TODAY is the start of Local Newspaper Week which celebrates the role of trusted local newspapers in their communities and, through Making a Difference, their unique ability to campaign for real change which improves people’s lives.

Run by Local Media Works, the local marketing arm of the News Media Association, the annual LNW sees the Telegraph & Argus join forces with hundreds of local newspapers across the UK to shout about the industry’s unique strengths.

To celebrate local newspapers’ campaigning successes, 28 powerful campaigns from the past year have been shortlisted for the Making a Difference award which will be decided by an online public vote. Among the contenders is the T&A’s Stop the Danger Drivers campaign, which firstly encouraged readers to send in scores of dashcam videos of examples of dangerous driving, then led directly to police diverting funding to start Operation Steerside - a concerted crackdown by the roads policing team which to date has led to more than 9,000 drivers being caught breaking the law.

Each of the campaigns are strong examples of how daily and weekly local newspapers benefit their communities by getting behind a worthy cause which matters to their readers. Whether it’s a fundraising drive to raise cash for families hit by floods, or a campaign against cuts to local public services, local papers deliver real results for the communities they serve. And no other media can do this.

Other powerful campaigns include one that rallied readers to donate food, toys and cash to help people who were struggling and using food banks over Christmas.

The Making a Difference vote will stay open until 5pm on Wednesday and the winner will be announced at the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards on Friday.

Political leaders Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron have all lent their support to LNW and their messages, which will be published later this week, celebrate the industry’s essential democratic role in the lead up to the general election on June 8. The leaders note that through local newspapers, which are read in print and digital by 40 million people each week, people are able to access trustworthy information and make well-informed decisions.

This year, LNW follows directly on from the local media industry’s Fighting Fake News campaign which saw local press titles join forces to highlight how local papers fight fake news.