Sunderland student crowned UK's Column Idol
Released: Monday 28th October 2013 at 11:13
A Sunderland journalism
student has been crowned winner of The Sun's Column Idol 2013 competition.
Rebecca Stubbs, a final-year News Journalism student at the
University of Sunderland, to claim the title Column Idol 2013, launched by
national charity Media Trust, The Sun and The Scottish Sun, to find raw,
undiscovered writing talent and get young voices heard.
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| Rebecca Stubbs |
Rebecca’s entry beat off competition from more than 400 other
budding columnists, to make the shortlist of five. She impressed the judging
panel, which included The Sun’s Editor David Dinsmore and television presenter
Lorraine Kelly, for her ‘wicked humour’ and ‘feisty attitude’ during a
presentation.
In the run up to her presentation Rebecca has been mentored
by Jennifer Tippett, Sun Woman Writer at The Sun, who worked closely with her
as she developed her column idea.
Rebecca’s prize is having her column printed in the UK’s biggest
selling newspaper The Sun at the weekend.
Rebecca, 20, from Burnley, Lancashire,
said: “Winning Column Idol was absolutely amazing. I was so proud of my column
and I couldn't have done it without my mentor Jen. It's my dream to be a
national journalist, so to see my column in the biggest newspaper in the
country is a dream come true. Column Idol was a fantastic experience and
learning curve for me. It will hopefully open up opportunities for me to pursue
my career ambition of becoming a journalist”
She added: “I’m a proud feminist and wanted to voice my
views on the much talked about topic, football. Everyone from politicians to TV
presenters are putting their two pennies worth in. I think it’s about time
young women had a voice too.
“I want people to read my column and either agree or
disagree. The worst thing would be if they didn’t care either way.”
Rebecca says the whole experience has been fantastic and a
huge opportunity as her goal is to eventually be a journalist on a national
newspaper. She is the fourth person to win the annual contest.
Rebecca says she credits the writing skills she’s been
developing on her degree course, which helped her standout among the other
entries from across the UK.
Chris Rushton, Head of Journalism & Public Relations at
the University of
Sunderland, said:
"We’re delighted for Rebecca, whose personality and writing skills
obviously shone through. She has beaten off hundreds of rivals to win this
coveted title.
"We are so proud and pleased that millions of The Sun
readers saw the result of Rebecca’s hard work during two years studying
journalism at Sunderland. She is a credit not
only to herself, but also to the teaching staff here."
Column Idol 2013, is fronted by Myleene Klass and Amy
Macdonald, and the competition offers 16-25 year olds the chance to be mentored
by top journalists and have their opinions read by millions.
This year there were two places for budding young writers to
be crowned Column Idol 2013. As well as rolling out the search across England and Wales for the fourth consecutive
year with The Sun, this year’s competition was also launched with The Scottish
Sun.
The 10 finalists battled it out for the two top spots – one
Column Idol for each title. Journalists from across the two papers have been
mentoring the finalists, helping them polish their ideas and supporting them as
they write their columns.
To enter, entrants had to submit a short description about
themselves, what they’d like to write about and why they deserve to be crowned
Column Idol 2013.
There were six finalists selected from across England and Wales
and four selected from Scotland.
David Dinsmore, Editor of The Sun, said: “The standard of
entries was extremely high and all the finalists were really inspirational, so
it was a difficult choice, but in the end the judges were unanimous in their
praise for Rebecca. Her final column is extremely well written, entertaining
and thought provoking and she should be really proud of what she has
achieved."
Katie Lloyd, Deputy Chief Executive, Media Trust, said: “We
are delighted to partner with The Sun on Column Idol for the third year running
and continue to see The Sun supporting young people in such a positive way.
Rebecca is a deserving winner and impressed the judges with her column and
confident pitch.”
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