Because the COVID-19 crisis caused the cancellation of INMA's World Congress of News Media in Paris, the awards announcement was broadcast globally on multiple channels.

Jamaican TV host Terri-Karelle Reid emceed the awards announcement, which also saw commentary from Chrissy Towle of the Google News Initiative and Earl Wilkinson of INMA.

The INMA Global Media Awards competition aims to reward innovation and excellence in the growing of audience, brand and revenue.

From the competition's 922 entries — from 262 news brands in 44 countries — the Global Media Awards winners were announced for news media companies from five continents

The awards indicate that the most emotional moments had come from the responses to the coronavirus and its economic impacts. From 185 finalists, 32 were selected first-place recipients.

Due to the 'trust, innovation, and agility' demonstrated by the news media industry in the unprecedented response to COVID-19, INMA says that it chose to honour the collective outreach of media companies than any one company or campaign.

While the competition deadline was late January, INMA re-opened the competition with a bonus pandemic response category in April.

"In a first in the 83-year history of the awards, no single entry has been judged the global Best in Show," says Reid. "Instead, in honor of the courageous work done by media companies worldwide during the COVID-19 crisis, the global Best in Show [went] to all news brands who are 'leaning in' to this unprecedented moment." 

"[This is] not just the 98 companies that submitted for the COVID-19 category but to all who are digging deep to project the power, the passion and the soul of news brands — especially when it matters the most," adds Reid.

"To those who are elevating their journalism and differentiating themselves from what seems at times like the bottomless pit of fake news: 2020's global Best in Show goes out to each of you and your teams that are changing the game for news media in 2020," Reid says.

INMA has been rewarding excellence in news media since 1937. In 2020, across 16 categories, the Global Media Awards competition rewards innovation in:
  • building news brands
  • platform excellence
  • audience development
  • advertising sales, and
  • nurturing corporate culture.
Entries also are divided into two groups:
  1. Global / national brands, and
  2. Regional / local brands. 
Forty-two media experts from 20 countries judged the competition in February and April, focusing on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking and winning synergies across media platforms.

"If you separate out the COVID category, the themes that stand out in this year's winners are data and subscriptions," Wilkinson says. "It is part of the 'new normal' for media that everything is data-infused and tilted toward reader revenue."

"Yet the COVID category yielded an amazing 98 entries, from which 12 finalists were selected and two inspirational winners were announced. I can't say enough about the trust, innovation and agility projected in these COVID campaigns," concludes Wilkinson. 

Individuals can click here to see the full list of winners for the 2020 edition of the awards.

For more information, visit www.inma.org. You can also follow the INMA Global Media Awards on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.