The Badger has done Sussex proud! Committee members from The Badger attended the Student Publication Association’s National Conference (SPANC) in Bristol from 10 to 12 April, bringing home five national awards across several categories. It was an incredible weekend, filled with talks from industry heads and experienced journalists – not to mention a chance to network with our fellow student publications nationwide!
The 2024 awards had more than 1,200 entries, and nominations were judged by top editors and journalists from media organisations across the UK – including the BBC, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Guardian, Sky News, and The Times.
The Badger received ten shortlists, which completely blew us away considering our humble beginning this academic year with a committee of just four people. Our team did us proud by successfully winning five awards – presented by Aubrey Allegretti, 2014 Editor-in-Chief of The Badger turned Chief Political Correspondent for The Times, which was a real full circle moment for our team.
The awards were for the following categories:
Highly Commended for Best Lifestyle Piece: ‘UTIS: The What, The How, And The Why Me?’ by Lucy Spencer (Staff Writer)
Winner for Best Culture Piece: ‘Jimmy Hendrix to…Nothing? A History of Music at Sussex’ by Isabella Poderico (Arts Editor) and Harry Turnbull (Music Editor)
Winner for Rising Star (Best Newcomer): Semhar (Semi) Tesfazgy (Editor-in-Chief)
Highly Commended for Best Overall Digital: Maisie Knights (Social Media Manager and Books Editor)
Highly Commended for Billy Dowling Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment: Semhar (Semi) Tesfazgy (Editor-in-Chief)
We have worked incredibly hard over this year, slaving away to reinvigorate and revive The Badger from nothing. I am so proud of what we’ve achieved, and winning national awards after everything we’ve been through has been incredible. A massive thank you and shout out as well to Ada Carpenter (Shortlisted for Best Design), Cynthia Chan (Shortlisted for Best Interview), Zeeshan Tirmizi (Shortlisted for Best Photographer), Francesca Sylph (Shortlisted for Best Culture Writer) and Will Symons and Kian Sheygan (Shortlisted for Best Sports Section). I expect us to bring back even more for Sussex next academic year!