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Telegraph, the journal for members of Nautilus International, has won best journal/magazine at the TUC’s Trade Union Communication Awards which took place in London last night (Tuesday).

Telegraph, the journal for members of Nautilus International, has won best journal/magazine at the TUC’s Trade Union Communication Awards which took place in London last night (Tuesday). 

With continuing sponsorship from Warners Group Publications, the TUC annual awards are going from strength to strength. This year’s judges described Telegraph as a good mix of long and short reads, job opportunities and engaging features on international issues. They found its fine production values mean that it looks and reads like a professional mainstream title and is a fine advert for the union.

In the same category Equity again won praise for its coverage of workplace issues and union campaigning. Despite the ‘star status’ of some of its members, it avoids the celebrity trap with strong coverage of industry news.

The best feature category drew a strong field with a diverse range of treatments and subjects. A brave piece on the working conditions of migrant workers won the top spot for Unite. A well-researched and interesting account of the post office rifles in World War I and an engagingly told tale of an accident at work were highly commended for CWU and Equity respectively.

In the best use of a photo or illustration category, the CSP won with an eye-catching and well-composed photograph showing two physiotherapists in protective gear for work with highly infectious patients.

An intricate and effective illustration from Unite using the familiar London transport map was highly commended, as was a striking portrait from Equity.
 
The best one-off publication category always tests the judges with entries in a huge range of different formats. This year Prospect’s folder with inserts on the Scottish referendum came top with the judges liking the way it made it easy to get to grips with this complex subject.

With minds tuned to the general election, it is perhaps not surprising that many of the campaigns had themes that underscored the negative effects of five years of Conservative-led government. UCU’s campaign around academic freedom and the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill took the honours. The FBU campaign for compensation for the bereaved families of two firefighters and NASUWT’s campaign on the cost of education were both highly commended.

Big, bold recruitment and member benefits sections on the home-page helped Nautilus win the best website category. BDA’s responsive website with a modern design saw it highly commended, whilst the CWU was commended for its interactive site.

The best use of electronic communication category was this year restricted to video entries. A reps training video with good story-telling and professional production gave BDA the top spot. A political fund video from CWU was highly commended, with FBU commended for a video about their four-day strike. 

The judges for the TUC’s 2015 Awards were Campaigner and former MP for Neath Peter Hain, the Resolution Foundation’s Director of Communications Robert Holdswoth, Editor of Usdaw’s Arena – winner of last year’s best journal – Peter Rees-Farrell, Blue State Digital Client Services Lead Jo Warner, and the journalist Ros Wynne-Jones.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady – who presented the awards – said: “Members are the lifeblood of unions. To recruit and retain them for the future, unions must offer not only the best in support and representation, but top quality communications too.

“That’s why this competition is so important. It’s a chance to show how well unions connect with their membership. And it brings together a great selection of work produced by talented and creative teams, despite challenging deadlines and budgets. I thank everyone who has taken the time and trouble to enter.


“Once again, the best journal/magazine category was the most strongly contested – and the most difficult for the judges who had to decide the winner. We value their independent approach to the competition and the breadth of experience they bring. I don’t envy them the task of deciding the winners: the range of material is as diverse as the workforces we represent.”

Trade Union Communications Awards 2015 judge Ros Wynne-Jones said: “We were very impressed with the skill and the obvious hard work with which union comms teams approach their job.

“There was a tremendous mix of materials. Some clearly aimed at the activist base, others at the broader membership. All of a very high standard.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The full 2015 award winners are:
• Best journal/magazine – Nautilus International Telegraph (winner), Equity Equity magazine and Musicians’ Union The Musician (both highly commended), FBU Firefighter (commended).
• Best feature – Unite (winner), CWU and Equity (highly commended), MU (commended).
• Best use of a photo or illustration – CSP (winner), Unite (highly commended), Equity (commended).
• Best one-off publication – Prospect (winner), Nautilus International (highly commended).
• Best campaign – UCU (winner), FBU and NASUWT (highly commended),
• Best website – Nautilus International (winner), BDA (highly commended), CWU (commended).
• Best use of electronic communication: video – BDA (winner), CWU (highly commended), FBU (commended).
 - All 52 unions affiliated to the TUC are eligible to submit entries to the annual TUC Trade Union Communication Awards, which are sponsored by Warners Group Publications.
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

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