SMEDIAS - Student Media Awards - a night of success for the School of Media students
School of Media Celebrates Achievements at the Student Media Awards - SMEDIAS
It was a night of success at the annual student media awards, the Smedias, with students and graduates from the School bringing home five of the prestigious awards for collaborative and individual excellence.
Magazine editor Aoife Daly was interviewed on RTÉ News to celebrate the work of her team in picking up the Magazine of the Year award. Her fourth year BA Journalism colleagues on the magazine were Ruben McCarthy, Leon Thompson, Alicia Smith, Elio Bonelli, Mia Waterhouse, Ella Lynch, Wiktoria Sobzak, Juliet Franklin and Renee Melia. The magazine was produced under the guidance of staff members Ian Kilroy, with layout and design input from Patrick Murphy.
It was also a night of celebration for the Film and Broadcasting degree with Juliana Cooper’s Short Story of the Year award one of four awards garnered.
Third-year Film and Broadcast student Britney Madondo was awarded the Radio DJ of The Year award for her world music show. Sadbh Downes, recognised with Podcast of The Year for her podcast on sustainable eating, was also shortlisted for Radio Journalist of the Year. Recent graduate Jodie Dempsey picked up the award for Radio Production of The Year for Arts & Features for her audio documentary ‘The Dempsey's Den’ which explored men’s mental health during the pandemic. Jodie was also nominated in the Radio Documentary of the Year category. All three completed their work under Pat Hannon.
In a very successful year for the School, which saw it tie for joint-second with UCD after Trinity College for the number of awards won, there were also nominations for:
- Jack Dempsey (Film & Broadcasting) – Podcast of the Year
- Niamh Hanley (Film & Broadcasting graduate) – Short Film of the Year
- Diana Lazar (Journalism) – Radio Documentary of the Year and TV Production of the Year
- Reuben McCarthy (Journalism) – Virgin Media Belonging Award
- Viacheslav Miasnykov (Photography) – Photographer of the Year
- Liam Murphy (Journalism) – Sports Photographer of the Year and News Photographer of the Year
- Jason Quigley (Journalism) – Journalism Relating to Health
- Leon Thompson (Journalism) – Journalism Relating to Health
Head of the School of Media Dr Caroline O’Sullivan paid tribute to the winners, nominees and staff: 'We are very proud of all of the students in the School of Media who never cease to amaze us with their creativity and talent. The students, graduates and staff who were recognised for their excellence at this year’s awards continue the proud tradition of the School in producing excellent, industry ready media practitioners, and we look forward to seeing the future successes we know they will enjoy.’
Colman Byrne, organiser of the awards, acknowledged that even a nomination is ‘a serious advantage from a career point of view’. Now in their 24th year, the Smedias have been a launch pad for many School graduates who have excelled in a range of media endeavours.