Will Hutton of The Work Foundation tonight (Tuesday 18 January 2011) announced the winners of the 24th WorkWorld Media Awards at a ceremony staged at their headquarters in Westminster.
Arriving straight from the all-night Lords debate, Lord Puttnam delivered the keynote address having had no sleep for 36 hours. He talked about theParliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill and how it had so far received little attention and why proper scrutiny is essential for future generations. “It is vital that Parliament works and finds consensus for crucial constitutional change,” he said, adding, “I want to leave behind something coherent and sustainable.” He also asked the audience of high profile print and broadcast journalists to acknowledge that most MPs and peers are hardworking and conscientious, asking them to “give us a break.”
Sponsored for the second year running by EDF Energy,these prestigious awards seek to recognise outstanding written and broadcast journalism covering the world of work, business and the economy.
Will Hutton, executive vice chair of The Work Foundation, said “Economics and work journalists have hardly been living through dull times in recent years. Banks, bankers and bonuses; austerity, cuts and unemployment; Dave, Nick and Vince: it is the kind of drama that makes for a rich harvest of Workworld entries. We have not been disappointed.”
Gareth Wynn, EDF Energy’s Group Director for the 2012 Programme, said: “EDF Energy is proud to sponsor the Workworld Media Awards, building on our long-standing partnership with The Work Foundation. The Workworld Media Awards are a great way to recognise those who have used their talent to provide insight and deeper understanding about the changing employment and business environment.
“EDF Energy is a strong supporter of excellence in journalism, demonstrated by the EDF Energy Regional Media Awards, now in their sixth year, which recognise journalists for outstanding performance in their field. We are also committed to the best business practice and, as the first sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we seek to inspire change and to encourage our people and our customers to reduce their carbon footprint.”
The judges this year were Rosemary Bennett, social affairs correspondent of The Times; Anthony Browne, director of policy at the Mayor of London’s Office; Richard Donkin, journalist and author of The Future Of Work; Baroness Kingsmill of Holland Park; David Lloyd, professor of journalism at City University and formerly of Channel 4; Martin Shankleman, BBC employment correspondent and Jeff Prestridge, personal finance editor from the Mail on Sunday, with Will Hutton as chair of the judges.
The winners, with judges’ comments follow below:
Reporter of the Year: David Cohen, Evening Standard.
“His pieces mix an ability to capture the stuff of contemporary working life with an old-fashioned spirit of campaigning social journalism.”
Broadcast News Reporter of the Year: Emma Simpson, BBC News
“A journalist with a tremendous amount of on-screen warmth and a great knack of telling a story through people, most notably in a series of reports for BBC News about unemployment and public service cuts in the UK’s great cities.”
Blogger of the Year: Nicola Smith, TUC/Left Foot Forward
“For her ability to look behind the news stories and ground her blogs in serious-minded evidence and data.”
Columnist of the Year: Zoe Williams, The Guardian
“Her columns stood out not just for their wit and sheer pleasure, but also for the notes of depth, thoughtfulness and sometimes anger she manages to strike as well.”
Commendation: Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
“For well-crafted, funny and engaging writing.”
Broadcast Programme of the Year: Can Pay, Will Pay, BBC Radio 4
“An intelligent three-part series that exhaustively covered a controversial, but very complex subject that is seldom tackled so frankly.”
Journalist to Watch: Gareth Iacobucci, Pulse
“For his high quality, punchy, often exclusive reporting.”
Commendation: Lucy Tobin, Evening Standard
“Really stood out with her versatile, sharp writing and acute analysis.”
Feature writer of the year: Amy Kazmin, Financial Times
“For her strong insight and analysis which really got to grips with many strands of the Indian labour market.”
Lifetime Achievement award: Alex Brummer, City Editor at the Daily Mail
“A profoundly talented and committed journalist whose 40-year career has spanned distinguished spells on both The Guardian and the Daily Mail. He’s a prolific, highly visible journalist who is consistently on top of his stories and whose daily columns command universal respect.”