Celebrating the contribution journalists make to our democracy: Why we’re launching the Pagefield Press Awards
Our industry requires us PRs and lobbyists to understand the nuances and daily happenings in the complex world of the media: who is writing and saying what, and who is that having most influence over? For many people though, the writers behind the biggest stories of the day often remain largely unknown.
Many journalists will be happy with that as most enter the practice to hold power to account, not to attract fame and interest. But it can mean that these vital players in our democracy can go largely unnoticed and their impact sometimes unrecognised.
That’s why – as part of our ongoing focus on the importance of campaigning – we are launching the Pagefield Press Awards to celebrate some of the most exciting and influential journalists, from budding reporters to veteran hacks, whose impact over the past year deserves to be recognised. You can read the full report here.
We’ve been fortunate to have a stellar group of industry professionals oversee the judging process, from national journalists to broadcasters. We were also particularly keen to ensure ‘trade’ journalists formed part of our judging panel, in recognition of the vital role they play – as respected industry and sectoral experts. Each of these journalists have taken time out of their busy schedules to judge the shortlisted candidates in four categories: Scoop of the year; Journalist whose influence grew and grew this year; Up and coming broadcast journalist of the year; Business or economic journalist of the year. I am hugely grateful to them for their time and wise judging.
The shortlisted candidates for each category are:
Scoop of the year
- Hannah Al-Othman, News Reporter – The Sunday Times
- Noa Hoffman, Political Reporter – The Sun
- Anna Isaac, City Editor – The Guardian (formerly Economics Editor, The Independent)
- Simon Walters, Freelance Political Reporter (formerly Assistant Editor, The Daily Mail)
- Ione Wells, Political Correspondent – BBC News
Journalist whose influence grew and grew this year
- Aubrey Allegretti, Political Correspondent – The Guardian
- Eleni Courea, Deputy London Playbook Editor – POLITICO Europe
- Noa Hoffman, Political Reporter – The Sun
- Sophia Smith Galer, Senior News Reporter – VICE World News
- Nadine White, Race Correspondent – The Independent
Up-and-coming broadcast journalist of the year
- Caroline Davies, Business Correspondent – BBC News
- Tom Harwood, Political Correspondent & Presenter – GB News
- Shingi Mararike, Correspondent – Sky News
- Marianna Spring, Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent – BBC News
- Ione Wells, Political Correspondent – BBC News
Most influential business or economic journalist of the year
- Faisal Islam, Economics Editor – BBC News
- Ian King, Business Presenter – Sky News
- Mark Kleinman, City Editor – Sky News
- Adam Parsons, Europe Correspondent – Sky News
- David Smith, Economics Editor – The Sunday Times
There’s a fantastic diversity to our nominees – whether it’s in terms of style, background, experience or focus. They highlight the length and breadth of the talent our world-leading media boasts, and showcase how important it is to have such different voices and different perspectives. And at a time when the country has been going through unprecedented levels of political uncertainty, the titles for whom they report and comment have provided much-needed stability and continuity for an anxious public.
While there are many revered journalists included in this report, having established themselves as authoritative voices in the media for a number of years, many of the other journalists included might be less known. Their inclusion is simple – they have built and developed reputations which have gone from strength to strength, navigating a media landscape which is constantly evolving and never stands still. As with the household names that have come before them, many of these up-and-coming journalists will go on to become the most distinguished commentators of their generation.
We hope that our annual awards help to underline the incredibly important contribution journalists make in holding politicians, businesses, charities, trade unions, and high-profile individuals to account.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank two giants of the media world. Firstly Stewart Purvis CBE. When we set about identifying our longlists of contestants in each category, we thought there was no-one better placed to support us in narrowing down the journalists into their final shortlists. And secondly, Alastair Stewart OBE, who has very kindly taken time out of his broadcasting schedule to announce the winners of each award at our event on 22nd November.
I hope you enjoy reading more about those journalists who we believe have been at the vanguard of their trade this year, from unearthing and chasing stories in the public interest, to exposing truths within the corridors of power. Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted – and good luck!
Oliver Foster, Chief Executive
