Tag: local news

As the ten of us representing the Round & About team sit at the table in the Grand Ballroom of the Park Lane Hilton, it’s fair to say that we already feel like winners…

Here we are at this black-tie industry awards giant, rubbing shoulders with the “big guns” of media, alongside tables of people from the likes of Google and Channel 4. Being part of a small team, we at Round & About have always punched above our weight when it comes to ambitions, results and success, but dare we dream that we could actually win..?

And, as we sit poised and happy, event host Colin Murray announces the results and we’re all reflected in golden glory. Round & About has scooped gold for Regional Commercial Team of the Year and Regional Media Brand of the Year as well as bronze for Regional Editorial Content Team of the Year…

The rest of the evening is a joyful whirl of congratulations, clinking of glasses, cigars and dancing well into the early hours.

“Standing with the R&A team, amongst some of the biggest names in the uk media, having just won two gold and a bronze award was a perfect 25th anniversary celebration,” says Peter Savage, our founding editor.

Indeed, this family business has grown from humble beginnings to a heavyweight industry contender, thanks to our team’s dedication to serving our customers and readers with a well-loved magazine that delivers every month. With sales and editorial teams working together, Round & About has earned the respect of the British Media Awards judges by increasing sales year on year, expanding the magazine into new areas, developing new projects and maintaining a high level of quality in print and production.

In April Round & About was 25 years old – and in that quarter century the team have seen huge changes in the media industry. All the hard work that it’s taken to build upon our successes and find a way to serve our communities and customers gave us a precious milestone to celebrate earlier this year… And Wednesday’s wins have given us golden memories to treasure going forward into the next phase.

Speaking of which, back to the grindstone to prepare our best-ever July editions!

And you, dear readers, helped us achieve this!

25 years ago, in April 1994, I launched R&A on an unsuspecting audience in Oxfordshire… every home in OX10/OX11 received it, whether they wanted it or not(!) via the postman. It was to be full of local events and happenings; from shows to nearly new baby clothes sales. Every month since, we’ve continued to receive your news to use.

In a way it was a small revolution as most free-distribution magazines went into shops and garages but we were about the first to go via Royal Mail to every home in a postcode. The reason it was important? We needed to reassure advertisers people would actually GET their magazine.

Since then we’ve grown and grown, from 20,000 copies in our first postcode edition to a staggering 26 editions, spread across nine counties with over 562,000 copies delivered every month.

I play a much reduced part now. The challenges, stresses and strains of the modern world are now borne by my son Christopher. He and his team have taken the magazine to new heights and we hope that you’ll continue to find what we produce useful, informative, educational and FUN to read.

Over the years, many people have played a part in R&A. Some “old stagers” are still with us such as Steve Warner, Luke Maitland and Sarah Readings. It would not be right to leave this brief account without mention to the incomparable James Risk who did so much for us but died a young man three years back.

I owe a debt of gratitude to all those who made, or continue to make, our magazine live, and to my family for putting up with me during the tough bits. My thanks to you all….

Peter Savage