London, Monday, March 6. The London Learning Consortium (LLC) has joined forces with The Media Society, a charity that promotes debate and discussion about media matters, to launch a competition to support aspiring journalists.
Dubbed ‘London Voices’ the project aims to support and promote emerging journalism and media talent across the city and to generate new perspectives and ideas about London.
It is hoped that the entries will also help to stimulate debate and challenge the ways Londoners think about their communities by reflecting views across a range of journalistic media.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for young people, in particular, in London who have an ambition to become a journalist to showcase their talent to experienced practitioners,” said Richard Peel, The Media Society President. “We are targeting London residents aged 16 and over who are not professional journalists but have something to say about the city.”
Stephen Jeffery, CEO of London Learning Consortium added, “This is a real opportunity for anyone who lives or works in London to get involved in citizen journalism.  In addition to the prizes, the competition offers entrants a range of free training and support to help them develop their skills. The more we can encourage local people to get involved with citizen journalism, the better chance we have of reporting events and issues in a fair and balanced way.”
Entries to the competition can be in a variety of forms including writing a print or online article; producing a video or radio piece; producing a blog or using other social media; or telling a story through photo journalism.
Submissions can be based on a number of themes including local communities; what it is like being young in the city; what London might look like in the future and the benefits or issues that arise from the use of social media.
All entries will be scrutinised by experts from The Media Society and all the short-listed participants will have their work showcased on the London Voices and Media Society websites as well as being invited to a presentation at a Society event in the summer.
There are three cash prizes. The first prize is £2000, the second £750 and the third £250. This money will be used to help fund training and support.
Details of the competition can be found at http://www.londonlc.org.uk/london-voices/