For the first time in Sussex University’s history, The Badger walked away from The Student Publication Association’s (SPA) regional awards with the honour of being named Best Publication in the South East!
This announcement followed an exciting day out at SPA’s regional journalism conference, hosted in City St George’s University of London, which included a fantastic and informative panel from journalists at various stages in their careers. This was followed by a talk from Deputy Chief Reporter of The Times, Ben Ellery. He talked us through his journey into the industry providing valuable insight about the world of modern journalism. He then recounted stories of his time working specifically in undercover investigative journalism and crime reporting, giving students a peek behind the curtain into a more elusive side of the industry.
Lastly, City St George’s University provided a journalism lecture, thoroughly explaining the do’s and don’ts of conducting a successful interview. Students from the nominated publications, in both the South East and London, were also given time to mingle and connect, sharing our work with one another; picking up publication tips and making new friends along the way!
Then came the moment we had all been waiting for… the awards. Due to scheduling difficulties, nominees from both the South East and London shared an award evening, doubling the amount of announcements to get through. However, this only led to more shared joy and excitement as each category’s winners were announced.
The first win of the night was awarded to The Badger’s own, Fi Muncaster, for Best Photography. The Badger has invested a lot of time into creating a cohesive visual identity this year and Fi’s work, not only as a photographer, but also as Head of the Photography department has been vital in creating and maintaining this vision.
Shortly after, our brilliant Editor in Chief, Isabel Cattermole, was highly commended for her Outstanding Commitment. Despite it being Isabel’s first year as part of the senior committee, she has jumped headfirst into the role, her unbridled determination and perseverance compensating for any lack of prior experience. As Editor-in-Chief, Isabel manages over 250 people, from student writers to her senior committee team; she handles challenges with grace and confidence, always finding solutions or compromises that allow the paper to continue publishing smoothly. Despite recent funding cuts, Isabel has ensured our newspaper remains a priority and continues to receive the financial support it needs so that we can continue to report on the stories that matter. She is the glue that holds The Badger together, and this award is a testament to her hard work and complete commitment.
Friends of the senior committee and past Badger journalists, Marianne Carney and Harry Turnbull were also awarded for their outstanding commitment in the London category for their work in setting up and running a completely new paper, The Pigeon, at UAL. Despite the fact that we are now rivals, we cannot wait to see them again at Nationals!
The last award of the night was awarded to The Badger for Best Publication, with the judging panel stating, “This publication has worked through funding issues in novel and creative ways, all the while encouraging new participation and continuing to cover stories most important to students”. This win felt directly representative of all the talent and dedication our wonderful team possesses and generously shares with readers. There is so much that goes into publishing our paper every month and this recognition reminded us of how valuable all our work behind the scenes truly is.
Since attending this event, The Badger has been shortlisted for eight National awards and the senior committee is looking forward to representing Sussex at a National level in Norwich this month!
Conference photos taken by Joe McFadden