DCU student nets top honour at media awards

MICHAEL McHale may not be a household name yet, but after last night the aspiring journalist is one step closer to becoming as well-known as Miriam O’Callaghan, Ryan Tubridy, and other top professionals across the country.

At a high-profile ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House, the young DCU student was named Journalist of the Year at the latest instalment of the National Student Media Awards.

Before becoming editor of the College View, Michael worked as a news reporter and section editor for the college publication.

Among the other finalists for the award, sponsored by the Irish Examiner, were Jennifer Bray (UCD); Karina Bracken (UCD); Deirdre Robinson (Trinity); and Tadgh Moriarty (UCD).

However, while the three aspiring writers left last night’s ceremony empty-handed, another 31 aspiring journalists joined Michael in celebration after coming out on top in a series of other categories.

Among the winners of the other categories were Martin McKenna, who was named editor of the year for his work on the Trinity News; Agnieazka Bernacka, who won the website of the year category for Griffith College; and Gareth McCreevy of Queens University Belfast, for society publication of the year.

The National Student Media Awards has been organised to reward outstanding journalistic practice in the next generation of entrants to the profession and is widely seen as an indicator of new trends in journalism, with a continued focus this year on website reporting and specialist areas.