Sussex student newspaper, The Badger, was recognised in multiple categories at the Student Publication Association’s national awards. 

At a ceremony in Bristol on 13 April, Semhar (Semi) Tesfazgy, Editor-in-Chief of The Badger, won the prestigious Rising Star award. She was also highly commended for the Billy Dowling-Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment. 

Harry Turnbull and Isabella Poderico won the Best Arts or Culture Piece award for their reflection on the history of music at Sussex. Social Media Manager Maisie Knights was highly commended in the Best Overall Digital Media category, while Lucy Spencer was highly commended for Best Lifestyle Piece for her article on Urinary Tract Infections. 

Several more team members were recognised across the award categories: Zeeshan Tirmizi (shortlisted for Best Photographer), Francesca Sylph (shortlisted for Best Culture Writer), Kian Sheygan (representing the shortlisted Sports section) and Cynthia Chan (shortlisted for Best Interview).

These achievements also reflect the hard work of the senior editorial team (Ada Carpenter, Francesca Sylph, Maisie Knights, Akanksha Pandey, Will Gaffney and Anna Hills) throughout the academic year. 

The 2024 awards attracted more than 1,200 entries. Nominations were judged by top editors and journalists from media organisations including the BBC, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Sky News, The Guardian and The Times. Judges commented on the high standards of work submitted, saying many pieces would fit perfectly into national publications. 

Semi Tesfazgy said: “Attending the Student Publication Association awards has been a game-changing experience for both myself and the publication. Coming from such humble beginnings as a small four-person team, to winning five national awards in the span of seven months was something we could have never even imagined when starting out, but here we are! 

“Looking to the future for The Badger newspaper, we have a lot on the horizon. Our current News Editor, Abi Summers, will be taking over my role as Editor-in-Chief, and I can assure you The Badger is being left in good hands. 

“We are hoping to increase the number of editions released next year, along with the number of platforms you can find The Badger on. We will also be significantly growing our committee team to streamline the editing process, and we are sifting through their applications as I speak.” 

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The Badger publishes content at thebadgeronline.com. They can also be found on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.