Trusted news has never been so important

Yesterday was World News Day. Here, Gazette and TeessideLive editor-in-chief HELEN DALBY explains just why local news matters so much

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WHO cares about your council tax rises and whether your bins are being regularly emptied?

Who cares about the state of the roads, or if our water company is upping bills while limiting supply?

Who cares about school dinners? The cost of living in the North East today? Community cohesion or community tensions?

The answer to all of the above, and more is, of course, the Teesside Gazette and our website, Teesside-Live. For all of the changes faced by our North East society over recent years in terms of politics, leadership, and how information is shared, the Gazette has been there with you, covering the stories that matter where people live and seeking factual and verified information to inform, educate and entertain our readers and online audiences.

One of our local journalists was recently awarded a Press Gazette Future of Media Award for Live Journalism. The accolade was in recognition of Naomi Corrigan’s coverage of double jeopardy murderer Billy Dunlop's parole hearing, which she travelled to the Royal Courts of Justice in London to live-blog.

It was a compelling report of a case which Naomi and the team at Teesside Live and the Gazette have covered comprehensively and sensitively for many years, gaining the trust of Julie Hogg's family and working hard to keep championing their cause in the way local media does so passionately.

Just last week we celebrated our 25th annual North East Business Awards, which have recognised and championed the achievements of local businesses for a quarter of a century.