NMA Launches Journalism Matters Campaign 

The News Media Association has launched a new campaign called Journalism Matters to highlight the vital role journalism plays in our society. 

Replacing Local Newspaper Week, the new campaign will be spearheaded by the local media sector.

During the week 13 to 19 May, hundreds of titles across the UK will join forces under the banner of Journalism Matters to explain to readers how journalism can bring about real positive change.

NMA chairman David Dinsmore, News UK chief operating officer, said: “The role of news media holding power to account is more important now than it ever has been.

“The new Journalism Matters campaign will boldly and unashamedly champion journalism as a force for good in our society.”

NMA vice chairman Henry Faure Walker, Newsquest chief executive, said: “Local media is the most trusted source for local news and information; more than three times more trusted than social media.

“As a sector, we must continue to remind all our audiences of the essential role local news brands play in communities the length and breadth of the UK, and Journalism Matters will provide us with a strong platform to do just that.”

Coordinated by Local Media Works, the local marketing arm of the NMA, the new campaign will also highlight the local media industry’s enormous reach – 42 million UK adults – across print and digital platforms. 

Journalism Matters will encompass the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards at which the annual Making a Difference award for the best local newspaper campaign, as voted for by the public, will be announced.

The campaign will also include a #trustednewsday on 16 May which will see local newspapers show their readers exactly how trusted news is produced.