#soe09: Guardian’s Paul Lewis wins ‘Rat up a drainpipe’ Award

Guardian journalist Paul Lewis was last night awarded the ‘Rat up a drainpipe’ or Bevins Prize for investigative journalism.

Lewis won the accolade for his investigation into the death of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson at this year’s G20 protests in London.

Lewis was shortlisted for the Paul Foot award last month for the same investigation.

Similar posts:

• Awards round-up: Index on Censorship winners; Mind Journalism Awards; Paul Foot nominations call
• Paul Foot 2008: The alternative highlights of the night
• Audio: Paul Foot Award winner Ian Cobain on investigative journalism
• Live Twittering from the Paul Foot Investigative Journalism Awards
• Independent.co.uk: Why the award-winning Salford Star went online-only

#soe09: Winners announced for NCTJ’s excellence awards

The winners of the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) awards for excellence in journalism were announced today at the Society of Editors annual conference.

The prizes went to:

News Journalism
Student:    Tim Fletcher, City of Wolverhampton College
Trainee:    Arron Hendy, Dorset Echo

Sports Journalism
Student:    George Scott, News Associates, London
Trainee:    David Jordan, Grimsby Telegraph

Top Scoop
Student:    Juliet Conway, Brighton Journalist Works (winner)
Student:    Jessica Shankleman, Cardiff University (highly commended)

Features of the year
Student:    Harriet Webster, NoSWeat Journalism Training
Trainee:    Emily Koch, Bristol Evening Post

Images of the year
Student:    Bethany Clarke, The Sheffield College, Norton
Trainee:    Leah McLaren, Derby Telegraph

Awards for the best performance in examinations leading to the NCTJ Preliminary Certificate in Newspaper Journalism, NCE for Reporters and NCE for photographers were also presented:

NCTJ Student Journalist of the Year: Mary Hamilton, Press Association Training

NCTJ Photographer of the Year: Hannah Kinver, South Wales Evening Post

NCTJ Reporter of the Year: Victoria Carr, Wetherby News

Similar posts:

• Sheffield photojournalism students refuse exam retake
• NCTJ and PTC shortlists for new journalist awards released
• MediaGuardian: London students dominate the Guardian Student Media Awards
• New blog series: Am I too old to become a journalist?
• Media Release: Guardian Student Media Awards open for entries

Empire and Nursing Times take online prizes at BSME Awards

The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) announced the winners of its annual awards this week. The list in full can be seen below:

Editors of the year:

Business & Professional Magazines (non-weekly): Matthew Gwyther, Management Today – Haymarket Media
Business & Professional Magazines (weekly): Adam Leyland, The Grocer – William Reed Business Media
Entertainment & Celebrity Magazines: Mark Dinning, Empire – Bauer Media
Customer Magazines (business readership): Sarah Bale, BT Upload – Redwood Publishing
Customer Magazines (consumer readership); Mark Hooper, Electric! – Redwood Publishing

Lifestyle Magazines: Ed Grenby, the Sunday Times Travel Magazine – News International

Men’s Magazines: Terri White, ShortList – Shortlist Media

Newspaper Magazines: Merope Mills, Guardian Weekend – Guardian Newspapers

Special Interest & Current Affairs Magazines: Jason Cowley, New Statesman – New Statesman

Women’s Magazines (monthly or less frequent): Lorraine Candy, Elle – Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd

Women’s Magazines (weekly or fortnightly): John Dale, Take A Break – H Bauer

Youth Magazines: Ian Foster, Match of the Day Magazine – BBC Worldwide

Fiona Macpherson new business editor of the year: John Stepek, MoneyWeek – MoneyWeek

Fiona Macpherson new consumer editor of the year: Peter Grunert, Lonely Planet – BBC Magazines

Business magazine art director of the year: Cecilia Lindgren, the Architectural Review – Emap

Consumer magazine art director of the year: David McKendrick, Esquire – the National Magazine Company

Launch editor of the year: David Rowan, Wired – Condé Nast

Business magazine website editor of the year: Gabriel Fleming, nursingtimes.net – Emap

Consumer magazine website editor of the year: James Dyer, Empire Online – Bauer Media

