Class of 2025 multimedia journalism graduate Emma Butterworth won student feature of the year at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence.
The annual awards highlight the achievements of individuals with promising journalism careers ahead of them and those doing outstanding work in the media.
This year’s event was hosted by Sky Sports News presenter Hannah Wilkes at the Brighton Dome, sponsored by Reuters.
Emma, a journalist at Reach, said: “It feels reassuring to be reminded that hard work does pay off!
“This also goes to show just how important the constant guidance and support offered to me at News Associates and The School of Journalism was.
“Top notch training from the best in the business!”
You can read Emma’s winning stories here:
‘I always thought vaping couldn’t hurt me’: Are e-cigarettes really a safer alternative?
Hidden barriers: Analysing inequalities in further education from personal anecdotes
Well done to @NewsAssociates student, Emma Butterworth for winning the Student Feature of the Year award, sponsored by Mark Allen Group 👏
Emma’s features tackled significant social issues, from the dangers of vaping among young people to the barriers faced by students from… pic.twitter.com/YVbnbWLrY9
— NCTJ (@NCTJ_news) March 24, 2026
Fellow School of Journalism graduate Mia Williams (It’s Gone Viral content editor) was commended in the student videojournalism category of the awards.
You can watch Mia’s documentary ‘Silent Struggles: Exploring The Gender Health Gap’ here.
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News Associates and The School of Journalism course director Graham Moody said: “I am delighted to see so many of our trainees being recognised for their hard work.
“It’s great to see a range of journalism being celebrated.”
Elsewhere, five other News Associates grads took home awards.
News Associates and The School of Journalism course leader Tom Holmes said: “Massive congratulations to all our trainees and grads.
“This is a testament to the News Associates team’s dedication to journalism training.”