Smedias: DCU scoops Newspaper of the Year award at online event

Dublin City University's The College View was named Newspaper of the Year at the 2021 National Student Media Awards on Wednesday.

The fortnightly publication is run voluntarily by students at the university since 1999 and currently edited by Aoibhin Meghen. The newspaper took the Irish Times-sponsored award as judged by news editor Mark Hennessy.

Queen’s University Belfast came out on top with a total of seven awards including Radio Documentary of the Year, Journalist of the Year - National Media, Radio Production of the Year - News & Current Affairs, Radio Journalist of the Year, Podcast of the Year, Iriseoireacht trí Ghaeilge - Raidió and the prestigious EPA Award for Journalism Relating to the Environment.

Trinity College Dublin was close runners up with six awarads. TU Dublin, UCD and UCC each had four.

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Awards of note included TU Dublin’s Editor of the Year; the University of Limerick’s Journalist of the Year and Sports Writer of the Year.

In the year of the pandemic, the 21st annual Smedias were hosted online via YouTube and Facebook livestreams. They celebrated the work of over 260 nominees in 43 highly contested categories. This year's awards saw a 60 per cent increase in entries.

Hosted by Oxygen.ie, they showcase journalism across radio and television production, as well as in writing, and are judged by prominent figures within the Irish industry.

"We are delighted to have another successful year of the Smedia's, even in an unprecedented situation that we are all living in today," said Oxygen.ie manager Ciara Mahon.

This year's judges also included award-winning director and screenwriter Robbie Walsh, social media star James Kavanagh and various editors and producers from leading media organisations.