo
Dan Grimmer, Eastern Daily Press / Norwich Evening News
Elodie Harper, ITV Anglia
Peter Walker, Essex Chronicle
Jon Wright, BBC Radio Suffolk

News photographer of the Year

Ian Burt, Archant
Martin Dalton, Yellow Advertiser
Simon Finlay, Archant Norfolk
Bill Smith, Eastern Daily Press

Designer of the Year

Patrick Baker, Archant
Annette Hudson, Archant Norfolk
Alex Leys, Brentwood Gazette

Sports Journalist of the Year

Michael Bailey, Archant Norfolk
Marc Beyeler, Cambridge News
Paddy Davitt, Archant Norfolk
Aaron Mason, Cambridge News
Chris Phillips, Southend Echo

Columnist of the Year

Kevin Baldwin, Myfootballwriter.com
Stacia Briggs, Eastern Daily Press
David Giles, Southend Echo and Colchester Gazette
Sadie Hasler, Southend Echo and Colchester Gazette
Ellen Widdup, East Anglian Daily Times

Feature Writer of the Year

Wendy Brading, Essex County Standard / Daily Gazette
James Cox, Newsquest Essex
Lydia Fallon, Cambridge Newspapers
Rowan Mantell, Eastern Daily Press
James Marston, East Anglian Daily Times
Emma Palmer, Basildon Echo/Southend Echo/Colchester Gazette

Radio Journalist of the Year

Ashleigh Carroll, Heart Essex
Tom Horn, Heart Cambridgeshire
James Melley, BBC Essex
Jodie Smith, BBC Essex
James Waterhouse, BBC Essex

Television Journalist of the Year

Neil Bradford, BBC Look East
Sally Chidzoy, BBC TV East
Natalie Gray, ITV Anglia
Serena Sandhu, ITV Anglia

Print Journalist of the Year (Weekly)

Matthew Cannon, Brentwood Gazette
Ciaran Gold, Hertfordshire Mercury
Matthew Porter, Braintree and Witham Times / Halstead Gazette
Peter Walker, Essex Chronicle

Print Journalist of the Year (Daily)

Jon Austin, Basildon Echo
Raymond Brown, Cambridge News
Andrea Collitt, Daily Gazette
Gina Marden, Basildon Echo

Front Page of the Year

Eastern Daily Press ‘My Daddy’
Eastern Daily Press ‘The Scandal of Mobile Blackspots’
Newmarket Journal ‘Farewell to a Legend’
Norwich Evening News ‘Chronicles of Mariju-arnia’

Community Campaign of the Year

BBC Radio Suffolk ‘Bin a Blade’
Eastern Daily Press ‘Ambulance Watch’
Essex County Standard / Colchester Gazette ‘Cassie’s Law’
ITV Anglia ‘Text Santa’
Southend Echo ‘Save Our Blood Tests’

Website of the Year

Archant Norfolk pinkun.com
Cambridge News Online cambridge-news.co.uk
Eastern Daily Press edp24.co.uk

Radio News or Current Affairs Programme of the Year

Heart East Anglia News
BBC Radio Essex The Ray Clark Breakfast Show
Heart Essex News
BBC Radio Suffolk

Television News or Current Affairs Programme of the Year

ITV News Anglia

Weekly Free Newspaper of the Year

Bedfordshire on Sunday
Cambs Times
Hunts Post
The Comet

Weekly Paid for Newspaper of the Year

Brentwood Gazette
Essex Chronicle
Lowestoft/Southwold Journal
North Norfolk News

Daily Newspaper of the Year

Cambridge News
East Anglian Daily Times
Eastern Daily Press