News

African adventure

Meeting BA's green challenge

New managing director for Pressgang

Top of the class

BA hat trick in awards haul

Every picture tells a story

Design team In Court

WestEnders choose Pressgang

African adventure

February 2008: Farah Dadfarma is about to take part in a life changing experience – as a teacher in Botswana.

Farah joined Pressgang on a work experience placement two years ago and made such a big impression that she was invited back to work in her school holidays.

However, this year will see her undertaking her biggest holiday challenge to date – with Pressgang’s support..

Pressgang pledged £400 to help her on her way, and staff raised a further £125 in sponsorship.

“We would like to wish Farah well and hope she will be coming back to Pressgang very soon,” said Margot.

Meeting BA's green challenge

July 2007: ‘We care about our world and the communities we serve’ was the message in a special edition of British Airways News.

The edition was designed by Pressgang to a tight deadline and gave a comprehensive overview of the airline’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.

The 20-page publication looked in-depth at topics including cutting carbon emissions, reducing noise and air pollution, waste management and the ‘green’ credentials of BA’s new home at terminal 5 at London Heathrow. The eye-catching design was complemented by a unique green masthead to ensure the paper stood out to staff as a special edition. Nicola Swan, editor BA News said: “Our brief for the special edition came very late in the day. It was a fantastic combined team effort to meet such a tall order and once again Pressgang rose to our challenge and demands and delivered outstandingly.” BA News is the country’s only weekly staff newspaper entrusted to an external agency. Last year, Pressgang also designed a special edition to mark the launch of BA’s new Club World cabin, published alongside the normal newspaper.

New managing director for Pressgang

July 2007: Pressgang has a new managing director.

Jane Jones joins the team after 15 years in senior communications roles for Royal Mail.

She was previously editor of Devon Life and published a series of glossy lifestyle magazines across the South West.

Jane, whose career started in local radio, said the chance to join an agency involved in communicating to the staff and customers of brand leaders such as British Airways and BUPA was “too good to miss”.

She said: “As soon as I started reading Pressgang’s titles I was struck by how its journalistic pedigree lifted its publications beyond what you normally find in this sector.

“I plan to help the team expand its range of services to both existing and new clients – this year sees Pressgang’s 20th anniversary and there are exciting times ahead.”

Top of the class

July 2007: Pressgang waved goodbye to its latest work placement prodigy Aatish Shah . . . and received top marks from his school for providing an experience that was “second to none”.

Deputy Head, Mike Haldenby from Park High School, Harrow, commended Pressgang for taking part in the scheme for the fifth year running. He said: “Park High School has developed an invaluable relationship with Pressgang.

“Each year, a carefully chosen student spends two weeks on work experience. Pressgang provide an experience second to none. “We are extremely grateful to Pressgang who seem to have a real grasp of what young people want and need in terms of how a real publishing company works.” Each year Pressgang selects one student to take part in a two-week work experience scheme. Aatish from Park High is keen to pursue a career in graphic design. In his two-week placement he researched, wrote and designed his very own six-page publication on Art and Design.

Steve Turner, editorial director said: “We welcome students who are keen to learn.

“Aatish should have a bright future – he absorbed what we had to show him and acted on it.

“As a company we have staff from a variety of career backgrounds and it’s great to see them giving up their time to inspire and help shape the career aspirations of young people.”

Arif Liya, creative artworker said: “ I joined Pressgang six months ago, moving from a graphic design job in Leicester.

“After a few months my confidence started to grow, my mentor – art director Jim Parks – is one of the country’s top newspaper and magazine designers and it has been fantastic to learn from somebody with that kind of industry standard.

“Pressgang makes learning fun and easy, and it was nice to be able to pass on my new knowledge to Aatish.”

BA hat trick in awards haul

June 2007: British Airways News – the country’s only weekly staff newspaper entrusted to an external agency – scooped a hat-trick of gongs at the national CiB Awards, the biggest event in Europe for corporate publications.

The 20-page publication was judged to be one of the top five staff newspapers in the UK with CiB judges saying: “BA News is an excellent, easy read; it’s style reflects the publication’s quality approach and strikes the right balance by nor being full of management speak.”

A special edition of the paper, produced in between the regular publications and celebrating the launch of BA’s Club World cabins, was also an Award of Excellence winner. And a stunning poster-style front page picture took the top award as the best news image in any UK staff publication. – Two other Pressgang titles were recognised at the awards event, held at the Hilton in Newcastle. Focus, staff magazine of the Home Office’s immigration directorate, and BUPAnews, sent to 350,000 customers of the health and care company, both scooped Awards of Excellence, placing them among the very best in the country.

Every picture tells a story

June 2007: Brilliant pictures are the hallmark of professional publications. And for the second time in three years a Pressgang newspaper has been judged to contain the best news image in a UK staff publication.

Judges at the national CiB Awards voted the image – used on the front page of British Airways News – as the best in its category.

The success of the picture owed a lot to teamwork both before and after the moment photographer Warren Potter took the shot.

The story revolved around the completion of a mammoth maintenance project by BA engineers. And it was the engineers who conceived the idea of getting 300 colleagues to form the initials of the project – EWS – in front of a Boeing 747. It was decided at the news planning meeting a few days before publication that this could make a front page image for the weekly staff newspaper. And it was Pressgang art director James Parks who turned it into a stunning cover by bleeding the image to the edges of the page, with just the masthead, headline and teaser line.

Image technician Steve Warrener added the finishing touches – erasing an unsightly pool of oil on the tarmac and removing a distracting BA maintenance vehicle from the background of the shot.

The result? A “dramatic picture well executed and very well used” said the judges.

Design team In Court

June 2007: Britain’s courts have ushered in a new era in staff publications.

Her Majesty’s Courts Service has chosen Pressgang to design and print its staff magazine In Court.

The redesigned monthly launches in June to keep staff at magistrates, crown and county courts across the country up to date with developments in the world of justice.

The first issue covered the launch of the country’s new Ministry of Justice, the latest on a pay offer to staff and the first in a series of staff profiles.

The revamped publication reflects Pressgang’s belief, shared by HMCS comms teams, that staff publications should aim to reflect the views of staff on all major workplace issues.

WestEnders choose Pressgang

May 2007: Westminster City Council has chosen Pressgang to design, edit and print its residents’ magazine.

Westminster Reporter goes to 125,000 homes and businesses with news of council services in the country’s most high profile local authority. Pressgang is also responsible for selling the advertising that will partly fund the publication – the first time ads have appeared in the 24-page magazine. As part of the contract Pressgang also produces the authority’s monthly staff newspaper WestWords. Project manager Ellen Kiely, who joined Pressgang in April, is in charge of the account and will be based partly at City Hall in London’s Victoria Street. She said: “When they hear the word ‘Westminster’ everybody of course thinks about the Houses of Parliament, the West End and some of Britain’s most expensive homes. “But there is another, very different side to the borough and my challenge is to ensure Reporter engages these audiences and conveys the council’s key messages.”