The shortlist can now be revealed for the EDF Energy London and South of England Media Awards 2008.

This year’s awards received nominations from across the media spectrum, from small free weekly papers to big regional dailies along with radio, TV and online journalists.

Judges spent a busy day assessing over 250 entries from Dorset, Hampshire, Kent, London, Surrey and East and West Sussex.

EDF Energy’s sponsorship means there are £100 cash prizes for individual winners and trophies for all category champions.

Claire Byrd, head of regional media relations at EDF Energy, said: “The judges were really pleased with the number and quality of entries for these awards.

“Some categories were a real pleasure to judge. There was a superb standard of work submitted, making some of the shortlists very hard to select.”

The News, in Portsmouth, has a strong presence on the shortlist with ten finalists in seven sections including all three in the Designer of the Year category.

While the Surrey Mirror’s Nev Wilson has been shortlisted in both the Best Newcomer and Best Print Journalist Weekly categories.

The lunchtime awards ceremony will be held at London Zoo, in Regent’s Park, on Thursday October 23.

The shortlisted entries are:

Print Journalist of the Year (Daily)

Simon Jones, The News, Portsmouth
Lawrence Marzouk The Argus
Matt Jackson The News, Portsmouth

Print Journalist of the Year (Weekly)

Jocelyn Cook, Crawley News
Nev Wilson, Surrey Mirror
Richard Osley, Camden New Journal
Manisha Mistry, Hillingdon Times
Martin Sawden, Kentish Times

Newcomer of the Year

Marina Soteriou, Kentish Times
Nev Wilson, Surrey Mirror
Sarah Marshall, Kent Messenger Group
Hannah Webster, Surrey Herald
David Farbrother, Surrey Mirror
Sarah Nicholls, Western Gazette

Daily Newspaper of the Year

The News, Portsmouth
Daily Echo, Bournemouth
The Argus, Brighton

Weekly Newspaper of the Year (Paid-for)

East London Advertiser
Hamstead & Highgate Express
Western Gazette
Surrey Mirror
Croydon Advertiser

Weekly Newspaper of the Year (Free)

Kentish Times Series (Bexley Times)
Crawley News
Camden Gazette

Front Page of the Year

Daily Echo, Bournemouth – Miracle Escape
The Argus, Brighton – Gutted
The News, Portsmouth – Pompey Expects

Website of the Year

Kent TV
Hamstead & Highgate Express
BBC Kent

Feature Writer of the Year

Jeremy Miles, Daily Echo, Bournemouth
Maria Court, Daily Echo, Bournemouth
Alan Watkins, Medway Messenger
Simon Toft, The News, Portsmouth

Designer of the Year

Alan Cooper, The News, Portsmouth
Pete Gavan, The News, Portsmouth
Phil Riley, The News, Portsmouth

Columnist of the Year

Neal Butterworth, Daily Echo, Bournemouth
The Single Life with Welsh & Welch, The Docklands
Chris Parnell, Daily Echo, Bournemouth

News Photographer of the Year

Stuart Emmerson, Harrow and Wembley Observer
Alan Jones, The Argus, Brighton
Simon Dack, The Argus, Brighton

Sports Journalist of the Year

Neil Allen, The News, Portsmouth
Simon Osborn, Surrey Mirror
Jonathan Clegg, East London Advertiser
Sam Munnery, Crawley News

Business Journalist of the Year

Gareth Lewis, Southern Daily Echo, Southampton
Richard Garfield, Basingstoke Gazette

Community Campaign of the Year

The News, Portsmouth – Blue Day
Daily Echo, Bournemouth – Parking Mad
Gravesend Messenger – Jamie-Leigh’s Christmas Appeal
Romford Recorder – The Maya Community Appeal

Environmental Journalist of the Year

Malcolm Shaw, ITV Meridian
Eleanor Stride, Gazette Newspapers

Television Journalist of the Year

Beverley Thompson, BBC South East Today
Mike Pearse, ITV Thames Valley and Meridian
Tom Chown, Kent TV
Jon Hunt, BBC South East Today
Jonathan Gibson, ITV West Country

Radio Journalist of the Year

Paul Jenner, BBC Southern Counties
Ed Cook, BBC Radio Kent
Petrina Hope, Mercury FM
Alex Ward, BBC Radio Kent

Radio News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year

BBC Radio Kent
Farm Radio

TV News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year

BBC South East Today
ITV Thames Valley

Comments

ivy likes (01/09/2008 13:17:03)
Seems to be the same old finalists in the same old categories year after year.
I see the Western Gazette, based in Somerset, now seems to be in London and the South.
Shome mishtake surely?

Andy (01/09/2008 14:49:27)
Could these awards not be extended to cover Berkshire? The royal county is currently being missed out and there are several good papers here.

Cynical Old Sub (01/09/2008 15:46:30)
Probably the same old faces who pay the same old fees to enter.

David Taylor (01/09/2008 19:01:11)
In response to Ivy, the W. Gazette might have its office in Somerset but their nominee, Sarah Nicholls, is based in Dorset as the Shaftesbury Correspondent – and what a breath of fresh air she has been since being here! Brilliant reporter who has taken the community to heart, and been taken into the heart of the community.
Best of luck Sarah!
(David Taylor, TIC Manager)

baffledbeyondbelief (03/09/2008 21:32:43)
What is the point in having three people from the same paper up for one award (design)? Surely there must have been some decent entries from elsewhere to balance the nominations… The News isn’t that great!

Northern Snapper (02/10/2008 17:55:28)
Well done to all nominees, if you’ve been nominated before that’s because you are consistently good. Ignore all the sour grape rhetoric in other comments.
Now please EDF, can we have a similar media awards for the Yorkshire/North East region?