The Oban Times has been shortlisted for the UK journalism industry’s prestigious 2023 Making a Difference Award after the success of its Invest in the West campaign.
The drive has been chosen by a panel of experts to appear within a showcase of the year’s most powerful national and local newspaper investigations and campaigns.
Running during Journalism Matters week (October 30 – November 5), the Making a Difference public vote for the best local and national campaigns went live today and closes at 5pm on Wednesday, November 1. The local and national winners will be announced later in the week.
To vote for The Oban Times, visit newsmediauk.org/making-a-difference and click on ‘Vote for your favourite local and regional media campaign’.
The Oban Times launched Invest in the West earlier this year, calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding for communities hurt by budget cuts, as well as demanding a better focus on specific needs for rural communities across the West Coast and islands.
For years we have been carrying stories on problems with the ferries to our islands, housing issues, employment and the NHS. But this year, many of these issues have brought some of our most outlying and rural communities to their knees.
Businesses that have thrived for 100 years or more are struggling to stay afloat as visitor numbers slump. People are being forced to think about relocating just to try and survive, nevermind rebuild a more sustainable way of life.
This year it became a much wider problem than people finding a reliable way to get on and off our islands. This is a crisis that has resulted in livelihoods being ruined, employment opportunities drying up and families being forced to move elsewhere for lack of affordable housing and jobs – it is squeezing the life out of our most rural communities.
That is why we launched our petition – to make a stand and call for urgent action. Now.
Brian Hossack, head of online content at Wyvex Media, said: “Being shortlisted for such a prestigious national award is quite an honour – but now we need our readers to get behind us and help Invest in the West get the wider recognition we feel it deserves.
“We really want people to log on and sign up. Strength of numbers is vital if we are to demonstrate to our governments how big an issue this has become. We want to deliver a document to decision-makers backed by as many people as possible, and I would encourage each and every reader to put their name to our petition, as well as spreading the word on their own social media platforms and telling friends and family.”
The campaign was raised at the Scottish Parliament in July, with the drive bringing First Minister Humza Yousaf to Oban over the summer to hear first hand about the issues being faced by our communities.
Journalism Matters Week is the news media industry’s annual campaign to highlight the benefits journalism creates within our society.
This year, the campaign is focusing on the rise of AI and the critical importance of trusted journalism to combat misinformation as political parties gear up for a likely general election next year.