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Sister newspapers go head to head in bid to be crowned county’s best

Kent Press AwardsThree sister weeklies will go head to head to head in a bid to be crowned their county’s best newspaper.

The shortlist has been unveiled for Kent Press & Broadcast Awards 2017, with KM Group-owned titles the Dartford Messenger, Gravesend Messenger and Kentish Gazette all vying for the Kent Newspaper of the Year accolade.

The trio are joined on the shortlist by Trinity Mirror-owned paper the Kent & Sussex Courier.

KM, which was last month taken over by Iliffe Media, has recorded around 30 nominations in total.

Rachel Knight, from organiser Maxim PR, said: “As ever, the entries came flooding in right up to the 5pm deadline but we wouldn’t expect anything else from journalists.

“The media landscape has changed quite considerably in the last year so we’re very grateful to still have a high level of interest.

“It was great to have submissions from journalists and publications that haven’t entered in the past.

“Interestingly, Best Use of Social Media and Kent Digital Journalist of the Year proved more popular than in previous years, which is perhaps a sign of how news gathering and delivery is evolving.”

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony taking place on 14 July at the Spitfire Ground, home of Kent County Cricket Club, in Canterbury.

The full shortlist is listed below.

Best Use of Social Media
David Gazet, Kent Messenger/KentOnline
Kent Live (West)
KMTV
Luke May, Kentish Times

Kent Broadcast Journalist of the Year
Abigail Bracken, ITV Meridian
Alex Bish & Matt Davison, BBC Radio Kent
Colin Campbell, BBC South East
Josie Hannett, KMTV/KentOnline

Kent Campaign of the Year
Dover Express – Kelly Turner
Folkestone Herald – Leas Lift
Gravesend/Dartford Messenger – Parents’ Consortium
Kent on Sunday – Blood contamination

Kent Columnist of the Year
Alex Claridge (Harry Bell), Kentish Gazette Series
Ed McConnell, Kent Messenger
Nikki White, Medway Messenger
Tom Acres, Dartford/Gravesend Messenger

Kent Digital Journalist of the Year
Aidan Barlow, KentOnline
David Gazet, Kent Messenger
Isle of Thanet News
Lauren MacDougall, Kent & Sussex Courier/Kent Live

Kent Feature Journalist of the Year
Colin Campbell, BBC South East
Derek Johnson, ITV Meridian
John Nurden, Sheerness Times Guardian
Samuel Supple, BBC South East Today & Inside Out

Kent Magazine Design(er) of the Year
‘Cene
insideKENT
Samantha Barton, Kent Life

Kent Magazine of the Year
‘Cene
Bygone Kent
insideKENT
Isle Magazine

Kent Newspaper Design(er) of the Year
Ashley Austen, KM Media Group
Debbie Neech, KM Media Group
Matthew Panting, KM Media Group
Steve Crancher, Kent & Sussex Courier

Kent Newspaper of the Year
Dartford Messenger
Gravesend Messenger
Kent & Sussex Courier
Kentish Gazette

Press Photographer of the Year
Andrew Payton, KM Media Group
Andy Jones, KM Media Group
Gary Browne, Kent Messenger/KentOnline
Matthew Walker, KM Media Group/freelance

Kent Print Journalist of the Year
Clare Freeman, Medway Messenger
David Gazet, Kent Messenger
Tom Acres, Dartford Messenger & Gravesend Messenger
Joe Walker, Kentish Gazette

Kent Sports Journalist of the Year
Ben Watts, BBC Radio Kent
Luke Cawdell, Medway Messenger
Matthew Panting, KM Media Group
Neil Bell, BBC South East

Kent Young Journalist of the Year
Amy Nickalls, Folkestone Herald/Kent Live
Jade Edwards, Medway Messenger
Josie Hannett, KMTV/KentOnline
Poppy Jeffery, Sittingbourne News Extra/Sheerness Times Guardian