Three weekly newspapers will go head to head against a trio of city dailies in a bid to be crowned the best newspaper in the Midlands.

The Hinckley Times, Tamworth Herald and Ashbourne News Telegraph have been shortlisted in the category at the Midlands Media Awards together with the Coventry Telegraph, Wolverhampton’s Express & Star and last year’s winner, the Derby Telegraph.

The Telegraph received a total of 12 nominations, while the Birmingham Mail received 14.

Among the Mail’s nominees is Jon Griffin, who recently took voluntary redundancy from the newspaper, in the Business Journalist of the Year category.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in September, which will also mark the 150th anniversary of organiser the Birmingham Press Club.

The full shortlist is as follows:

Blogger of the Year

Ross Hawkes – Lichfield Live
John Hess – BBC East Midlands
Thomas Lane – The UK Basketball Hub
Peter Rhodes – Midlands News Association (Express & Star)
James Sharpe – Leicester Mercury

Business Journalist of the Year

Mark Gough – ITV News Central
Jon Griffin – Birmingham Mail
Ann King – The Sentinel
Enda Mullen – Birmingham Post
Les Reid – Coventry Observer
Gemma Toulson – Nottingham Post

Campaign of the Year

Birmingham Mail – Anna Jeys, Thunderclap Campaign
Burton Mail – Emma Turton, Pennies For Our Heroes
Capital FM East Midlands – James Lloyd, Get Involved
Coventry Telegraph – Simon Gilbert, Bring City Home
Derby Telegraph and BBC Radio Derby – Zena Hawley & Aftab Gulzar, The Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal
Shropshire Star – Mark Drew, Shropshire Star Get Us Connected Campaign

Columnist of the Year

Carolyn Bointon – Ashbourne News Telegraph
Gemma Collins – Leicester Mercury
Neil Elkes – Birmingham Mail
Jeremy Lewis – Nottingham Post
Mike Lockley – Birmingham Mail

Feature Writer of the Year

Richard Ault – The Sentinel
Gemma Collins – Leicester Mercury
Justine Halifax – Birmingham Mail & Sunday Mercury
Enda Mullen – Birmingham Post
Gemma Peplow – Leicester Mercury
Graham Young – Birmingham Mail

Headline of the Year

Birmingham Mail – ‘LLLLLLDDDWWLDLDDLLLL’
Birmingham Mail – ‘Serial killer next door’
Derby Telegraph – ‘Stay up mi duck’
Leicester Mercury – ‘Preposterous’
Sunday Mercury – ‘Tuba’s Priest’
Sunday Mercury – ‘Mocha Angelo’
Taste The Season – ‘It’s called a cob’

Magazine of the Year

Birmingham Living – Jonathan Carter
Taste The Season – Andy Darlington
Wolverhampton Magazine – Karen Knowles
Artsbeat – Amanda Penman
Sutton Coldfield Observer Journal – Gary Phelps
Shropshire Magazine – Neil Thomas
Nottinghamshire Today – Simon Wilson

Newcomer of the Year

Qasa Alom – BBC Inside Out West Midlands
Laura Barton – Global’s Newsroom
Nicholas Fletcher – Lincolnshire Echo
James Forrest – Worcester News
Rachel Jenkins – Shropshire Star
Sam Jones – Tamworth Herald
Noel Phillips – BBC Radio West Midlands/Midlands Today

News Photo of the Year

Alex Cantrill-Jones – Derby Telegraph, ‘Deepak Kunwar father of Nadish’
Tim Easthope – Birmingham Mail, ‘Blues offer could pave the way for a takeover’
Mark Fear – Nottingham Post, ‘EGGSIT FARAGE’
Will Johnston – Leicester Mercury, ‘Richard III.’
Tim Thursfield – Express & Star, ‘FORDE.’
Angela Ward – Nottingham Post, ‘Political goals and ugly face of beautiful game.’

News Reporter of the Year (Daily)

Sam Dimmer – Coventry Telegraph
Nick McCarthy – Birmingham Mail
Jeanette Oldham – Birmingham Mail
Andy Richards – Sunday Mercury
Aly Walsh – Derby Telegraph
Peter Warzynski – Leicester Mercury
Gary Bills Geddes – Worcester News

News Reporter of the Year (Weekly)

Annette Belcher – The Solihull News
Lee Kettle – Walsall Advertiser
Helen Machin – Central Independent News and Media
Les Reid – Coventry Observer
Adam Smith – Halesowen News

News Website of the Year

BBC Online East Midlands
BBC Online West Midlands
Birmingham Mail
ExpressandStar.com
Hinckley Times
ITV News Central

Newspaper of the Year

Ashbourne News Telegraph
Coventry Telegraph
Derby Telegraph
Express & Star
Hinckley Times
Tamworth Herald

Radio Journalist of the Year

Lyndsey Alder – Free Radio
Dan Dawson – Free Radio
Sian Grzeszczyk – BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
Kathryn Stanczyszyn – BBC
Emma Thomas – BBC Radio Stoke
Robert Trigg – Free Radio

Scoop of the Year

Jonathan Gibson – BBC Inside Out West Midlands, ‘Chip & Pin Fraud.’
Simon Gilbert – Coventry Telegraph, ‘Jaguar Land Rover.’
Martin Naylor – Derby Telegraph, ‘The True Identity of City’s Would-Be Suicide Bomber.’
Jeanette Oldham – Birmingham Mail, ‘Council Hid Asian Cabbies’ Child Sex Links for 23 Years’
Catherine Phillips – Worcester News, ‘Former rogue’s gift of kidney.’
Free Radio – Free Radio News Team, ‘Coventry Teenager Joins ISIS.’

Sports Journalist of the Year

Michael Beardmore – Walsall Advertiser
Steve Clamp – ITV News Central
Leigh Curtis – Nottingham Post
Simon Gilbert – Coventry Telegraph
Steve Nicholson – Derby Telegraph
James Sharpe – Leicester Mercury

Sports Photographer of the Year

Alex Cantrill-Jones – Derby Telegraph
Andrew Compton – Andy Compton Photography
Tim Easthope – Birmingham Mail
Ian Hodgkinson – Derby Telegraph
Will Johnston – Leicester Mercury
Mike Sewell – Leicester Mercury

Supplement of the Year

50th Anniversary Edition – The Shropshire Star
Extra Time – Central Independent News and Media
Hidden Spaces – The Birmingham Post
Historic Tamworth – Central Independent News and Media
Shrovetide – Ashbourne News Telegraph
The King’s Final Journey – The Leicester Mercury

Television Journalist of the Year

Pete Bearne – ITV News Central
Andy Bevan – ITV News Central
Jonathan Gibson – BBC Inside Out West Midlands
Mark Gough – ITV News Central
Sian Grzeszczyk – BBC Sunday Politics West Midlands
John Hess – BBC East Midlands
Gareth Owen – ITV News Central

The Tony Flanagan Award for News Photography

Alex Cantrill Jones – Derby Telegraph
Anna Draper – Lincolnshire Echo
Geoff Girvan Merryweather – Derby Telegraph
Ian Hodgkinson – Derby Telegraph
Jamie Ricketts – Shropshire Star
Tim Thursfield – Express & Star