Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2020
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Awards for Excellence in Journalism National Council for the Training of Journalists AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM 2020 HOSTED BY Awards for Excellence in Journalism The NCTJ Awards for Excellence recognise and reward the best journalism students, apprentices and trainees. With quality training at the heart of the NCTJ, these awards highlight the achievements of individuals with promising journalism careers ahead of them. Congratulations to all of our winners, and to everyone who has been commended and highly commended for this year’s awards. INNOVATION OF THE YEAR In times of great change in the media industry, this award aims to encourage and recognise innovation in journalism education and training. Launched in 2017, the Innovation of the Year Award recognises the unique contribution NCTJ centres make to the education and training of journalists on accredited courses. It is open to centres that have improved upon – or extended beyond – current expectations of best practice in education and training. News Associates WINNER News Associates is our winner for the course team's efforts in adapting teaching styles and exercises for remote learning, which was described by the judges as ‘impressive, innovative and pioneering’. The whole team kept morale up for students by encouraging themed fancy dress in lessons, online shorthand study groups in the evening and Zoom yoga session run by a part-time student. Staff, alumni and students offered their top tips for working from home via social media and the online journalism workshops were very successful. University of Brighton HIGHLY COMMENDED Highly commended is the University of Brighton for its virtual exchange with the University of Florida. This provided a new teaching and learning cross-cultural experience for students to develop their skills in a live virtual environment. The key objective was to explore cultural differences between US and UK football industries via the characteristics of sports media, focusing on issues such as BAME representation, gender equality and accessibility. Leeds Trinity University COMMENDED Leeds Trinity University is commended for its media training event with West Yorkshire Police. The event was organised to help officers train for working with journalists and also offer an immersive training experience for students which called on their interviewing, news skills, media law and shorthand. 2 Awards for Excellence in Journalism EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARD SPONSORED BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES Now in its third year, this award aims to recognise the outstanding work of individuals, educators and trainers, and employers who promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the media and training sector. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion award can highlight any form of diversity and inclusion and the judges were looking for evidence of success in making a measurable difference to diversity in journalism. The Star , Sheffield WINNER Our winner, The Star , Sheffield, has made huge strides in working towards a diverse workforce, enabling them to reach communities which have not previously engaged with local journalists. Initiatives included community news reporter Errol Edwards’ coverage of the Black Lives Matter campaign and writing about his own experiences of racism in Sheffield. The Star also produced a special weekly supplement and distributed extra copies to help children learn from home. This initiative led to its next campaign, Laptops for Kids, getting unused laptops into the hands of thousands of children who have no suitable device for home learning. Academy for Disabled Journalists HIGHLY COMMENDED Highly commended is the Academy for Disabled Journalists, a unique project aimed at encouraging more disabled people to enter journalism as a profession. It offers subsidised NCTJ journalism training to disabled people across the UK. The academy is the brainchild of Grant Logan, whose charity Ability Today provides an online information portal for people with disabilities, focusing on what they can, rather than can’t do. Grant has raised funding, gained support from industry leaders, lobbied at Westminster and ensured every student is supported – whatever their needs. Glasgow Caledonian University COMMENDED Glasgow Caledonian University is commended for running two linked projects aiming to break down barriers to university entry: first, the Caledonian Club, an initiative that widens participation and engagement across local communities in Glasgow; and second, School Connect, which works closely with twelve partner secondary schools. Both programmes target the most deprived areas of Glasgow to bring children at key ages on to campus, and lead them in activities co-ordinated by student mentors, who themselves came from these same communities. 