Success for Journalism graduate at Independent Radio Awards

By UK Journalism

A UCLan Journalism graduate has won News Programme of the Year at the prestigious Independent Radio Awards.

Lucy Watson also been nominated for a Sony Radio Academy Award, radio’s answer to the Oscars, which will be announced later this month.

She completed her postgraduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at UCLan in 2006 and currently works as a production journalist at ITV Central. However, it was a news item Lucy did whilst working at Century Radio in Manchester which caught the ears of the judges.

Challenge stereotypes

On the anniversary of the shooting of Jesse James, Lucy braved the notorious estates of Manchester to uncover the real story behind gun crime in the city. What she discovered has gone some way to challenging stereotypical views of those involved in gun gangs and she described the experience as “mind blowing.”

“These kids have had really terrible childhoods. There was one guy I met who was living in a hostel and had never had any contact with his mum or dad. What I tried to do was not to be judgemental but to try and find out why he was involved in gun crime.

“Everything I uncovered about him went against the stereotype of a thug- he was very articulate and proud of the fact he was surviving without any help. He was 17.”

“I also interviewed some women who had become caught up in the gun scene when they were younger but were now trying to help those trying to reform. They showed me some films which demonstrated to young people how to convert replica guns into real firearms using school laboratories.

“They had set up an organisation called ‘Next Generation’ to help youngsters out of gangs and the gun scene…and they were still only 20 themselves. They were very inspirational and I became really passionate about getting to the truth.”

Sony Radio Academy Awards

As well as her success at the IRN awards Lucy’s investigative gun crime story has also been nominated for the News Feature Category of the Sony Radio Academy Awards.

Lucy said: “When I did the piece, everyone at Century was teasing me, saying that there was a Sony in it. So I couldn’t believe it when I was nominated. I have the shakes when I think about it”

She said her proudest moment was when Jesse James’s mother, with whom she had struck up a friendship, contacted her to say thank-you for covering the truth behind gun crime and gangs.

“I felt really proud when Jesse’s mother thanked me personally. It made all the hard work worthwhile”.

Lucy also wanted to thank the journalism staff at UCLan.

She said: “I couldn’t have done it without them. When I was thinking about a career in journalism I didn’t even apply anywhere else. The contacts you make and the skills you learn at UCLan are second to none. I’d recommend the department to anyone who wants a serious career in journalism”.

We wish Lucy every success in the Sony awards announced later this month.

More info
MA Broadcast Journalism
PGDip Broadcast Journalism
Sony Radio Academy Awards
Century Radio

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Extra and related information

Our print and broadcast courses are accredited by the The Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Our MA Magazine Journalism is accredited by the Periodicals Training Council.