SJA BRITISH SPORTS JOURNALISM AWARDS 2014: The short-lists – Writing
More categories brought a record number of entries for the SJA awards this year, providing some tough choices for Tom Clarke and the judges in the sports writing categories.
The Sports Writer of the Year and Sports Newspaper of the Year are both voted for by panels which comprise of the heads of sport and sports editors of the national newspapers, agencies and some leading regionals.
The results of these will be announced together with all our other winners at our prestigious awards dinner in London on Monday, March 23, sponsored by BT Sport and where the SJA President, Sir Michael Parkinson, and Jim Rosenthal will welcome nearly 400 guests to the Grand Connaught Rooms to celebrate excellence in sports photography, broadcasting and writing from 2014.
The awards date back to 1976, and the past winners include some of the biggest names in British sports writing, photography and broadcasting.
Last year, Martin Samuel took the John Bromley Trophy for the fifth time, matching the achievement of his Daily Mail predecessor, Ian Wooldridge, and leaving him one notch behind the six-time Sports Writer of the Year, Hugh McIlvanney.
New categories for cricket, football and rugby writers attracted encouraging numbers of entries this year, while also opening up the Ladbrokes-sponsored Specialist Correspondent to those working in other areas. Particularly gratifying was the doubling of the number of entries from our hard-pressed Regional Sportswriters, hopefully attracted by the SJA’s committee’s offer of a free ticket to the awards dinner for the top six entrants.
In the main, the short-lists comprise six leading entrants in each category, although in some cases where the judging has been particularly close, we have named more on the short-list simply because it was impossible to split them on the judges’ point-scoring.
“Budgets are being trimmed, journalists, staff and freelance, are being off-loaded, deadlines are tighter, but the standard of British sports journalism is as good as ever – in some cases even better,” Tom Clarke, the chairman of the judges, said.
“The awards are growing in popularity and in prestige. We had a record 231 entries – every national newspaper title was represented – and there was strong support from regional newspapers, specialist journals, freelances and sports websites.
“We had a total of 84 judges spread over the 14 categories. The panel of judges included 48 active sports journalists, three former national newspaper editors and a dozen who have starred or are still starring in top-level sport. Between them, they have studied more than 1,000 pieces of work – and I salute them for their diligence and expertise.
“They have come up with short-lists that display a remarkable range of talent, some regulars on the SJA podium, others there for the first time. The awards dinner on March 23 looks like being an exciting evening.”
The short-lists, in no particular order, are:
Cricket Writer
Mike Atherton – The Times
Sclyd Berry – Telegraph
Nick Hoult – Telegraph
Jarrod Kimber – ESPN Cricinfo
Paul Newman – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
Vic Marks – Guardian
Investigative Sports Reporter
Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert – Sunday Times
David Conn – Guardian
Owen Gibson – Guardian
Nick Harris – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
Ed Hawkins – Freelance
Claire Newell and Holly Watt – Telegraph
Laureus Sports Website
BBC Sport
Guardian
Mail Online
Mirror Sport Online
Telegraph
The Times
Regional Writer
Jon Colman – CN Group
Mark Douglas – Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
Doug Gillon – The Herald, Glasgow
James Olley – London Evening Standard
Chris Wathan – Media Wales
Scott Wilson – The Northern Echo
Rugby Writer
Mick Cleary – Telegraph
Steve James – Telegraph
Stephen Jones – Sunday Times
Gavin Mairs – Telegraph
Sam Peters – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
Owen Slot – The Times
Football Writer
Matt Dickinson – The Times
Rob Draper – Mail on Sunday
James Ducker – The Times
Barney Ronay – Guardian
Rory Smith – The Times
Daniel Taylor – Guardian
Sam Wallace – The Independent
Henry Winter – Telegraph
Ladbrokes Specialist Correspondent
James Corrigan – Telegraph
Gareth Davies – Telegraph
Alan Lee – The Times
Paul Mahoney – Freelance
Vikki Orvice – The Sun
Jeff Powell – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
Simon Rowlands – Timeform
Sports Feature Writer
Oliver Brown – Telegraph
Paul Hayward – Telegraph
Donald McRae – Guardian
Jeff Powell – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
Martin Samuel – Daily Mail
David Walsh – Sunday Times
Sports News Reporter
Neil Ashton – Daily Mail
Nick Harris – Mail on Sunday
Nick Hoult – Telegraph
Matt Lawton – Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday
Ben Rumsby – Telegraph
Martyn Ziegler – Press Association
Sports Scoop
Rob Beasley – The Sun
Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert – Sunday Times
David Conn – Guardian
Paul Hayward – Telegraph
Matt Lawton – Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday
David McDonnell – Daily Mirror
Young Sports Writer
Nemesha Balasundaram – The Irish Post
Adam Crafton – Daily Mail
Tom Farmery – London Evening Standard
James Gheerbrant – BBC Sport / The Times
Jack Gaughan – Daily Mail
Daniel Johnson – Telegraph
Tim Wigmore – Freelance
Best Special Package
BBC Sport – Price of Football
Daily Mirror – Cheltenham
Racing Post – World Cup Betting Guide
Telegraph – Brazil 1 – Germany 7
The Times – For the Good of the Game
Thomson Reuters – Senna
Specialist Sports Website
Boxing News
CNN International
Project Babb
Racing UK
Sporting Intelligence
The Incider
Sports Columnist
Mike Atherton – The Times
Michael Calvin – Independent on Sunday
Patrick Collins – Mail on Sunday
Andy Dunn – Sunday Mirror
Daniel Harris – Freelance
Martin Samuel – Daily Mail
Matthew Syed – The Times
Danny Taylor – Guardian
Henry Winter – Telegraph
- Tomorrow: the SJA Sports Broadcasting Awards short-lists.
- Click here to see the short-lists for the SJA Sports Photography Awards
Note: The David Welch Student Sports Writer Award is administered separately. Its organisers will be announcing the short-list in due course
- The SJA is the largest member organisation of sports media professionals in the world. Join us: Click here for more details
UPCOMING SJA EVENTS
Mon Mar 23: SJA British Sports Journalism Awards, sponsored by BT Sport, at the Grand Connaught Rooms. Details of how to book your tickets can be found here
Wed, Apr 1: BT Sport/SJA lunch with Olympic champion rower Andrew Triggs Hodge. Booking details here
Mon Apr 13: SJA Spring Golf Day, Wimbledon Park GC. Booking details here
Mon Sep 14: SJA Autumn Golf Day, Muswell Hill Golf Club