Innovation and brand-building initiative: Tony Chambers, Wallpaper* – IPC Media
(for Made in China Issue, an issue dedicated to the new China and produced by the London Wallpaper* team in China)

Campaign of the year: Denise Chevin, Building – UBM Built Environment
(for Safer Skyline, a Campaign to improve safety of tower cranes on building sites after a shocking spate of fatal accidents)

Mark Boxer award: Andy Cowles, editorial development director, IPC Media

2009 BSME editor’s editor: Morgan Rees, Men’s Health – Natmag-Rodale

Similar posts:

• British Society of Magazine Editors award winners
• PTC New Journalist Awards 2008: And the winners are…
• PPA Magazines 2008: Grazia scoops PPA magazine of the year award
• PPA’s magazine handbook available online
• Magazine news: PPA chief steps down; BSME shortlist announced

Audio: Paul Foot Award winner Ian Cobain on investigative journalism

Last night Guardian senior reporter Ian Cobain took the 2009 Paul Foot Award for campaigning journalism for his investigation into Britain’s involvement in the torture of terror suspects detained overseas.

Speaking at the Private Eye and Guardian sponsored award, Eye editor Ian Hislop said investigative reporting had come under threat from both the recession and some key legal actions in the last year:

“[Investigative reporting] needs encouraging for obvious reasons, particularly in a recession: it’s difficult; it’s slow; it’s expensive; it’s risky. There’s no advertising. There are very few local newspapers. People are more interested in the death of the dinner party as a subject to fill a paper.”

Journalism.co.uk spoke to Cobain after the awards ceremony to find out his views on the future of investigative journalism:

And how he selects his subjects:

Similar posts:

• Paul Foot’s stories were not tomorrow’s fish and chip paper
• Miller-McCune: Deep throat meets data mining
• AdAge.com: Could these local start-ups replace newspapers?
• #soe09: Guardian’s Paul Lewis wins ‘Rat up a drainpipe’ Award
• Awards round-up: Index on Censorship winners; Mind Journalism Awards; Paul Foot nominations call

Paul Foot’s stories were not tomorrow’s fish and chip paper

Yesterday saw journalists rewarded in memory of the campaigning journalist Paul Foot, with the Guardian’s Ian Cobain taking the first prize for his investigation into Britain’s involvement in the torture of terror suspects detained overseas.

But as Private Eye editor Ian Hislop reminded the audience, it was a night to remember Private Eye journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004.  Foot’s stories live on and influence today’s news, Hislop said: “There is a sense in which five years on, we’re still doing this award and Paul remains extraordinarily alive. People say journalism is fish and chip paper the next day. Well, that isn’t always true.

The Lockerbie story is a prime example, said Hislop. Foot provided the foundations for the ongoing journalistic investigation into the 1988 bombing of Pan-Am 103, uncovering evidence which throws uncertainty over the Scottish judges’ sentencing of Libyan Abdelbaset Al Megrahi to life imprisonment in 2001.

“Paul’s investigation from five, six years ago is the starting point for a story that’s still going on,” said Hislop.

“The ludicrous detail. I love the idea of Paul’s reaction [that] the man [Al Megrahi] was freed for compassionate reason; that would have amused him.”

Foot’s story on the solicitor Michael Napier, was another of his investigations that resurfaced this year, when Private Eye was threatened with an injunction courtesy of lawyers Carter-Ruck.

“In came the injunction, we weren’t allowed to say who it was (…) We won a case in front of Justice Eady – now you can imagine how crap their [the claimant's] case must have been. That we won in front of Eady, unbelievable,” joked Hislop.

Once past Eady, the Eye finally won in the Court of Appeal, but he wasn’t just crowing over his Carter-Ruck victory, Hislop said, rather emphasising  ‘that even a story Paul wrote 10 years ago (…) never quite finishes and he’s still there’.

And now, investigative journalism needs more help than ever, he added: “[Investigative reporting] needs encouraging for obvious reasons, particularly in a recession: it’s difficult; it’s slow; it’s expensive; it’s risky. There’s no advertising. There are very few local newspapers. People are more interested in the death of the dinner party as a subject to fill a paper.

“This year has seen quite a lot of threats to investigative journalism.

