Wednesday 30 April 2008, 18:30 - 20:30
Reuters Building, 30 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EP

With thanks to the London Press Club

UACES, the University Association of Contemporary European Studies, is delighted to present the ‘Reporting Europe’ awards, honouring excellence in reporting on the European Union in the English-speaking media. The 2008 UACES-Reuters ‘Reporting Europe’ award acknowledges high quality, informed journalism on any aspect of the EU from either a positive or critical perspective during 2007.

2007 Winner | 2007 Short-list | 2007 Jury

ALLAN LITTLE SCOOPS INAUGURAL
REPORTING EUROPE AWARD

At a prestigious ceremony at the Thomson Reuters Building on Canary Wharf, on 30 April 2008, the inaugural prize for Reporting Europe has been awarded to Allan Little of the BBC for his programme The Road to Rome (BBC Radio 4 and World Service), broadcast on 25 March 2007. The award, offered by UACES – the University Association for Contemporary European Studies, and the world’s leading academic society in the field – and Reuters, with help from the London Press Club, is unique in its combination of academic credibility and media expertise.

Allan Little’s feature was praised by the judges for its clarity and excellent production values, but especially for its ability to get under the skin of those involved with the early days of the EU back in the 1950s. This produced a programme of great interest and subtlety, challenging Euro-myths from both pro- and anti-EU perspectives while succeeding in making the EU a human interest story.

In his inaugural award ceremony lecture, the Chairman of Reuters, Niall FitzGerald, said: ‘It is a great pleasure to present the UACES-Reuters ‘Reporting Europe’ award. High quality, thought provoking reporting, which this award recognises, has a critical role to play in encouraging constructive debate about Europe.’

Sir Stephen Wall, President of UACES and former UK Ambassador to the EU as well as chief EU advisor to Tony Blair during the latter’s premiership, said: ‘UACES does a fantastic job in pooling expertise on the EU from academics and policy-makers all over the world. I’m delighted to be present at this Inaugural Award Ceremony, and hope it marks the dawn of closer co-operation between academics and journalists in reporting Europe.’

Dr Amelia Hadfield, UACES Media Officer and University of Kent, and Prof Alex Warleigh-Lack, UACES Chair and Brunel University, concurred. Speaking at the ceremony, they hoped that it would be a platform to develop a new partnership between UACES, its members, and the media community. ‘As academics, we depend on the media not just for up-to-date reporting, but increasingly to raise the profile of EU issues with the public – and potential students! We hope that by pooling the impressive expertise of UACES in our free-to-search online directory, we will be able to offer politically neutral help and expertise to journalists in need of a helping hand when stories break or deadlines approach’.

From left to right: John Peet (The Economist), Mark Mardell (BBC),
Alex Warleigh-Lack (UACES), Allan Little (BBC),
Bertrand Benoit (Financial Times) and J Clive Matthews (Blog)

Bertrand BENOIT, Berlin Bureau Chief, Financial Times
Whose side are they on? Shifting borders are nothing new. After centuries of Franco-German conflict, modern Alsace, and one family on particular - shows that European integration is not an impossible dream. (Financial Times Weekend Magazine: 24 March 2007)

Allan LITTLE, BBC World Affairs Correspondent
The Road to Rome (BBC Radio 4 and World Service) 25 March 2007

Mark MARDELL, BBC Europe Editor
Blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell 
in particular - a fortnight of reporting before, during and after the June 2007 European Council: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2007/06/12/index.html and also
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2007/08/30

J Clive MATTHEWS, Writer, Editor, Online Content Consultant
Blog associated with a deliberative polling experiment run by Tomorrow's Europe  http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/dliberation

John PEET, Europe Editor, The Economist
Special report on the European Union to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome: http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8808062

Members of the Jury for the UACES-Reuters Reporting Europe Award

• Dr Martyn Bond, London Press Club

• Dr Amelia Hadfield, University of Kent, Media Officer for UACES

• Mr William Horsley, Association of European Journalists

• Mr John Lloyd, Reuters Institute, University of Oxford

• Mr David Schlesinger, Reuters

• Sir Stephen Wall GCMG LVO, Former EU Adviser to Tony Blair and Hon President of UACES

• Professor Alex Warleigh-Lack, Brunel University and Chair of UACES

www.ExpertOnEurope.com