UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards 2018 – Ten journalists recognised for excellence in business journalism
Ireland’s leading business journalists were recognised today at the 12th annual UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards held at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. The awards, which recognise excellence in business journalism – in print, broadcast and online formats – were sponsored by Bank of Ireland and run in conjunction with the Business Journalists Association of Ireland.
The winners of the six categories for 2018 are:
- Business News Story – Dearbhail McDonald, Shane Phelan & Samantha McCaughren, Sunday Independent for their submission: “ODCE claims INM data taken off site and 'interrogated' but 'board did not know’”.
- Economic Commentator/Business Analyst – Stephen Kinsella, The Sunday Business Post for his two submissions, one on “Ireland’s Generation Game” and the second entitled: “Taxes, Tweets, and Multinationals. An international problem we need to solve domestically”.
- Business Feature – Tom Lyons, Sunday Business Post for his submission on “Siteserv: Anatomy of a deal”.
- Specialist Business Reporter – Fiona Reddan, The Irish Times for her two submissions, one on securing a State pension with the second entitled: “Teacher, nurse, average earner – what house could they buy in 1995, what can they buy today?”.
- Business Interview – Laura Slattery, The Irish Times for her interview with Mike Bloomberg: “Make America Great Again? It’s never been greater”.
- Upcoming Journalist of the Year – Jointly awarded to Peter Hamilton, The Irish Times and Amy Molloy, Irish Independent.
In addition to the six categories listed above, an Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Tony Connelly of RTÉ for his contribution to business journalism, in particular, his reporting on key events in Europe and how they impact on economic affairs, business and society. In presenting the award to Tony, Breege O’Donoghue, Chair of the panel of judges spoke of his ability to quickly digest the geo-political complexities of rapidly changing events such as the financial crisis and, more recently, Brexit and making them both comprehensible and vivid, with human interest testimony at the fore in communicating the profound impact these events will have on business, economic affairs and society in this country and beyond our shores.
In winning this award Tony joins a distinguished group of eight previous Outstanding Achievement Awardees: Frank Fitzgibbon; Brendan Keenan; Cliff Taylor; Damien Kiberd; Richard Curran; Matt Cooper; Charlie Weston; and last year’s awardee, Ingrid Miley.
Professor Anthony Brabazon, Dean, UCD College of Business, said: “Now in its twelfth year, these awards remain an important initiative for UCD Smurfit School as we seek to acknowledge the very best of business journalism, work which enriches the public’s understanding of critical issues of the day and how they impact business and society. The individual and collective endeavours of business journalists are hugely important in an increasingly uncertain and complex world where independent, trusted and high-quality business journalism plays an increasingly crucial role.”
Francesca McDonagh, Group CEO of the award's sponsor, Bank of Ireland added: "Bank of Ireland is delighted to partner with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in sponsoring this awards programme and extend our congratulations to today's award winners. These awards give us an opportunity to stand back for a moment and reflect on the critical importance of media and the role it plays in our society. And, they showcase the versatility and capability of Irish business journalists who - irrespective of broadcast or publication format - deliver reporting of the highest standard."
This year’s independent judging panel comprised of business, journalism, economic and academic leaders: Breege O’Donoghue, Chair of Design and Craft Council of Ireland, Chair of Real World Analytics & Former Board Member at Primark. (Chair); Jim Aughney, media and financial consultant; Patrick Blayney, Chairman, Aviation Leasing, Finance and Law, UCD; Pat Costello, former CEO of Chartered Accountants Ireland; Aidan Cotter, Chairman, Slaney Foods and former Chief Executive of Bord Bia; Alison Cowzer, co-founder of East Coast Bakehouse; Professor Gerardine Doyle, Associate Dean & Director of UCD Smurfit School; Vivienne Jupp, formerly of Accenture and Chair of CIE; Professor Mary Lambkin, Professor of Marketing UCD College of Business; Jerry Liston, former Chairman of UCD Smurfit School; Aileen O’Toole, co-founder of The Sunday Business Post and Non-Executive Director; and Rodney Rice, retired broadcaster, RTÉ.