Guardian News & Media leads AOP awards shortlist

Guardian News & Media secured the highest number of shortlisted nominations for the Association of Online Publishers' awards for 2012. The publisher has 17 entries making the list, including its iPad edition which was shortlisted for both launch of the year and use of mobile. The annual awards, which now cover 20 categories, also saw IPC Media achieve 14 shortlisted nominations, followed by both Dennis Publishing and Future Publishing with seven nominations each. Guardian News & Media entries which made it to the shortlist also included the team behind its 'Reading the Riots' series for the editorial team category for consumer media, as well as the team behind the Guardian's Professional Networks for the business media editorial team category, and its Facebook app which made the shortlist for the innovation category. "Our judges had a particularly arduous task in selecting our nominees for 2012, and I believe that the calibre of this year’s shortlist is especially strong, reflecting the innovation and vision that has made the UK a world leader in digital media," AOP director Lee Baker said in a release. "The AOP Digital Publishing Awards are designed to recognise, showcase and reward those businesses that have made a difference to the industry – and we look forward to seeing them all once again at the Roundhouse, Camden on 19 July". This year's awards see the introduction of two new categories, one which will recognise how social media is being used to increase audience engagement, and a second for Digital Publisher 2012 - with separate prizes for consumer and business titles - which aims to "highlight the contribution of digital-only media owners".