A local online-only publication launched during the Covid pandemic four years ago has won a prestigious national award.

The Dorset-based BV Magazine was named Regional Publication of the Year at the Association of Circulation Executives’ Newspaper & Magazine Awards.

Launched in 2020 by Laura and Courtenay Hitchcock – pictured below with the award – now has a monthly audience of around 250,000.

Judges praised its high editorial standards, commitment to supporting the rural community, and ‘impressive’ social media engagement.

The BV Magazine – the letters stand for Blackmore Vale – overcame a competitive field including such established publications as Brighton daily The Argus, The Impartial Reporter and The Western Mail.

Said Laura: “We are absolutely thrilled to win – we have a wide team of expert contributors, but at the sharp end it’s just the two of us, and producing The BV is a constant, mammoth task! To achieve recognition at such a high-level means everything.”

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A Scottish daily has launched what it is calling the “definitive” guide to food and drink on its patch.

The Press and Journal’s 64-page Food and Drink Guide 2024 aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the “vibrant culinary scene” in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

The guide was put together by the newspaper’s food and rink team led by Karla Sinclair and promises “a mouthwatering journey through the best eateries, cafes, pubs, and distilleries in the area.”

P&J publisher DC Thomson printed 6,000 copies of the guide which were available to website subscribers and ticket holders for Taste of Grampian, an annual festival of food hosted by the P&J events team earlier this month.

Jayne Savva, features director at DC Thomson said: “Karla and The Press and Journal team bring our readers quality food and drink news and features every day and this new guide is the perfect way to showcase our knowledge and passion for the food and drink industry in our region.

“Whether you’re a visitor looking to explore the flavours of the north-east or a local eager to uncover new treasures, The P&J Food and Drink Guide is your indispensable companion for culinary adventures in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire”.

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A hyperlocal city title is to host a general election hustings next week with most of the political parties confirming their attendance.

The Great Central Gazette has organised the hustings in the Leicester West constituency to take place at the Church of the Martyrs, Westcotes on Monday evening (17th June.)

Confirmed attendees include representatives from the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Reform UK, One Leicester and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

Invitations have also been extended to the sitting MP, Labour’s Liz Kendall, Conservative Max Chauhan and Brijesh BM Gajjar of the Workers Party of Britain.

Speaking about the event, Gazette co-founder Rhys Everquill said: “Back in March, we thought our AGM would be our biggest event of the year – but general election has changed all that.

“We’re excited to be hosting our first hustings event in the coming days, and look forward to potentially holding more. It’s the perfect opportunity for local voters to hold their politicians to account.”

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News aggregator Taboola has signed a three-year deal with publisher Mediahuis Ireland to power web recommendations across its titles.

Having partnered with The Belfast Telegraph since 2014, the new agreement will see Mediahuis Ireland implement a suite of Taboola products across the websites and mobile apps of sister titles the Irish Independent and Sunday World.

In addition the publisher has adopted Taboola’s Explore More, a product designed to increase session depth and engage users visiting publisher sites directly from social media and apps.

More than 9,000 digital properties worldwide currently integrate Taboola products, including Yahoo, the BBC and The Independent.

Mediahuis UK group head of digital insights Connor Diamond said: “Taboola’s Explore More solution has enabled us to capture referral traffic for longer periods, maximising the value of each visitor to The Belfast Telegraph site and accounting for a remarkable 2.5pc of our overall traffic.

“The solution plays a vital role in expanding our reach, keeping users engaged and diversifying revenue, and we’re very excited to now be bringing its benefits to two further flagship publications.”

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Local publisher Tindle Newspapers is streamlining its print workflow with the adoption of auto-pagination.

The company’s print titles have been produced on Atex systems since 2016 and, fololowing a review of tech infrastructure, Tindle has decided to adopt Atex auto-pagination solution.

Managing director Scott Wood said: “We’ve been working with Atex for many years now, and we trust their technology to improve workflow efficiencies in many areas of the business. So, adopting Atex auto-pagination was a very natural path to achieving our goals.

“As a result, we can continue to focus our attention on the importance of content creation and how we share this with our local audiences across multiple channels.”

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A regional publisher has produced a eye-catching features for use across its titles ahead of the European football championships.

Designer Gavin Munro of National World’s central design hub has put together produced a series of spreads for its Euro2024 supplement published this week.

The publisher has also produced a wallchart created by the hub’s Duncan Jackson.

The spread and wallchart are pictured below.