MEDIA RELEASE
Top industry awards for UK’s newly qualified journalists
The journalism industry is celebrating its emerging talent as students from across the UK pick up awards from the country’s leading media companies.
The BJTC Student Journalism Awards highlight outstanding work in TV, radio, online, podcast and social short categories.
Sky News presenter Gillian Joseph hosted the evening, which saw finalists from the 50+ courses accredited by the BJTC gather in London at the Sky Cinema in Isleworth.
Eleven winners were chosen from more than 250 entries at the event on Tuesday (November 12).
Successful students included those from the University of Salford, University of Sheffield, City University of London, Bournemouth University, University of Northampton, University of the West of England, Goldsmiths University of London, University of Leeds, and the University of South Wales.
It was an especially good night for City University of London, and the University of Leeds, as they scooped up two awards each.
Kirk Asiedu from the University of Northampton took out the Steve Harris Award, which recognises the stand-out entry of the competition. His radio documentary on dementia was described by the judges as “an outstanding example of how radio can pull at all emotions. Joy, honesty and anger, all contained within a few minutes.”
The BJTC is the UK’s largest industry-backed higher education training body for multiplatform, broadcast and mobile journalism and entries come from among the 4000 students studying on its accredited courses.
Chief Executive Jon Godel, said: “It’s so rewarding for us to be able to honour the outstanding work of BJTC students from across the UK, who have been trained to the highest standards in our accredited courses. Even more rewarding is knowing that this combination of talent, hard work and training allows them to embrace the employment opportunities coming their way. They are well- prepared to flourish in this age of digital-first multiplatform journalism.”
Previous winners have gone on to take up positions at leading media companies across the UK and around the world, including Sky, the BBC, ITV, Global, Bauer, Eurosport, Al Jazeera, Reuters and AP.
November 12th, 2019
Note to editors:
Further information can be provided by calling Helen Hurd on 0845 600 8789 or sec@bjtc.org.uk
Full List of Winners with Judges Citations
Steve Harris Award
Winner: Kirk Asiedu – Matters of the Mind: Attitudes towards dementia (University of Northampton)
“This year’s winner produced a riveting radio documentary which combined his own experience after a relative was diagnosed with dementia in Ghana with a collection of voices that helped to explain why it is such a cruel disease. Bags of emotion combined with some real honesty made it a must listen and a worthy winner.”
TWITTER: @kirk_a97
Best TV News Report
Winner: Charlotte Hitchins – Under the Influence: Psychological Effects (University of Salford)
“A fascinating insight into the impact of influencers and social media. A creative opening with an excellent case study highlighting the issue. Well told and well done.”
TWITTER: @charliehitchins
Best Radio News Report
Winner: Amelia Beckett – Opera and Homelessness (University of Sheffield)
“This piece shone out for its positive and hopeful spin on a sad social issue. Amelia understands how sound in a radio package is about much more than speech, and used the music to the very best effect. This was a warm, feel good piece of radio, with a great little message.”
TWITTER: @ameliabeckett
Best TV Feature
Winner: Laura Hendry & Georgina Turner – State of Limbo (City, University of London)
“An ambitious piece that was really considered, well researched and well constructed. It had lots of interesting elements, including two strong case studies.”
TWITTER: @lghendry
Best Radio Feature
Winner: Ben Coley – The Ethics of Sex Robots in a Digital World (Bournemouth University)
“The entry was really surprising, and left the judges thinking ‘what am I going to hear next?’. There was a broad range of guests at the heart of the story and nice scripting.”
TWITTER: @bencoley97
Best TV Documentary
Winner: Jannine Battis & Yasmin Mannan – More to Life (City, University of London)
“The judges were impressed with the high production values throughout this film. The story and the presentation are highly engaging, further brought to life through the use of music and graphics. The presenter drew us in and the camera work gave it a very modern feel. We felt we could see this film being broadcast on BBC Three in its current form.”
TWITTER: @janninebattis and @ymnnx
Best Radio Documentary
Winner: Kirk Asiedu – Matters of the Mind: Attitudes Towards Dementia (University of Northampton)
“Very well presented documentary on what has become Britain’s biggest killer. The sequence within this documentary which compares his auntie’s demeanour now as to how it used to be is heartbreaking and tear-inducing. Beautifully voiced and scripted. An outstanding example of how radio can pull at all emotions. Joy, honesty and anger, all contained within a few minutes.”
TWITTER: @kirk_a97
Best Online News Site
Winner: Josiah Wong – Slugs and Snails (University of the West of England)
“An entertaining and thought-provoking multimedia exploration of masculinity. Our intrepid reporter entered himself into a boxing match to learn about masculinity through eight weeks of training and a six-minute bout. He also produced discussion-based podcasts on such topics as men showing their emotions and on body conformity.”
TWITTER: @jollyjosiah
Best Podcast
Winner: Lauren Eisen, Thomas Curry, Sofie Strøbeck – Lavender Country (Goldsmiths, University of London)
“An engaging listen from start to finish. This neatly-crafted production explores the poignancy of a father’s support for his gay son trying to realise his musical ambitions in dark and difficult times. Despite the challenges, it’s an uplifting story with empathy, tenderness and music at its heart. An excellent example of a first person narrative punctuated by clever production.”
TWITTER: @laurenyepthatme, @thomasadamcurry and @sofiestroebeck
Best Social Short Video
Winner: Hope Yoemans – Bouncers (University of Leeds)
“This grabbed my attention straight away and stood out in the category. Hope opened her video with strong footage of the attack which would grab the attention of a scrolling audience in a very saturated market. She went the extra mile filming additional content and using UGC well too. This was very much a video edited for online audiences and not simply a television package posted online. Well done!”
TWITTER: @hopeyeomanssky
Best TV Newsday
Winner: 2nd and 3rd Year BA Journalism Students – TV News Bulletin / Thursday 24th January 2019 (University of South Wales)
“From the get-go this programme grabbed the attention of the viewer with breaking news, a straightforward presentational style and an engaging rundown. The team used live reporting, VTs and nibs to tackle the big stories on their patch, with a selection of on-the-day news, feature stories and sport. This team of undergrads demonstrated journalistic prowess, decisiveness and ambition to prioritise breaking news. Well done!”
TWITTER: @Journo_USW
Best TV Sports Journalism
Winner: Matt Foster – The Beautiful Game? Referee Abuse in Football (University of Leeds)
“A well-composed and interesting piece. With good use of footage, well-chosen interviewees and a script that didn’t waste a word, Matt kept up the energy levels up throughout this feature. It made you think about the subject, too, which any good feature should do.”
TWITTER: @mat_fos_
BJTC Background
The Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) is a non-profit educational charity working in partnership with all the main multimedia broadcast employers in the UK. Our current partners are BBC, Sky News, Channel 4 News, Reuters, ITN, ITV, Global radio, Associated Press, and the NUJ.
One of the largest independent journalism accreditation bodies in the UK, we currently accredit more than 50 courses at over 40 educational institutions.
Our Council members are made up of leading industry and training experts – working together to ensure students of BJTC-accredited courses receive the best training possible. Together they set the criteria for accrediting courses, then teams of professional journalists and tutors advise and inspect them.
Our accreditation standards are relevant and responsive to the operational demands of the broadcast industry and are based on direct and practical experience, ensuring BJTC-accredited courses are valued by teachers and students, as well as employers and employees.
