Two new national awards have been launched to recognise hyperlocal news publications across the country.

Trade body the Independent Community News Network and the Google News Initiative have joined forces to create two new categories for the newsawards 2020.

The awards – for independent newspaper of the year and independent website of the year – are aimed at the 300-plus independent community news publications in the UK and Ireland.

They are open to titles targeting a specific geographic area such as a town, neighbourhood, village, county or even a single postcode sector.

ICNN director Emma Meese, pictured, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible work being done by independent community journalists in the UK.

“The announcement of these awards recognises the change in attitudes across the industry towards independent news providers.

“That they are a vital and indispensable part of the news media ecosystem has been clear for some time – these awards underline that, and we are proud to give our organisation’s name to them.”

The complete judging criteria for the two awards are available here, and the closing date for entries is 31 January 2020.

The winners of all the newsawards 2020 categories will be announced on 6 May next year in a ceremony to be held at the Royal Lancaster London Hotel.