The much anticipated University of Salford Journalism Awards 2014 took place this week and was a fantastic success, thanks to the months of hard work by the dedicated team bringing it all together. Hosted at MediaCityUK, the event was very well attended, including several industry professionals, University staff and students.
I attended with my good friend Matt who, being the perfect GBF, looked and smelt absolutely wonderful. After much debating I opted for a floor length evening dress and heels – the dress was spot on but the shoes nearly killed me, I ended the night both jubilant and barefooted.
Everybody was dressed to impressed and, with plenty of time for networking, we managed to having a quick drink from the bar (to steady the nerves of course) and a nibble from the complimentary buffet which was both vegetarian friendly and warm đ
The University’s School of Arts and Media Festival was also running on the same evening and the atmosphere was buzzing, with plenty to see and do, as well as a live performance by talented singer Lucy Logan.
At 7pm we were ushered down the red carpet and into the Digital Sound Lab, which had been transformed into an ‘Oscars style venue’, complete with spot lights and big screen.
The event began with a very inspirational talk by Richard Frediani, programme editor at ITV News at 6, where he discussed the rise of social media and the impact this has had on the industry.
And then it was time for the awards themselves…
Best TV – The first to be announced was best TV, presented by Michelle Mayman – Editor of BBC North West Tonight, Executive Producer of Sunday Politics NW and also Late Kick Off NW.
The nominees : Alec Herron, Emily Burgin, Fizah Tahir, Sophie Dulson.
Winner: Sophie Dulson
Best Print – This was presented by Richard Moriarty – Deputy northern
news editor for The Sun and Chris Riches – NW Correspondent for The Daily Express.
The nominees: Eleanor Lees, Emily Howlett, Taaliah Nazar, Will Moorcroft.
Winner: Taaliah Nazar

Yes I am delighted:)

Dave Lafferty
Best Online – Presented by Dave Lafferty – Communities Editor at the Manchester Evening News.
The nominees: Alec Herron, Fiza Ikram, Liam McCallion, Rachael Heslehurst.
Winner: Fiza Ikram
Best radio – Presented by Heidi Dawson – Editor at BBC Radio 5 Live

Heidi Dawson5 Live
The nominees: Armen Haczmarian, Dan McLaughlin, Kate Berry, Sophie Whitfield.
Winner: Dan McLaughlin
As our good friend Dan was in Ireland he was sadly unable to accept his well deserved award. Never fear though, Matt stepped in and did a fine job of accepting it on his behalf – nice one Matt:)

Martin Hamer
Best sports piece – Presented by Martin Hamer – Senior broadcast journalist at BBC Sport
The nominees were: Helen Rowe-Willcocks, Simon Rowbotham, Siobhan Maguire, Will Moorcroft.
Winner: Will Moorcroft
Best journalistic blog – Presented by Liz Hannaford – Digital

Liz Hannaford
Journalism tutor at Salford University.
Nominees: Jabeen Akhtar, Jack Howson, Sumaira Hussein.
Winner: Jabeen Akhtar

Elaine Willcox
Best mobile reporting/social media – Presented by Elaine Willcox – ITV News correspondent and presenter.
Nominees: Dominika Piasecka, Fizah Tahir, Kate Berry, Sam Rosbottom.
Winner: Fizah Tahir
Best 1st year submission – Presented by Andrew Lindsay – tutor, BBC and

Andrew Lindsay
ITV correspondent and Quays programme editor
Nominees: Bradley Harris, Carlie Foster, Dominicka Piasecka, Siobhan Maguire.
Winner: Carlie Foster

Caroline Cheetham
Best 2nd year submission – Presented by Caroline Cheetham – Tutor, BBC 4 and BBC 5 Live radio superstar.
Nominees: Antonia Hunter, Jayna Patel, Penny James, Taaliah Nazar.
Winner: Taaliah Nazar

Receiving my award from Caroline

Dave Randles
Best 3rd year submission – Presented by Dave Randles – Tutor and former sports correspondent for the Liverpool Echo.
Nominees: Fiza Ikram, Fizah Tahir, Sophie Dulson, Sumaira Hussain.
Winner: Fizah Tahir
Best postgraduate submission – Presented by Programme editor of ITV news – Richard Frediani.
Nominees: Isobel Greenfield, Matt Tate, Simon Rowbotham, Sophie Whitfield.
Winner: Isobel Greenfield

Paul Broster
NCTJ Highest achiever – Presented by Paul Broster – Associate Director of Journalism at Salford University.
Winner: Hannah Al-Othman

Martin Dougan
Scoop of the year –Â Presented by CBBC Newsround presenter – Martin Dougan.
Nominees: Emel Chaush-Kavaloglu, Kate Berry, Rene Bissohong, Taaliah Nazar.
Winner: Rene Bissohong
Eddie Lowey Award – Presented by Richard Fredini
Winner – Cassandra Ward
A special mention is deserved for Bradley Harris – First year student who greeted us with a hilarious voice over as we entered the Digital Performance Lab, Tom Short – Comedy and Performance student as well as Sam Smith who is a MA Scriptwriting graduate and entertained us with an amusing break from the awards that included attempting to embarrass Richard Moriarty….never a good idea to try this with a journalist and he quickly
turned the joke around, raising more than a chuckle from the crowd:)
Also very entertaining on the night was Lucy Logan, a photography student who had travelled from Ireland in order to perform her debut performance. Singing a soulful acoustic cover and one of her own, original songs, Lucy really was lovely and has an amazing voice.
The award ceremony was covered by both Shock Radio and Quays TV, with the event being organised by a small team of dedicated students from across a variety of courses and disciplines. Given ÂŁ2000 from Eddie Lowey’s Lady Monica Cockfield Memorial Fund, they used the cash to stage the awards, which awarded  winners a certificate and cash prize of ÂŁ75.
I had a fantastic evening and am totally thrilled to have won two awards, Best Print and Best Second Year Student.
I’ve wanted to be a journalist for as long as I can remember but life seemed to have other plans and, after finishing school without sitting my final exams, I thought my chance had gone.
Fast forward over 20 years and now, as a mum of 4 and aged 38, I am delighted to say that hard work does pay off and it is never too late to fulfil your dreams.
I went back to college and got my GCSE’s and, after meeting a fantastic woman called Mimi who inspired me to believe in myself, I applied for university. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I will be forever grateful to her for our late night chats and enduring friendship.
I will be going into my third year at Uni this September, to finish my BA in Multimedia journalism and who knows what the future will bring from there. One thing is for sure though, I will be the one in the corner, writing for a deadline…:)
Here is the full Journalism Awards 2014 video….:)