Burton Mail reporter Nermin Oomer has won a national award in a competition to recognise balanced media coverage of young people.

Nermin, (25), scooped the prize for the best article in the local press at the first Positive Images Awards.

Organised by Young People Now magazine, the awards are the culmination of its campaign to improve the portrayal of young people in the media.

Nermin was praised for her double page feature entitled ‘Change of direction’, which covered youth projects Coaching for Success – run by a local school to help young people improve their behaviour and work – and Jigsaw Mentoring Partnership, which is managed by East Staffordshire Racial Equality Council and aims to increase the skills and confidence of young people.

Judges said they were particularly pleased that Nermin had quoted young people within the piece, as many entries to the category, while writing about young people’s issues in a positive manner, had failed to actually quote the young people involved.

Nermin said: “It was a very nice surprise when I found out I had won.

“I thought the best way to tackle the story was to speak to some of the young people involved and they told me how the projects had helped them see things in a different way.”

Other winners included Anushka Asthana from The Observer, who picked up the award for best article in the national press for a news piece highlighting young people’s views of alcohol, and BBC Online, which won best online coverage of young people for Natasha’s Cancer Diary, a fortnightly diary written by a girl diagnosed with cancer when she was 16.

Steve Barrett, editor of Young People Now magazine, said: “The media needs to take responsibility and give young people a voice, or risk alienating them as consumers and members of society.

“That’s why we are recognising media outlets that portray young people positively, and young people, youth groups and local councils that proactively seek positive media coverage.”