“This year the editor of the Guardian and I were called to talk to the parliamentary select committee about the problems of libel and injunctions. I said there was a chill wind of libel blowing, particularly for these secret injunctions. And Alan [Rusbridger] said it wasn’t a big problem for the Guardian. That was pre-Trafigura so we had a good laugh later, when the Guardian was hit by it.

“These are the injunctions that are served on you and you’re not allowed to say what was in the injunction and you’re not allowed to say there was an injunction.”

Hislop, at this point, directed the audience’s eyes to the wall: “A charming portrait of Mr Marr – and we take that thought home…” [last year the BBC political correspondent won an injunction to stop the media revealing 'private information' about him, only recently reported; details remain undisclosed].

Foot would have loved this year’s short and long-list, continued Hislop. Stories about MPs’ expenses, for example, he said. “Again Carter-Ruck involved trying to stop that! Not that they’re in all the stories, but they are…” he added, as his last jibe to the firm for which the Eye has such a fond nickname.

But not the last time he stuck his tongue out at the legal profession. As he reached the nomination for Mail reporters, Stephen Wright and Richard Pendlebury, he waved two letters in the air; attempts sent today, Hislop claimed, to try and prevent him reading out the prize citation  – a copy of which is available on the Private Eye website of course.

Similar posts:

• Trafigura update: Jack Straw to examine use of ’super injunctions’
• ‘Super injunctions’ parliamentary debate: kicks off 2.30 pm
• Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger on Trafigura’s ‘own goal’
• Richard Wilson: ‘No one knows how many secret super-injunctions are currently in force’
• The more glam side of investigative: last night’s Paul Foot Awards

Press Gazette: Wilmington in partnership deal for British Press Awards

Following its near closure earlier this year and subsequent acquisition by Progressive Media, there’s been little talk of what would happen to Press Gazette’s annual British Press Awards.

The awards remained with former owner Wilmington and questions were raised over how the prizes could continue without the industry mag to back them.

But according to a PG report, Wilmington will now donate a share of profits from the event to the Journalists’ Charity and run the awards in partnership with the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA).

Full story at this link…

Similar posts:

• Press Gazette: Press Gazette bought by Progressive Media
• Roy Greenslade: British journalism is in crisis and time is running out
• HTFP: Newspaper society cancels 2009 awards
• PressGazette: Wilmington – Press Gazette magazine to close
• MediaGuardian: BBC and ITV news partnership stalls – Manchester or Birmingham?

Guild of Health Writers announces awards winners

The winners of the Guild of Health Writers Health Writing Awards were announced last week with prizes for Reader’s Digest, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.

“I was amazed by the wide range and standard of all of the articles. To have a record number of 300 entries is a real achievement,” said Dr Michael Dixon, president of the Guild, in a press release.

“In these difficult economic times, it’s even more important that we recognise the achievements of our peers and encourage journalists to produce work that will be widely read and appreciated,” Paul Dinsdale, chair of the Guild committee and one of the judges, added.

The winner of the best online health contribution was Fergus Walsh for ‘Fergus on Flu‘ (BBC.co.uk, June 26 2008).

Other winners:

Best National Newspaper Health Feature:
Jane Feinmann, ‘When A Trainee Surgeon Was Let Loose On This Little Girl’ (Daily Mail, June 6 2009)

Best consumer Magazine Health Feature:
Susannah Hickling, ‘Don’t Get Sick After Dark’ (Reader’s Digest, November 2007)

Best Trade and Specialist Publication Feature:
Christian Jarrett, ‘When Therapy Causes Harm’ (The Psychologist Magazine, January 2008)

Best Regional Newspaper Health Feature:
Clare Semke, ‘Fighting Alzheimer’s’ (The Portsmouth News, March 23 2009)

Best Freelance Feature:
Jane Feinmann, ‘When A Trainee Surgeon Was Let Loose On This Little Girl’ (Daily Mail, June 2009

Similar posts:

• Portfolio.com: The Reader’s Digest Index
• FT.com: Reader’s Digest looking to overhaul sites but won’t charge for online content
• Awards round-up: Index on Censorship winners; Mind Journalism Awards; Paul Foot nominations call
• UK national newspapers neglecting sitemaps for better search indexing
• First screenshots of Times Health Club community site

Knight News Challenge extends application deadline

The Knight News Challenge, which will see up to $5 million granted to journalism and online media projects, has extended the application deadline for 2010.

