Sports Journalism Student wins prestigious NCTJ Award

(Pictured L-R: Alexander Smith, Best Student Project nominee, Pete Leydon, MA Sports Journalism Lecturer and Jack Kinsella, Best Student Project award winner)

Jack Kinsella has won 'Best Student Project'

MA Sports Journalism Student, Jack Kinsella has won the ‘Best Student Project’ at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence.

Alexander Smith, another LJMU MA Sports Journalism student was also one of the three to be shortlisted for the award. 

Hundreds of NCTJ accredited students from across the UK entered their projects into the awards and it was Jack’s documentary project, Widnes Vikings: More than a Club, which was announced the winner, at a ceremony held in Twickenham. 

The documentary project, in Jack’s hometown, Widnes, took five months to complete and explored some of the club’s significant struggles through talking to past and present players and staff. 

On winning ‘Best Student Project’ Jack Kinsella said:

“When I heard my name announced at the awards, I was over the moon, I just felt really appreciated and proud of what I had created and thankful for the people who had helped me along the way." 

“As I’m now pursuing a career within a filmmaking direction, it feels really good to have won an award for a visual project that I planned and created.” 

Pete Leydon, Sport Journalism Lecturer who attended the awards said: “Jack’s success is testament to his talent and hard work, and we are all really proud of him in the LJMU Journalism department.” 

Jack is currently working as a freelance cinematographer and runner in the North West. He hopes to continue working on more documentary projects, applying his journalism skills and love for filmmaking after he graduates later this month. 

Francesca Yeoman, Programme Leader, Journalism at LJMU, said: “The fact that with Jack and Alex, we had two of the three finalists for this prestigious award, is a great endorsement for our MA courses, which are only in their second year. It’s also testament to the hard work of Pete Leydon and the whole MA teaching team. We’ve had fantastic jobs outcomes so far from these MA courses and look forward to seeing what our brilliant graduates go on to do next.” 

Find out more about the MA Sports Journalism course or LJMU’s Liverpool Screen School.