Regional publisher Johnston Press is to launch a group-wide set of awards to celebrate the achievements of its staff.
Until recent years most of the big publishing groups ran internal awards schemes but with the exception of Archant’s most have fallen victim to the economic downturn.
However JP is now seeking to revive the idea with its inagural awards ceremony to be held in Peterborough on 14 March.
The move was announced by chief executive Ashley Highfield in an email to staff yesterday which has been seen by HTFP.
Wrote Ashley: “One of the things that struck me about Johnston Press, from my very first day, was just how hard people are prepared to work to make this company a success.
“My regular visits around the centres have reinforced this view and I know we are fortunate to have a huge number of talented, dedicated and enthusiastic employees achieving all manner of great things.
“I believe the time is right to recognise these successes with a lot more shouting from the treetops and so we are going to introduce the Johnston Press Group Awards – a very special night at which we can celebrate all the excellent things we are doing.
“It’s a great opportunity to put the spotlight on those deserving people who work hard to produce the best newspapers and websites, increase our revenues, come up with new ideas and build lasting relationships with our communities.”
The awards will cover 25 categories designed to recognise the top performers in editorial, sales and newspaper sales.
Details will be published shortly on JP’s internal newsletter, The Word.
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at
Fear hacks will be too busy arresting sales dives after re-launches to worry about gongs but nice thought.
Report this comment
From what I read of JP, there won’t be much competition.
Is there enough staff for there to be a winner and runner-up?
Report this comment
Talk about fiddling while Rome burns…
Report this comment
The Blue Riband category: Survivor of the Year.
Report this comment
I hope I win the ‘Atex template fill of the year’ catagory
Report this comment
Oh, don’t worry, there will still be plenty of editors who will devote resources (ie get someone else to do it) in order to go for an award. Such editors are always glowingly described on this very site as “award winning” as if it means something, so you can see why certain people think it’s important.
Report this comment
If it was not so pathetic it would be a joke!!!!!!!!!!
And the “winner” is ……..
First prize – you get to keep your job, well for a few weeks anyway!!!!
I wonder how they managed to squeeze the budget for this “gala event”? Two more jobs to go – no one will notice.
Report this comment
It’s a bit late to try and boost staff morale now! Too little, too late.
Report this comment
This would be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragic. Quite a number of eligible staff may well be redundo by the time the awards are presented. Seen it happen before………….
Report this comment
As someone who has recently been made redundant by JP, I am left wondering how they can afford this when they supposedly cannot afford to keep reporters on? I will think of Ashley tucking in to his steak on March 14 while I wonder how to feed my family.
Report this comment
Hmmm. Suppose it’s something to put on your CV, on a positive note. You can see now what will happen. A few, wide-eyed naive types will put themselves forward. Then the bosses will get nervous that no one is interested and start cajoling people into doing it. So eventually it will create a (not very good) illusion of normality because there will be a lot of applicants for the awards. Love the comment of John, too. It’s all nonsense though really. I feel sorry for anyone still in this poor industry (production and news staff anyway – sports people still seem quite happy)
Report this comment
As a big fan of the Thick of It I would just like to congratulate Ashley Highfield by taking the funniest elements of that programme and making them real!
New award categories:
• Fastest subbed page.
• Most press releases turned around in one week
• Editor of the year (all will be automatically entered as there are so few)
Report this comment
HI, looking at all the comments from disgruntled employees and x employees it’s no wonder JP are struggling. You ought to be ashamed.
You come here slagging off you your employer and criticising every move they make, it’s disgusting and I hope you are weeded out like the rest of the dead wood that Ashley inherited.
you may laugh and joke about the state of JP but have you ever stopped and wondered if you could do more instead of destroying what’s left?
So many unemployed right now would give their right arm to be in your position and you turn your nose up at it. You disgust me.
your truly, a very happy JP employee!
Report this comment
You’ll have to get a move on Ashley…while you’ve still got some staff left.
