WRITERS, broadcasters and presenters of the future will be honoured in this year’s O2 Media Awards for Yorkshire and the Humber.
The company has introduced a new awards category, aimed at 13-25 year olds, to recognise the work of young people who are using communication skills to make a difference in their communities.
The Think Big award will be presented alongside 15 other journalism awards to celebrate the work of those working in print and broadcast industries.
An independent judging panel will decide which of the Think Big nominated projects takes the prize. Entries must have been chosen and run by young people themselves but can involve any form of communication skill, from creating a community newsletter to through to photography or film making.
O2 is offering some fabulous prizes to encourage entries. The winning young people will be invited to the O2 Media Awards and rub shoulders with the region’s best-known newspaper journalists and broadcasters. The winning scheme will also be featured during the glittering award ceremony.
The winner will also receive a £300 cash award, training, support and mentoring from a media and communications professional, plus a free laptop computer and free broadband usage for a year.
In addition to the cash injection, the young participants will then have the chance to apply for a further £2,500 Think Big grant, along with a comprehensive package of training and support, to further boost their project.
Nationally O2 is investing £5m over three years in Think Big which is being developed in partnership with UK Youth and the National Youth Agency. The ambitious scheme is designed to back young people making a difference in their communities. Young people will receive cash awards, training, support and mentoring to help tackle the issues that really matter to them.
Think Big is one of three new categories for the 2010 awards, which aim to support the most talented and creative in the media industry working in regional newspapers, television and radio as well as internet-based digital mediums.
The Yorkshire and the Humber O2 Media Awards are part of a series of regional media contests launched by the company across the North and North West. O2 employs more than 2,500 people at its award-winning centre at the Arlington Business Centre in Leeds.
Glenn Manoff, Director of Communications and Reputation for O2, said the awards continue to celebrate the important service provided by local and regional journalists. He was also delighted that O2 had included a category to reflect Think Big.
‘O2 believes a connected community is a better community. This year the awards are expanding to reflect the way in which the media industry is developing. And we’re also excited to be introducing this media award to celebrate the achievements of young people who are using innovative methods to communicate with each other and their communities.
‘At O2, quite simply, we believe in young people. We believe that young people can make a difference. The ideas they have can have a big impact on their community. And as one of the biggest companies in the UK, we can back them,’ he added.
A judging panel of media industry experts from the print, broadcast and digital sectors will select the finalists and the winners will be crowned at a presentation evening later this year.
Deadline for professional media award entry nominations is May 14, 2010. The deadline for the Think Big award is May 31st. To receive a nomination form contact O2mediaawards@rossitermedia.co.uk or ring Sarah Roberts or Liz Rossiter on 01925 576757.
Journalists will be able to enter the following categories:
- Digital Journalist of the Year
- Photographer of the Year
- Feature Writer of the Year
- Sports Journalist of the Year
- Young Journalist of the Year (weekly newspapers)
- Young Journalist of the Year (Daily newspapers and broadcast media)
- TV Broadcast journalist of the Year
- Radio Broadcaster of the Year
- News Reporter of the Year
- Business Journalist of the Year
- Scoop of the Year
- Editorial Team of the Year
- Think Big award
- Weekly Newspaper of the Year
- Daily Newspaper of the Year
- O2 Newspaper of the Year
All entry forms are available by contacting Rossiter Media on 01925 576757 or by e-mail requests to O2mediaawards@rossitermedia.co.uk
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