News

New talents join established names on shortlists

Several of the country’s best-known sportswriters and broadcasters, including past winners Martin Samuel, of The Times, Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling and Patrick Collins of the Mail on Sunday, head the shortlists for the SJA’s 2007 British Sports Journalism Awards, with the prize winners set to be named at a gala dinner in London on March 17, the first major event in the SJA’s 60th anniversary year.

As well as the established names on the shortlists there are three budding sports journalists, working in three different parts of the trade, who have been shortlisted for the inaugural Young Sports Writer of the Year award for the Ian Wooldridge Trophy, named after one of sports journalism’s greatest writers, who died last year.

Oliver Brown, from the Daily Telegraph, Andy Bull of the website Guardian Unlimited and Paul Collins of the West Lothian local paper, the Linlithgowshire Journal & Gazette, have been invited take their places among the big guns of British sports journalism at the awards staged at The Brewery, Chiswell Street next month, supported by UK Sport and BT Vision.

Collins, 23, is taking a break from sportswriting to travel around the world. His last-known destinations were Vietnam and Cambodia, said a colleague at the Journal & Gazette.

Bull has also been shortlisted in another new category, the Internet Sportswriter of the Year.

Among last year’s winners who will be hoping to retain their awards are Patrick Collins (columnist), Paul Kimmage of The Sunday Times (interviewer), the Independent on Sunday‘s Alan Hubbard (diarist) and The Times, which won last year’s team award.

The 2006 cartoonists of the year, Kerber & Black of the Daily Mirror, have also been shortlisted, as have last year’s broadcasting successes, Stelling, the SJA’s Broadcaster of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and Radio 5Live’s SportsWeek programme.

“This year we had record entries in the writing and cartoon categories, with individual entries breaking the 200 barrier for the first time,” Peter Wilson, the chairman of the judging panels, said.

“It was also the first time we used serving sports editors as judges. They all bought into the concept with enthusiasm and, naturally, met their deadlines for voting. Plus we had former sports editors on board, who also provided a wealth of experience.”

The shortlist for the 2007 SJA Sportswriter of the Year, to be voted for by the national newspapers’ sports editors, will be announced next week.


Book your ticket for the 2007 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards – click here for details, including the members’ price discount

 


Category shortlists for the 2007 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards (listed in alphabetical order in each category)
Specialist Correspondent

Brian Doogan – The Sunday Times
Kevin Garside – Daily Telegraph
Neil Harman – The Times
Stephen Jones – The Sunday Times
Martin Samuel – The Times
Henry Winter – Daily Telegraph

Sports Columnist
Michael Atherton – The Sunday Telegraph
Simon Barnes – The Times
Patrick Collins – Mail on Sunday
Oliver Holt – Daily Mirror
Sue Mott – Daily Telegraph
Martin Samuel – The Times

Sports Feature Writer
Patrick Collins – Mail on Sunday
Paul Hayward – Daily Mail
Matthew Syed – The Times
David Walsh – The Sunday Times
Richard Williams – The Guardian

Sports Interviewer
Paul Kimmage – The Sunday Times
Matt Dickinson – The Times
Donald McRae – The Guardian
Matthew Syed – The Times
Ian Stafford – Mail on Sunday
Brian Viner – Independent

Regional Sportswriter
Mike Aitken – The Scotsman
Jon Colman – Cumberland News
Andy Neild – Lancashire Telegraph

Sports News Reporter
David Bond – Daily Telegraph
David Conn – The Guardian
Daniel King – Mail on Sunday
Neil Harman – The Times
Nick Harris – Independent
Martyn Ziegler – Press Association

Sports Diarist
Steve Anglesey – Daily Mirror
Alan Hubbard – Independent on Sunday
David James – Sunday Mirror
Paul Kelso – The Guardian
Charles Sale – Daily Mail
Martyn Ziegler – Press Association

Sports Story
Neil Harman – The Times – Henman to retire
Matt Lawton – Daily Mail – West Ham transfer row
Colin MacKenzie – Daily Mail – Fallon drugs shock
Simon Mullock – Sunday Mirror – Eriksson for Man City
David Norrie – News of the World – Freddy and the pedalo
Paul Smith – Sunday Mirror – Capello for England

Sports Team
Daily Mail – Steve McClaren sacking
Daily Telegraph – Rugby World Cup
The Guardian – Steve McClaren’s downfall
The Observer – 21st century sport
The Sunday Times – Tour de France
The Times – Bodyline 75 not out

Internet Sportswriter
Andy Bull – Guardian Unlimited
Paul Doyle – Guardian Unlimited
Ed Gorman – Times Online
Ian McNeilly – British Boxing.net
Simon Rothstein – The Sun Online
Matt Slater – BBC

Young Sports Writer
Oliver Brown – Daily Telegraph
Andy Bull – Guardian Unlimited
Paul Collins – Linlithgowshire Journal & Gazette

Sports Cartoonist
Kerber & Black – Daily Mirror
Pete McKee – Sheffield Telegraph
Nick Newman – The Sunday Times

Sports Broadcaster
Adrian Chiles (BBC)
Alan Green (BBC Radio 5Live)
Garry Richardson (BBC Radio)
Jim Rosenthal (ITV Sport)
Jeff Stelling (Sky Sports)
Martin Tyler (Sky Sports)

Sports Programme
Inside Sport (BBC)
Match of the Day (BBC)
Sports Report (BBC Radio 5Live)
Rugby World Cup Coverage (ITV)
Soccer Saturday (Sky)
SportsWeek (BBC Radio 5Live)

The shortlists for the 2007 SJA British Sports Photography Awards were announced at the weekend. Click on this link to view.

First posted on Feb 26


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