UNIVERSITY of Limerick journalism students have their sights set on scooping awards having been nominated for a dozen in the national Student Media Awards (SMEDIAS).
Limerick Voice, the award-winning UL multimedia news platform, has been shortlisted in several different categories including Best Newspaper, Best Layout and Design, and Website of the Year.
UL’s Eclectic magazine, produced by second-year journalism students, has been nominated for Magazine of the Year.
The Limerick Voice newspaper and online editor Jack McKay and Magdalena Tanneberger have both been nominated for Editor of the Year. Sports reporter John O’Donnell has been nominated for Sportswriter of the Year along with Jack McKay, while fourth-year journalism student Leah Hogarty and Alison Reeves have been shortlisted for Podcast of the Year.
Limerick Voice features editor Annemarie Roberts and multimedia reporters Emma McCarthy and Alan White were nominated in the category of Journalism Relating to Health.
Limerick Voice multimedia reporter Anna Powell was shortlisted in three separate categories including, Journalist of the Year (Nationalt Media), Radio Production of the Year in News and Current Affairs, and for the Joe Drennan RSA Award for journalism relating to road safety – an award named after UL journalism student Joe Drennan who died tragically in October 2023.
The awards are the largest competition of their kind in Ireland, dedicated to recognising and celebrating the next generation of media talent.
Open to students from every college across Ireland, the awards are judged by key media industry leaders including Mark Hennessey, Ireland and Britain Editor of the Irish Times.
Dr Kathryn Hayes, course director of the BA Journalism and Digital Communication at UL, who oversees the Limerick Voice project each year, said she is extremely proud to see so many nominations for students across the undergraduate programme.
“A newspaper publication and digital news project like Limerick Voice is more than just an assignment—it’s a real-world newsroom experience that challenges final-year journalism students to think critically, report responsibly, and engage their audience with impactful storytelling and particularly the importance of campaign journalism,” she added.
The 25th National Student Media Awards take place on Wednesday April 9 at the Mansion House in Dublin.