3 Awards for Excellence in Journalism STUDENT NEWS JOURNALISM Ethan Ennals, PA Training WINNER Ethan is a London-based health journalist with The Mail on Sunday . He studied for his NCTJ with PA Training, gaining a gold standard diploma. In August, he joined The Mail on Sunday ’s health desk. His work often focuses on Government COVID-19 policy and aims to bring to light the human stories at the heart of these big issues. Julia Atherley, News Associates London HIGHLY COMMENDED Julia grew up in Ripon, North Yorkshire before attending Durham University where she was editor-in-chief of Palatinate , Durham’s award-winning student newspaper. During summer breaks she worked in Lyon, France as a journalist at Euronews. In September 2019 she moved to London to study for the NCTJ diploma with News Associates. She worked night shifts at the Evening Standard during her qualification and in February 2020 she started as a trainee journalist at The Sun . Ben Turner, PA Training COMMENDED Ben completed his NCTJ diploma with PA Training in London and currently works as a trainee reporter at CambridgeshireLive. Prior to this, he interned at the Financial Times and studied politics and international relations at the University of Bath. Ben has worked in Ghana, Belgium and France, and likes to spend his spare time learning new things. TRAINEE NEWS JOURNALISM Jamie Phillips, SurreyLive WINNER Jamie joined SurreyLive as a trainee reporter in October 2018, shortly after having graduated from the University of Brighton with first-class honours and an NCTJ gold standard Diploma in Journalism. He has covered some of the country's biggest court cases and has helped to expose financial wrongdoing within local councils across the area. He now works across multiple Reach plc Live brands, having become a senior reporter in the summer of 2020. Abigail Maclure, Yorkshire Evening Post HIGHLY COMMENDED Abigail Maclure is a live reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post , a role she took up 18 months ago while completing her journalism MA at Leeds Trinity University. She primarily covers breaking news and human-interest stories in Leeds, but her proudest achievement is being involved in the title’s Call it Out campaign. The campaign, which has been mentioned in Parliament, highlights the profound impact of online abuse on people in West Yorkshire and beyond. Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu, Financial Times COMMENDED Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu is external platforms manager at the Financial Times . Previous to this, she was a reporter at FE Week which involved covering breaking news, writing features and conducting investigations within the further education sector. Yasemin studied for her NCTJ diploma at News Associates. 4 Awards for Excellence in Journalism TRAINEE NEWS JOURNALISM Daisy Smith, Watford Observer COMMENDED Daisy started her career as an apprentice at the Watford Observer shortly after finishing her A-levels, and worked on her NCTJ diploma while in the newsroom. During her time at the Observer , she was writing features for the paper, Hertfordshire Living Magazine and Asian Inspired . Her passion for social issues inspired her feature project that captured the topic of domestic abuse that was being experienced by men and women in lockdown in Hertfordshire. She has now left the Observer to explore other opportunities and branches of journalism. STUDENT SPORTS JOURNALISM Josh Graham, News Associates London WINNER Josh Graham graduated in politics and Spanish from the University of Exeter before spending a year teaching PE and coaching rugby. Work experience on the Racing Post sports desk reignited his childhood ambition of a career in sports journalism and Josh enrolled on the NCTJ multimedia sports journalism course at News Associates London in September 2019. Since finishing with a gold standard diploma in May 2020, Josh has worked full-time at The Sun while also writing rugby league pieces for The Times . George Ramsay, News Associates London HIGHLY COMMENDED George is a freelance writer and producer for CNN’s digital sport team in London and completed his part-time NCTJ diploma in 2019-20. As well as contributing news and features stories, he also supports the day-to-day running of the CNN Sport website and has managed the department’s social media output. Away from work, George is an enthusiastic – but injury-prone – distance runner and enjoys reading, theatre and, unsurprisingly, watching sport. Rachel Steinberg, News Associates London COMMENDED Rachel lived in five cities, explored seven continents and worked as a dramaturg before moving from Canada to London, where she completed her NCTJ diploma in sports journalism with News Associates last year. She is determined to amplify underserved voices in sports media – especially through her features, which have appeared in places like the Independent, the i, Yahoo! and the Yorkshire Post . She also writes about showbiz for Metro.co.uk and MailOnline, travel for Euronews, and is currently a staff reporter for the Jewish Chronicle . TRAINEE SPORTS JOURNALISM Niamh Campbell, BBC Sport NI WINNER Niamh Campbell is a full-time journalist for tech magazine Sync NI , whose main passion is sport. Since graduating top of her MA and NCTJ class at Ulster University in December 2019, she has regularly freelanced with BBC Sport NI. She also co-launched the His and Hers Boxing podcast, which she produces and presents with fellow journalist Lee Costello.