08.11.23

Journalism students secure record nominations at BJTC Awards

Categories: School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology

University of Salford students have bagged a record five nominations at this year’s annual BJTC awards which celebrate the best audio and visual work from Journalism students across the country.

The University came a close second to City, University of London for total nominations for this year’s awards but secured the most for students on undergraduate programmes, scoring a double nomination for ‘Best Radio Feature’ and was also shortlisted in ‘Best Radio News Report’, ‘Best TV Feature’ and ‘Best Podcast.’

Andrew Fletcher, Programme Leader for Journalism (Broadcast) said: “We are delighted that the excellent work of our students has been recognised in these student journalism awards run by our professional accrediting body, the BJTC. The awards are judged by senior journalists from news organisations including the BBC, ITV and Sky so to be shortlisted is a real honour for our students.

“Graduates from our course who have been nominated in previous years have used their success at these awards as a springboard for successful careers in broadcast journalism, so we will be keeping our fingers crossed for the class of 2023 at the awards ceremony.”

For ‘Best Radio Feature’, BA Broadcast Journalism graduate and now freelance journalist Sophie Green was shortlisted for here piece, ‘Inside the Paddock’ which details the challenges around animal welfare and gambling that are currently facing the horse racing industry. Fellow BA Broadcast Journalism graduate and freelance journalist Caitlin Hyem was also nominated for her ten-minute radio docuseries on obsessive-compulsive disorder titled, ‘OCD: When The Solution Becomes The Problem’ about how obsessive compulsive disorder can affect the lives of those who lives with it, including her late mother.

BA Broadcast Journalism graduate Jessica Blackburn, who is now a Freelance Production Specialist at ITV Granada and Quays TV Technical Intern, was nominated in ‘Best Radio News Report’ for her piece, ‘Birds of Prey: From Rolling Hills to Endless Roads’ in which she explores how a pair of peregrine falcons have built an unlikely nest within Leeds city centre. Georgia Lynch, another BA Broadcast Journalism graduate, was nominated in ‘Best TV Feature’ for ‘My Nanna Has Alzheimer’s’ in which she explores a seven- year-old’s quest to understand the condition after her grandmother is diagnosed with it.

For ‘Best Podcast’, third year students Poppy Smart, Phoebe McHugh, Erin Parker, James McMinn and Sam Roche, were all nominated for the podcast, 'Cold Turkey', in which they set themselves the challenge of giving their phone up for a week. The group started the podcast in their second year on the optional Podcasting module led by our award-winning lecturer and podcaster, Caroline Cheetham.

Salford has previously done well at the national awards having won ‘Best Radio News’ and ‘Best Virtual News Day’ in 2021.

The awards will be held on Thursday 30 November at Sky’s headquarters.

For all press office enquiries please email communications@salford.ac.uk.