Entrants to this year’s challenge can now submit proposals up until December 15.

Previous winners of the award include DocumentCloud, a site providing an online database of documents that will be  searchable by topic and location; and the Media Standards Trust’s ‘Transparent Journalism’ project.

Similar posts:

• Knight News Challenge winner DocumentCloud releases ‘CloudCrowd’ system
• Telegraph.co.uk: Guide to the full MP expenses database
• ‘It’s info porn that’s customizable’: USAspending.gov database
• DocumentCloud still looking for more collaborators; will build on Amazon Web Services
• New Twitter database for the media

BBC must return to Reithian values, says Bakewell

The BBC can only be saved by a rediscovery of the values that John Reith placed on public service broadcasting, Dame Joan Bakewell counselled at an event on Wednesday.

Bakewell warned that broadcasters have a responsibility to look back to the ethos of the ‘golden age’ of public service broadcasting of the 1960s in order to deal with the challenges presented by multiplying competition.

“At a time when so many other institutions, financial, parliamentary, are deeply flawed, the battered and tattered ideals of public service broadcasting survive. If a societal consciousness is creeping back into public affairs, then now is the time to celebrate public service broadcasting and see it flourish again,” she said.

Bakewell described Public Service Broadcasting as the ‘lynchpin’ of Britain’s culture and democracy and argued that it must have the courage of its own judgments in order to survive as the ‘bedrock on which the BBC’s worldwide reputation relies’.

Her reflections came in the form of the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture, which she delivered to an audience made up of journalists and students at City University in London.

Gary Younge, the US-based Guardian reporter and columnist, was presented with the James Cameron Memorial Award for his reporting written with ‘passion and compassion’ in the run up to the election of Barack Obama.

Younge’s nod to Kanye West’s recent faux pas at the MTV Video Music Awards had the room in fits of giggles. “Beyonce was the greatest writer of all time,” he said.

Also posthumously honoured with a special award for those who fight to hold those in power to account was Sri Lankan editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was murdered in January. As editor of Sri Lanka’s Sunday Leader he was known as a forceful critic of the challengers to liberal democracy.

Wickrematunge wrote a ‘living obituary’ predicting his own death as a result of his work as a journalist shortly before his murder. Sonali Wickrematunge, Lasantha’s wife, said that the award would serve as ‘a beam of hope for those who continue to risk their life for the truth’.

Similar posts:

• paidContent: BBC website should be reduced, says Yahoo
• Newsweek’s Daniel Lyons: ‘Don’t bail out newspapers – let them die and get out of the way’
• Comment Is Free: Brother of murdered Sri Lankan newspaper editor speaks out
• Adieu ‘Reporters’ Reporter’: John Mair’s memories of Charles Wheeler
• ‘Baldy Blogger’ Adrian Sudbury’s memorial to be streamed online

Fifth International Photography Award open for entries

The British Journal of Photography in partnership with the Association of Photographers is calling for entries for its fifth annual award.

There are two award categories this year: one recognising a single outstanding image; the other an exceptional body of work.

Anyone of any country can enter and there is no theme. Photographs can be captured in any format, film or digital, and can be of any style or genre.

The prize fund is worth more than £13,000 with the winner of the single image category receiving a SIGMA DP2 professional compact camera and the winner of the body of work category receiving a LEAF CAMERA (the exact model TBC).

The winning work of both categories will be given a solo show at a leading London photography gallery, printed by one of Europe’s top fine art laboratories. Both winners will also feature in the British Journal of Photography.

Entry is £25 for the series category, and £5 per single image. Photographers are welcome to enter both competitions, and to enter more than one body or work or image.

The deadline is September 11 2009. Full details of how to enter and the criteria are available at this link.

Similar posts:

• BJP: Photographers sue Met Police for treatment at Greek embassy protests
• Webby success for FT.com and BBC News
• Photography Is Not-A-Crime.com: images from the fourth plinth
• ‘It’s info porn that’s customizable’: USAspending.gov database
• Independent launches 2009 Wyn Harness young journalist prize