They’re often waged in your name. But are the newspaper campaigns for accountability, justice, recognition and low, low prices really for the public good?

For tabloid papers around the country they’re as much about circulation-driving populism. And at News Limited, awards. Its in-house gongs award the loudest crusades and brightest buttons each year, pitting the hunt for pedophiles against attacks on government waste.

So what does it take to win the coveted News Limited Campaign of the Year award? Does a government minister have to fall? Is it the snappiest use of the words “scourge”, “watch” or “waste”? Or does a well-placed celebrity endorsement get you across the line?

According to the criteria, an award-winning campaign has to be “innovative, well executed, relevant and effective”. And it should have “demonstrably brought about change and public benefit”. That was the reasoning behind last year’s winner, the Daily Telegraph‘s “I Promise” driver awareness campaign, which judges said at the time said had led to fewer road deaths in NSW.

In its award-winning submission — which beat out The Australian‘s “Schools Watch” and The Advertiser‘s campaign against internet censorship — the Tele humbly stated it was “accepting its own responsibility as Sydney’s number one media outlet” in waging its road safety crusade.

Similar to the Courier Mail‘s current “Track S-x Offenders” campaign, which Crikey media commentator Margaret Simons said yesterday amounted to “guided democracy”, celebrity endorsements were seen as a key reason for the success of the Daily Tele campaign. Kevin Rudd, Adam Goodes and Delta Goodrem all lent their reputation to Garry Linnell’s fight.

But it’s not just censorship or road safety which are the bugbears of News Ltd’s team of editors. As shown by the set of campaign buttons below, which we compiled during the last month, there’s a smorgasbord of crusades being waged under different banners in Murdoch papers every day — and they’re urging you to join the fight.

The Herald Sun are imploring readers to “dob in a racist”, The Daily Telegraph are after a “fairer deal for NSW”, the Sunday Mail want to “put Locky (Brisbane Broncos legend Darryn Lockyer) on a pedestal”. And that’s without mentioning the good old fashioned tabloid newspaper buzzword: waste.

So which shouty News Limited campaign will take home the gong this year? And what will it take to win it?

And perhaps more importantly, will the winning editor thank its readers for a successful campaign, like Courier Mail editor David Fagan did today when he said the paper was “constantly attuned to what the public is thinking” over tracking s-x offenders:

“The Courier-Mail has long stood for the rights of children to be protected from harm (whether by pedophiles or bullies) and to look forward to a better future through quality education that can equip them for the challenges of a changing world.

“We’ve reported on these issues, editorialised on them and run campaigns to alert the public to shortcomings in the current system.

“This is the role and responsibility of any good newspaper which should be willing to display its moral compass.”