Give It Back and Feed A Family Campaigns Win 2022 Making a Difference Awards

The Sun and the West Midlands Express and Star have won this year’s Making a Difference national and local awards for their campaigns Give It Back and Feed A Family.

Making a Difference is part of the News Media Association’s annual Journalism Matters campaign to highlight the vital role journalism plays in our society. The public were invited to view the campaigns in the local and national showcases and to vote for their favourites.

NMA chief executive Owen Meredith said: “Many congratulations to The Express and Star and The Sun for winning the 2022 Making a Difference Award for the best national and local campaign.

“This year’s entries demonstrate the remarkable landscape of UK journalism today, highlighting the importance of trusted and quality journalism as well as showcasing news media’s powerful ability in delivering agenda-setting investigations, campaigns and scoops to the public.

“The winning campaigns, Give It Back and Feed A Family, are outstanding examples of the vital role journalism plays in our society, from informing and engaging the public to fundraising and raising awareness of important causes.

“The teams behind these campaigns should be immensely proud of their achievements.”

The Sun’s campaign ‘Give It Back’ was sparked by the shocking statistic that only four per cent of families with disabled children reported getting the support they needed. The Sun partnered with the Disabled Children’s Partnership, highlighting the £573 million funding gap for disabled children and urged government to address this. The campaign sought to give a voice to unheard parents who were battling to get their children the support they needed.

The ‘Feed a Family’ campaign has become an annual fixture for The Express and Star and Shropshire Star, in which both titles team up with foodbanks from across the region for a major push to stock up supplies ahead of Christmas. The campaign was a success, with foodbanks involved reporting that they saw a big difference in donations, demonstrating yet again the power and reach of local news brands.

This year, Journalism Matters week has seen support from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan MP.

At the NMA’s Journalism Matters parliamentary reception, Maria Breslin, editor of the Liverpool Echo, and Sir John Whittingdale MP also spoke of the importance of levelling the playing field between news publishers and tech platforms by giving the already established Digital Markets Unit the statutory powers it needs to do its job.

Hundreds of national and local newspapers have also celebrated the annual campaign coordinated by the NMA by celebrating the vital contribution trusted journalism makes to our democratic society.