The Bromley and Bexley Extra has been crowned the best news service in the 20th Kent Journalist of the Year Awards.

Judges described staff at the Kent Messenger Group weekly as “a young, determined team who are constantly spotting and breaking stories”.

The Extra’s Danny Boyle was also crowned young journalist of the year while his colleague Dominique Taylor was highly commended in the same category.

Jamie McGinnes, of Kent on Sunday, was named best newspaper or online journalist, impressing judges by breaking a story on the cost of foreign prisoners in Kent’s jails several months before the national press.

This year’s awards attracted a record 120 entries. The judging panel comprised former BBC Radio Kent broadcaster Barbara Sturgeon, NCTJ chairman Kim Fletcher, journalism professor at the University of Kent Tim Luckhurst and Justin Allen, from the sports desk of The Sun and the News of the World.

The ceremony, held at the brewery of awards sponsor Shepherd Neame, was also tinged with sadness as tributes were paid to the late Lord Deedes.

Lord Deedes, who died last year, was chairman of the judging panel of the awards for 17 years.

The WF Deedes Kent Young Journalist of the Year Award has been renamed in his memory and this year was presented by his daughter Lucy.

The audience, of more than 90 journalists and editors, heard a speech by Deedes’ biographer, Stephen Robinson, in which he said the former Daily Telegraph editor and peer had always worked hard to encourage and support young people starting out in the profession.

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Shepherd Neame, said: “Over the past 20 years, the Kent Journalist of the Year Awards have become an important part of Kent’s media calendar, encouraging and rewarding the highest standards of reporting.

“The involvement of such an icon of journalism as the late Lord Deedes helped to establish their unrivalled reputation and his valued contribution will leave its mark for many years to come.”

The full list of winners is:

Best Newspaper or Online Journalist of the Year
Winner: Jamie McGinnes, Kent on Sunday
Highly commended: Robert Leslie, BBC Kent

Campaign of the Year
Winner: Nick Cullen, Kentish Express – fought to save a school farm from development
Highly commended: Jenni Horn, Peter Cook and Lynn Cox, Medway Messenger

Journalist of the Year
Colin Campbell, BBC South East Today

Feature Journalist of the Year
Derek Johnson, ITV Meridian

Broadcast Journalist of the Year
Winner: Colin Campbell, BBC South East Today
Highly commended: Sarah Green, ITV Meridian

Sports Journalist of the Year
Winner: Matt Davison, BBC Radio Kent
Highly commended: Glenn Garrett, Courier Media Group

Young Journalist of the Year
Danny Boyle, Bromley and Bexley Extra
Highly commended: Dominique Taylor, Bromley and Bexley Extra

News Service of the Year
Bromley and Bexley Extra

All the winners from this year’s Kent Journalist of the Year Awards

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elaine (01/08/2008 00:33:00)
lets do what journos do best . chat