THE Mail has once again been heralded by its peers after being shortlisted in the O2 Media Awards North West.

After being chosen as Britain’s Best Daily (under 20,000) your local paper will battle it out with The Gazette, Blackpool, and Daily Post for the regional crown.

Our sister, the Westmorland Gazette, is up for the weekly crown, and Taste Cumbria has been shortlisted in the specialist publication category.

Jason Kayley, The Mail’s audience and content editor, said: “This is a fantastic accolade for our journalists and staff who have worked tirelessly to bring the area the best news and sport.

“These are difficult times, but we are steadily growing our digital audience, while still creating a fantastic printed product.”

Nicola Green, Director of Corporate Affairs at O2, said: “This year has seen the anniversaries of some significant news events. Judges were impressed by the way in which many of these globally-known stories were remembered and re-imagined for today’s audiences. The finalists include a wide range of diverse media organisations - large and small. We are looking forward to celebrating that diversity and range of talent when the winners are revealed.”

BBC Breakfast’s Louise Minchin will again host the awards ceremony when the winners of the 26 individual and team categories will be revealed.

This year’s presentation evening will be held at Chester Racecourse on November 8 and will feature the Rachael Bland Social Media Award in memory of the BBC North West Tonight and BBC Radio Five presenter who lost her fight against cancer in September.