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Arena, the journal for members of Usdaw has won best journal/magazine at the TUC’s annual Trade Union Communications Awards which took place in London this week.

Arena, the journal for members of Usdaw has won best journal/magazine at the TUC’s annual Trade Union Communications Awards which took place in London this week. 

With a new sponsor in the form of Warners Group Publications and a slightly larger field of entries compared to last year, the awards continue to go from strength to strength. 

This year’s judges described Arena as outstanding in every respect – packed with information and regular features focusing on members’ working lives. They found it ‘newsy’ in style with many items responding to members’ queries. The compact design and vibrant use of colour makes this a real page-turner, they thought.

In the same category Nautilus International’s Telegraph again won praise for its news, features and topical comment, and Equity’s journal of the same name was praised for its classy design.

The best feature category drew a strong field with a diverse range of subjects and treatments. A landmark, if somewhat gory, feature on the violence faced by prison officers saw the POA claim top spot. Strong pieces from Unite on hotel workers and Usdaw on the bedroom tax were highly commended. An insightful feature from ATL on teaching assistants won a commendation.

Photographs featured strongly this year. In the best use of a photo or illustration category, the FBU won with a member’s simple yet powerful image of firefighters amidst a sea of heat and flame.

It was another photo from a union member that gained a highly commended spot for Prospect. EIS, for a blended cover picture from its union journal, and Equity for a feature illustration, were both commended.

The best one-off publication category always attracts entries in a huge range of formats and never makes the judges’ job easy. This year Usdaw’s booklet on maternity and parental rights came top with its well-laid out and user-friendly style. Illustrating the range of materials entered, NASUWT and Prospect were highly commended for a pocket booklet and a calendar respectively. And Napo and UNISON also won commendations for their light-hearted procedural booklets and welcome packs respectively.

Innovation was the watchword for many of the entries in the campaigning category which again drew a strong field of entries. But it was innovative work with a charity and a media partner that saw Unite take the top spot this year. Both the RMT and Prospect were highly commended for two quite different campaigns on pay and political funds respectively, and UNISON was commended for its recruitment campaign.

An engaging home page with easily accessible tabs and navigation helped UCATT win the best website category. Equity’s stylish matching of website and journal saw it highly commended, whilst the RMT was commended for its interactive site.

The best use of electronic communication is often a perplexing category for the judges due to its diverse range of entries. A significant, well-designed campaign highlighting the work and importance of teaching assistants using a range of media gave UNISON the top spot. E-newsletters from Napo and Usdaw were highly commended, with BALPA and CWU commended for an e-newsletter and a video respectively.

The judges for the TUC’s 2014 Awards were campaigner Carys Afoko, a campaigner, Musicians’ Union’s Head of Communications Keith Ames, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition Holly Dustin, MP for Corby Andy Sawford and the Daily Mirror’s industrial correspondent Mark Ellis.

TUC Assistant General Secretary Paul Nowak – who presented the awards – said: “With continued pressure on wages and working conditions, there are a wide range of issues for unions to cover in their campaigns and their publications. The flair and enthusiasm with which comms professionals in unions continue to tackle the key issues is a vital contribution to our movement.

“Once again, these awards showcase the incredibly high standard of work being produced by unions on behalf of their members. It is fantastic to see that the quality is so high, despite tightening budgets.

“Once again, the best journal/magazine category was the source of the greatest competition – and the biggest headache for the judges who had to decide the winner. Excellent production values in a wide range of formats and styles make this an unenviable task. Having selected our judges we let them get on with the difficult work of deciding who is to take the prizes. We are as always grateful for their hard work.”

Trade Union Communications Awards 2014 judge Keith Ames – whose journal won the top prize last year – said: “Once again union communication teams have demonstrated the skill and the hard work with which they approach their job.

“This year’s entries demonstrated a good balance between work for the benefit of the union’s activists and that which appeals to the wider membership.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The full 2014 award winners are:
• Best journal/magazine – Usdaw Arena (winner), Nautilus International Telegraph and Equity Equity magazine (both highly commended), CSP Frontline (commended).
• Best feature – POA (winner), Usdaw and Unite (highly commended), ATL (commended).
• Best use of a photo or illustration – FBU (winner), Prospect (highly commended), EIS and Equity (commended).
• Best one-off publication – Usdaw (winner), NASUWT and Prospect (highly commended), Napo and UNISON (commended).
• Best campaign – Unite (winner), Prospect and RMT (highly commended), UNISON (commended).
• Best website – UCATT (winner), Equity (highly commended), RMT (commended).
• Best use of electronic communication – UNISON (winner), Napo and Usdaw (highly commended), BALPA and CWU (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 Warners Group Pulbications.
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews
- Congress 2014 will be held at the Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool, from
Sunday 7 September to Wednesday 10 September. Free media passes can be obtained by visiting www.tuc.org.uk/media-credentials and completing an online form. Applications must be in by noon on Wednesday 27 August. Any received later than that will be processed in Liverpool and will cost £75.

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
Tim Nichols   T: 020 7467 1337   M: 07808 761844   E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk

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