Association of British Science Writers - Shortlist Announced for 2013 Journalism Awards

The judging panel has met and decided the shortlists for the Association of British Science Writers’ Awards for Britain and Ireland 2013.   Connie St Louis, President of the ABSW and Programme Director, MA Science Journalism, City University, London said: ‘This year there was an extremely strong field of entries in most categories, most notably in features.  This was hard work for the panel of judges, but a clear indication that British and Irish science writers continue to produce outstanding work.’  

However, there were exceptions, within the news category there was a disappointingly low number of entries and the judges felt that many of those entering had not entered their best work from 2012.   The judges felt the work entered did not truly reflect the excellence in science news journalism in the UK and decided that they would make a ‘judges award for news’ in 2013.  The judges therefore nominated the work they felt was outstanding from 2012 and these nominations were considered alongside those entered.  Commenting on this decision Connie St Louis said: ‘I will be talking to science news journalists to see how best to move forward with this category to make it easier for journalists to enter their very best work, so that our news award truly reflects the work of the UK’s talented and experienced science news journalists’.  

The investigative journalism category was again a disappointingly low number of entries and as was the case in 2012 the judges decided one entry stood head and shoulders above the rest, with the other entries not meeting their basic criteria for an investigation.  There is therefore no shortlist for this category, just one winner (see below).  Explaining this decision Connie St Louis said. ‘We are well on the way to developing an ABSW investigative science journalism fellowship to support investigative journalism in science and hope to make this open to candidates in the very near future.’  

The winners will be announced at an Awards ceremony on Thursday 20^th June in London.

ABSW Science Writers’ Awards for Britain and Ireland 2013 Shortlist

Judges award for news

Declan Butler. Flu surveillance lacking. Nature. 28/3/12

Geoff Brumfiel. Fukushima’s doses tallied. Nature. 23/5/12

Nick Collins. Carpark skeleton will be confirmed as Richard III. Telegraph. 15/12/12

Ian Sample. Higgs boson: it's unofficial! Cern scientists discover missing particle. Guardian. 4/7/12

Best feature

Catherine de Lange. My two minds. New Scientist. 5/5/12

Leigh Phillips. Armed Resistance. Nature. 30/8/12

Kerri Smith. The ground breaker. Nature. 6/9/12

Best scripted/edited television programme or online video

Panorama: The mind reader, unlocking my voice. BBC 1. 13/11/12

Team entry:Eleanor Plowden (assistant producer), Alison Priestley (producer), Frank Simmonds (deputy editor, Panorama), Fergus Walsh (reporter)

The Enemy within: 50 years of fighting cancer. Cancer Research UK/Vimeo. 4/12/12

Team entry:Vivienne Parry (writer and presenter), Richard Critchlow (producer), Kat Arney (research)

Voyager: To the final frontier. BBC 4. 24/10/13

Team entry:Mark Hedgecoe (executive producer), Yvonne Innes (production co-ordinator), Chris Riley (producer/director), Gary Scott (editor)

The Royal Society Radio Prize - A prize for the best scripted/edited radio programme or podcast

Dear Professor Hawking. BBC Radio 4. 2/1/12

Team entry:Julian Mayers (producer), Peter Nichols (director), Nick Romero (sound designer)

Digital Human. BBC Radio 4. 30/4/12

Team entry:Kate Bissell (producer), Dr Aleks Krotoski (presenter), Victoria McArthur (producer), Peter McManus (producer)

Transit of Venus: Frontiers. BBC Radio 4. 30/5/12

Individual entry: Marek Kukula

Best investigative journalism

Winner:

Anil Ananthaswamy. Do no harm. www.readmatter.com. 14/11/12

NB:  Due to the standard of entries in 2013 the judges decided not to produce a shortlist but just to award a winner

Richard Gregory Award for Best newcomer

Will Douglas Heaven

Penny Sarchet

Adam Smith

The NUJ Stephen White Award for best communication of science in a non science context

Frank Close. Sun Block. Prospect Magazine.13/12/12

GM’s New Generation: A Countryfile Investigation. BBC 1 TV.  15/7/13

Team entry:Dom Carveley (director), Matthew Gull (producer), Tom Heap (presenter), Helen Shields (researcher)

Michelle Martin. Earworms. BBC Radio 4. 22/10/12

Life Time Achievement Award

NB: There is no short list for the Award as ABSW members nominate and the ABSW Board decide upon the winner.  The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.

The ABSW Science Writers’ Awards for Britain and Ireland 2013 attracted nearly 120 entries.  An independent panel of science journalists and science communicators chaired by the President of the ABSW Connie St Louis, judged the entries based on originality, appeal to a broad audience, novelty of subject matter, likely impact, style, content, entertainment, balance and depth of reporting. The awards are sponsored by Janssen Research and Development. 

Award winners will receive a certificate and a small cash prize and enter the ABSW hall of fame that includes previous Award winners Sir David Attenborough, Sir John Maddox (Nature), and Judith Hann (BBC Tomorrow’s World).

Full details of the rules and regulations for the awards and a full list of judges can be found at http://www.absw.org.uk/jobs-awards/awards

Copies of the shortlisted articles/broadcasts will be posted here shortly