The British Journalism Awards 2012: Finalists revealed

More than 200 entries have been received for the first Press Gazette British Journalism Awards, to be held at Stationers’ Hall in London on 4 December.

And today Press Gazette can exclusively reveal the awards finalists.

The British Journalism Awards pits broadcasters, national and regional press, B2B publishers and online-only publishers against each other for the first time. All the major national publishers and broadcasters submitted entries.

Uniquely for a national journalism prize of this kind, the awards emphasise journalism which is interesting to the public and in the public interest.

Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford said: “The genesis for these awards was the hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry. If ever an industry needs some positive PR the journalism industry does.

“We knew there was far more important public interest journalism going on in the UK than our much-maligned colleagues get credit for and, like many others, Press Gazette has noted that Lord Justice Leveson saw mainly a one-sided and negative picture during his inquiry.

“The finalists for the first British Journalism Awards prove comprehensively that there are two sides to this story.

“The standard of entries was superb, with the investigation of the year category alone attracting more than 40 high-quality entries.

“These shortlists should make anyone who characterises all journalists as gutter hacks eat their words. They are proof that we are part of a noble profession that now, as much as ever, aspires to and achieves the highest ethical and professional standards.

"Huge thanks are due to all the judges for donating their time to this event and to lead sponsor Asda and the Stationers' Company for their generous support."

Every entry for the British Journalism Awards was considered in advance and during a day-long judging session at Stationers’ Hall on 23 October.

The British Journalism Awards will be held at Stationers' Hall on 4 December from 7pm. Entry is free and by invite only. Those wishing to attend should britishjournalismawards@pressgazette.co.uk. For sponsorship inquiries contact James Olweny on 020 7336 5219.

British Journalism Awards judging session at Stationers' Hall

The judges were:

Director of the Society of Editors Bob Satchwell
Professor emeritus of journalism at Sheffield University and former deputy editor of The Guardian Peter Cole
Fleet Street’s first female editor Lori Miles
Former Sunday Times Insight journalist Phillip Knightley
Former Sunday Times magazine editor Robin Morgan
Former editor of Today and of the BBC College of Journalism Kevin Marsh
Former Daily Mirror editor David Banks
Head of journalism at City University and former managing editor of The Times George Brock
Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford

The finalists (whose work will appear in the online British Journalism Awards hall of fame) are:

Investigation of the year

Alexi Mostrous and Fay Schlesinger (The Times) – Tax avoidance investigation
Andrew Norfolk (The Times) – Child grooming
Chris Woods (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) – Covert War on Terror
Channel 4 News – Suspended doctors still working
Jon Austin (Basildon Echo) – Dale Farm travellers’ site coverage
Nina Lakhani and Andrew Buncombe (The Independent)- How Western pharmaceutical companies use guinea pigs in India
Paul Lewis and Rob Evans (Guardian News and Media) – Police infiltration of the protest movement
Leigh Marles (The Wirral Globe) – Justice for Martin and for taxpayers

Breaking news award (for the best story of the year)

Alexi Mostrous and Fay Schesinger (The Times) – Tax avoidance revelations.
Andrew Gregory and Steve Back/Political Pictures (Daily Mirror) – Oliver’s Barmy, revelation that Cabinet minister Oliver Letwin was dumping secret documents in a park bin
Rupert Neate (Guardian News and Media) – Liam Fox quits, and coverage of the Fox-Werrity scandal)
Gareth Iacobucci (Pulse Magazine) – Clinical commissioning group calls on PM to drop the Health Bill
The Guardian – Assad emails exposed
Jon Ungoed-Thomas (The Sunday Times) – Google grabs secrets of our private lives
Sunday Times Insight Team – Cash for Cameron: cosy club buys the PM’s ear
Stuart Ramsay (Sky News) – Reports from the frontline of the Syrian civil war

Political journalist of the year

Andy Grice (The Independent)
David Hencke (Exaro)
Jane Merrick (The Independent on Sunday)
Patrick Wintour (Guardian News and Media)
Rachel Sylvester (The Times)
Simon Walters (Mail on Sunday)

New journalist of the year (for journalists who have been in the profession three years or less)

Charlie Cooper (The Independent)
Emma Slater (The BBC/Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
Halina Watts (The People)
Kevin Rawlinson (The Independent)
Niall McCracken (The Detail)
Sarah Morrison (The Independent on Sunday)

Photojournalist of the year

Dan Kitwood (Getty Images)
Leo Maguire (Freelance for The Sunday Times magazine)
Matt Cardy (Getty Images)
Oli Scarff (Getty Images)
Peter Macdiarmid (Getty Images)
Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures ( The Sunday Times magazine)

Innovation of the year

The Times – Cities Fit for Cycling Project
Channel 4 News – No Go Britain (multimedia campaign highlighting the problems faced by disabled transport users)
John Dale – 24 Hours in Journalism book and investigative project
Guardian News and Media – Reading the Riots project
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Channel 4 Dispatches App