Access All Areas publisher Mash Media has been nominated in three categories in the 2020 Professional Publisher Awards.

In what has been a turbulent year for most, the events industry has been hit disproportionately hard and Mash Media has not shied away from standing up to Government and to advocate for the sector to national and regional press.

Mash Media in a nominee for Independent Publishing Company of the Year and Coronavirus Response, while editorial director Martin Fullard is up for Editor of the Year. The awards will take place online, 18 November.

View the full shortlist here.

Commenting on the nominations, Mash Media managing director Julian Agostini said it was testament to the team’s genuine love of the events industry. “No one wanted to be in this situation, with an entire industry shut down,” he said. “At Mash, everything we do, we do for the love of the industry. Not everything is to everyone’s taste sometimes, but we live in an age where you have to innovate and think beyond convention.

“I couldn’t be prouder of everyone at Mash. Our journalists, designers, show directors, marketing and digital teams, finance team and commercial leads…they have all done their duty to represent the events industry, and to be nominated for these awards is testament to their hard work.”

Since early January 2020, Mash Media’s publications have been providing clear, concise information about the development of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with resources, thought leadership and mental health support for those who were and continue to be severely affected.

Before the pandemic struck, Conference News, Exhibition News, Conference & Meetings World, Exhibition World, and Access All Areas increased the number of roundtable and panel discussion events in a drive to more openly bridge the industry with its marketplace and readers.

In total, Mash Media’s five magazines reached a total of 1,066,487 during the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020.

The Mash Media editorial team has appeared on a number of high profile media outlets, including the BBC, NBC and LBC, since the very start of lockdown, keeping the wider world informed about the devastating impact lockdown and social distancing measures are having on the events industry.

Meanwhile, the show directors behind International Confex, Event Production Show and the PA Show have gone beyond the call of duty in communicating and engaging with exhibitors and visitors, to chart demand and sentiment.

Mash Media launched #GetBritainMeeting, which has remained in use on many social media posts with regards to the events industry and was the forerunner to the One Industry Once Voice movement, which has seen unprecedented unity across the entire industry.

The publisher also launched the Mash Community, a central hub for industry discussion and debate along with a number of resources for events professional – such as analysis of the latest government guidelines and support for those not covered by furlough schemes or government support.