Journalism students win big at the BJTC 2023 Awards

The University won three of the five awards it was shortlisted for at the ceremony on Friday 30 November which celebrates the best audio and visual work from Journalism students across the country.

The three wins were tied for the most on the night at Sky’s headquarters with Nottingham Trent University and City University, London also coming away with three gongs.

BA Broadcast Journalism graduate Sophie Green won ‘Best Radio Feature’ for her piece ‘Inside the Paddock’ on the challenges around welfare and gambling within the horse racing industry. Fellow BA Broadcast Journalism graduate Georgia Lynch won ‘Best TV Feature’ for My Nanna Has Alzheimer’s, which explores a seven-year-old’s quest to understand the condition after her grandmother is diagnosed with it.

A team of third-year students also won ‘Best Podcast’ for Cold Turkey, a podcast in which they set themselves challenges to give up certain items or luxuries for a week. The team consisted of Poppy Smart, Phoebe McHugh, Erin Parker, James McMinn and Sam Roche.

The University was named runner-up in ‘Best Radio Feature’ for BA Broadcast Journalism graduate Caitlin Hyem’s ten-minute radio docuseries OCD: When the Solution Becomes the Problem and also in ‘Best Radio News Item’ for BA Broadcast Journalism graduate Jessica Blackburn’s piece Birds of Prey: From Rolling Hills to Endless Roads.

Andrew Fletcher, Programme Leader for BA Journalism (Broadcast) said: “Many congratulations to our students and graduates who achieved such stunning success at the BJTC Awards.

“It was great to see industry recognition of their excellent work and the awards ceremony was an opportunity for them to make valuable contacts with journalists and editors.

“The achievements of these graduates are all the more impressive given that they started university in 2020 and had to deal with the pandemic, lockdowns and remote teaching. We are very proud of them and look forward to seeing what they go on to achieve in their journalism careers.”