Entries are now being sought for the inaugural West Midlands Media Awards.

The competition, organised by Birmingham Press Club, is open to all forms of media, from newspapers to broadcasting and the Internet from a wide Midlands area, including Shropshire in the west, Derby in the north, Nottingham, Coventry, Worcester and Leicester.

Prizes in 13 categories up will be up for grabs including £1,000, which will be awarded to the winner of the Scoop of the Year category and engraved trophies which will be handed to the winners of the Newspaper of the Year and Irritant of the Year titles.

In the other 10 categories - Daily News Reporter of the Year; Weekly News Reporter of the Year; News Photographer of the Year; Sports Photographer of the Year; Sports Journalist of the Year; Business Journalist of the Year; Newcomer of the Year; Best Use of Technology; Best Advocate for the Region and Headline of the Year - a cash prize of £250 will be awarded.

Andrew Sparrow, chairman of Birmingham Press Club, said: "We are the oldest press club in the world and yet amazingly this is our first awards scheme.

"Our aim is to recognise and reward the achievements of our local journalists and broadcasters during the past 12 months.

"The awards will go to those scribes, snappers and unsung heroes behind the scenes who have led the way during the past year."

All work submitted must have been published or broadcast between January 1 and December 31 2002.

Entries must be received by Monday, January 13 2003 and the winners will be announced during a ceremony at Birmingham's Burlington Hotel on Thursday, March 20 2003.

If you would like an entry form you should contact Big Box Events on 0121 632 5005 or Headline Communications on 0121 212 0559.

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Have you won a press award? We'd love to hear from you.
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