Report this comment
Will there be a “who has achieved the most with the least rescources”
category………………
Report this comment
Youshouldbeashamed – you could almost be a JP exec. And given the poor structure and grammar of your post it seems you’re certainly not a JP journalist so clearly not feeling the brunt of what’s happening.
Those still working aren’t destroying what’s left, that’s being done by those in Highfield Towers.
There’s a reason people slag off every move they make, and that’s because virtually every move is tragic and/or laughable.
It never used to be like this.
Report this comment
Youshouldbeashamed – have you been taking the JP prescribed pills? The thing is, a lot of us love this industry and profession yet we should blindly just sit there not raising a moan about any of the endless cuts and heavier workloads?
I don’t think anyone is turning their nose up at work – but everyone is entitled to ENJOY coming to work – something which is very sadly lacking in JP right now.
Report this comment
Roof tops. You shout things from the roof tops.
Monkeys and parrots shout from the tree tops.
Report this comment
Youshouldbeashamed – you’re clearly not a journalist. Things may be better in sales or marketing or whichever department you work in. Editorial staff have every right to feel completely disillusioned with the company they work for. They have put in thousands of extra hours over the years, worked over capacity and dedicated much of their lives to ensuring the communities they work in are represented by robust and interesting newspapers. They are being thanked with a glass trophy while their former colleagues and friends are sitting on the breadline with no jobs to go to. They have borne the brunt of the cuts for the past decade so you and your mates can keep your company Mondeos and high salaries.
Report this comment
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the most prestigious award of the evening, the category that had by far the biggest entry … “The Former Employee of the Year Award.”
Report this comment
Reminds me of that old song…”Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”.
Nice try with good intentions I think. Too late to repair shop-floor morale wrecked by imposed and unwise changes from the top without proper consultation by people who know nothing about newspapers except how to kill them.
Report this comment
Presumably the awards will be paid for with the savings made from not entering other industry awards?
Report this comment
Youshouldbeashamed, what planet do you live on? Clearly planet JP.I find your phrase referring to us as “deadwood”highly amusing. What do you know of me? Just don’t make yourself too comfortable on planet JP because you could find yourself ” deadwood” too.
Report this comment
Awards, praising employees efforts, lavish evening bash. A load of tosh and no chance of an entry from this neck of the woods and here’s why. A couple of years ago I was shorlisted and invited to London for a prestigious awards evening outside of the JP network. The outcome is irrelevant and apart from hearty congrats from my editor, the group editor offered no response and I put it down to not reaching her ears. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an attention seeker but no recognition from outside my own office work place for my efforts that was industry recognised did dissapoint – but it gets better. Several weeks later I was involved in a meeting with the head man, the MD of our group. After the meeting he asked if everything was ok and I was enjoying my work I answered in a positive manner and more or less as a throwaway remark I mentioned I had a good result a few weeks back explaining my experience at the awards in London, his reply was a curt “yes, I had heard something”. That was it, no belated well done for flying the JP flag. At that moment it came clear to me that JP couldn’t give a t*** for the efforts of it’s employees. Things move on, perhaps Ash will get us motivated again…
Report this comment
Have seen the list of awards…
Lots for Editorial and Sales Departments to contend, but where are the categories for the Pre-Press ?
None for advert design ?
None for supplement design ?
None for Studio / Pre-Press Team ?
Oh that’s right, most of these departments are now based in India and it seems a long way to travel to collect an award.
But what about the remaining Pre-Press teams ?
Were these not included because they will also lose their jobs when the remaining advertising goes to India.
Morale boost all the way from JP !!!
Report this comment
Another award that got away … sorting out the mess resulting from front counters now closed, and BMDs moving to Edinburgh.
Try placating elderly bereaved widows placing memoriums. Had two within a couple of hours. They’ve been customers for years, and don’t do computers. Great way to treat loyal readers.
Report this comment