Pitch-perfect Musicians' Union wins at TUC Comms Awards

date: 11 July 2013

embargo: For immediate release

The Musician, the journal for members of the Musicians' Union has claimed the crown for the best journal/magazine at the TUC's annual Trade Union Communications Awards which took place in London last night (Wednesday).

The judges behind the awards ceremony - which is sponsored by TUink, communications advisers to the union sector - found The Musician to be packed with appealing, relevant content, which was beautifully laid out and easy to read. They thought it was well-written and weighty, full of fact-filled articles and useful information for members.

In the union journal category the strong news content of Nautilus International's Telegraph won praise from the judges as did the new compact layout for UNISON's U magazine.

From a strong field of entries in the best feature category, Unite claimed the top spot with a brave piece on why unions are often perceived as irrelevant by young people. Following closely behind was an eye-opening article from the Musicians' Union which looked at the difficulties faced by visually-impaired musicians, with USDAW also commended for an engaging feature on payday loans.

Illustrations took the top three spots this year in the best use of a photo or illustration award category, with the FDA winning out with a humorous cartoon that the judges felt beautifully complemented the article it accompanied.

A front-cover cartoon depicting fat cats waiting to pounce during privatisation won a high commendation for the Fire Brigades' Union, whilst a content-rich 'infographic' from UNISON was also commended by the judges.

The diverse range of styles and formats in the best one-off publication category always taxes the judges. This year USDAW's booklet on supporting families with disabled children clinched victory for its combination of useful information and engaging design. Once more the Musicians' Union was called to the podium for its highly commended Live Music Kit. And the FDA made a second appearance of the night, when it was commended for its booklet on the new pension scheme.

Campaigning is the bread and butter for many unions and this category always draws a strong field of entries. Membership mobilisation and community engagement helped the POA to the winning post with its successful campaign to keep HMP Magilligan open. Coming a very close second UNISON was praised by the judges for its bold and ambitious campaign People Before Profits.

A fresh and modern-looking website helped Community win this category. A modern look was again key in securing the highly-commended spot for USDAW, whilst high viewing figures helped CWU win a commendation.

The best use of electronic communication is another category that invites entries in a broad range of formats and styles to perplex the judges. Unable to separate two very strong contenders this year, the judges chose UCU and USDAW as joint winners for incredibly moving and powerful Holocaust testimonies caught on film and an innovative guide to pension auto-enrolment. NASUWT was not far behind with its use of social media to 'reclaim the classroom' winning a commendation.

The judges for the TUC's 2013 Awards were Equity's Head of Communications Martin Brown, Mass1 Director Mark Epstein, Save the Children's Head of Mobilisation Jean McLean, John Healey MP for Wentworth and Dearne, and the BBC's Employment and Industry Correspondent John Moylan.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'Trade union membership is up for the first time in a decade but with further government attacks on working people's rights on the horizon, the battle for hearts and minds looks set to get even more challenging.

'The communications awards continue to highlight the excellent work of union teams. Although there was a slight drop in the number of entries this year, there was no drop in quality - if anything, the reverse.

'The best journal/magazine category continues to be the most strongly contested and the most difficult to judge. But that does not mean that unions should be hiding their achievements in other areas, such as local campaigning, targeted recruitment activity, and e-publishing on digital media platforms.'

2013 Trade Union Communications Awards judge John Moylan said: 'The quality and range of entries in this competition is a fantastic tribute to the hard work of union communications teams.

'Unions walk a fine tightrope of balancing appeal to their activist base with a wider appeal to the general membership. The diversity of union membership doesn't make this task any easier. Well done to all the entries.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The full 2013 Award winners are:

• Best journal/magazine - Musicians' Union's (MU) The Musician (winner), Nautilus International Telegraph and UNISON U magazine (both commended).
• Best feature - Unite (winner), Musicians' Union (highly commended), USDAW (commended).
• Best use of a photo or illustration - FDA (winner), FBU (highly commended), UNISON (commended).
• Best one-off publication - USDAW (winner), Musicians' Union (highly commended), FDA (commended).
• Best campaign - POA (winner), UNISON (highly commended).
• Best website - Community (winner), USDAW (highly commended), CWU (commended).
• Best use of electronic communication - UCU and USDAW (joint winners), NASUWT (commended).

- All 54 unions affiliated to the TUC are eligible to submit entries to the annual TUC Trade Union Communications Awards, which are sponsored by TUink.

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk

Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Alex Rossiter T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07887 572130 E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk