MEDIA RELEASE
Excellence in virtual and remote news coverage to be recognised at BJTC Student Journalism Awards launched today.
The BJTC, the UK’s industry-backed training body for online and broadcast journalism, launched its 2020 Student Journalism Awards on Friday (May 1).
The awards are open to students currently studying on one of the BJTC’s 50 accredited courses, and celebrates the excellence in training of future journalists.
Entrants from universities across the UK will compete in categories reflecting the broad range of genres and platforms with which today’s broadcast journalists now work.
A special category has been added this year to recognise the challenges faced by courses producing content under COVID-19 restrictions and the suspension of face-to-face teaching. The Best Virtual/Online Newsday category recognises radio, TV or online coverage conducted away from the newsroom or studio.
“BJTC course leaders and students have risen to the same challenges as our industry colleagues in recent months – finding inventive ways to tell their stories remotely, making the most of the available technology and ensuring a safe working environment,” said BJTC Chief Executive Jon Godel.
“We have been impressed by the huge efforts made by students and their lecturers as they adapted to producing content remotely, and we are looking forward to recognising that in this year’s awards.”
There are 11 other categories: Best TV News Report, Best Radio News Report, Best TV Feature, Best Radio Feature, Best TV Documentary, Best Radio Documentary, Best Online News Site, Best Podcast, Best Social Short Video, Best TV Newsday, Best TV/Sports Journalism.
The Steve Harris Award for Excellence in Journalism, which comes with a £500 prize, will be awarded to the stand-out submission from amongst the 12 category winners.
“The BJTC Student Journalism Awards are an opportunity to showcase the very best in student multimedia journalism. It’s always a highlight of the year to see the range of high-quality entries coming in,” said Mr Godel.
Entries open on Friday 1st of May and close on the 1st of October, 2020. Details of how to enter can be found at https://bjtc.org.uk/awards. The award ceremony is planned for November 10th at BBC Birmingham.
Further information can be provided by calling Helen Hurd on 0845 600 8789 or emailling sec@bjtc.org.uk
May 1, 2020
