MEDIA RELEASE
Graduate journalist wins top industry award for documentary highlighting severe abuse of Ghanaian dementia patients.
Newly-qualified journalist Kirk Asiedu says winning the BJTC’s prestigious Steve Harris Award for his final year documentary is a huge honour, one he hopes will set him off on a successful career in journalism.
Asiedu was presented with the prize at the BJTC Student Journalism Awards at Sky News in London on Tuesday (November 12) night. The Steve Harris Award for Excellence in Journalism recognises the stand-out entry of the competition.
The judges chose Asiedu’s 20-minute radio documentary from among 11 category winners on the night.
“It is 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,” the judges said.
While making the documentary as part of his Multimedia Journalism degree at the University of Northampton, Asiedu discovered that people with dementia in Ghana are subject to accusations of witchcraft, severe beatings and being set on fire as a result of their memory lapses. This revelation, combined with the story of Asiedu’s aunt contracting the disorder, was described by the judges as “heartbreaking and tear-inducing”. They said it was “an outstanding example of how radio can pull at all emotions. Joy, honesty and anger, all contained within a few minutes.”
Asiedu said his investigation was particularly poignant because it was so close to home, his aunt having raised him as a toddler.
“I hope the documentary will shed light on the way people with dementia are treated in places like Ghana. I tried my hardest to take the listener on a journey, using music and a lot of emotion in my voice, and it has paid off,” he said.
Asiedu graduated in July and has been working from home on a clothing brand. But he hopes the award will lead to opportunities for his journalism career.
“I’m still searching for that one dream job that will set me off, and I hope winning the Steve Harris Award will help with that. It’s a massive accolade,” he said.
The BJTC is the UK’s largest industry-backed higher education training body for multiplatform, broadcast and mobile journalism and its annual awards highlight outstanding work from among the 4000 students studying on its 50+ accredited courses. This year there were more than 250 entries.
Chief Executive Jon Godel, said: “Kirk’s documentary is an example of the high standards the journalists on our courses are trained to meet, preparing them for immediate employment in our rapidly changing industry. In this world of digital-first multiplatform journalism, employers like to know that graduates can hit the ground running, fully up to speed with the latest techniques and technology, as well as demonstrating solid journalism and story-telling skills. Kirk’s entry, and the many others reviewed by the judges, are excellent examples of those professional standards. It’s no wonder BJTC graduates are being snapped up by newspapers and broadcast newsrooms across the country.”
Listen to Kirk’s documentary here.
November 13th, 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.
