Six finalists were mentored by top journalists from The Sun and their columns were judged by a panel including The Sun Editor Dominic Mohan, Columnist Jane Moore, Agony Aunt Deirdre Sanders and Media Trust Deputy Chief Executive Katie Lloyd.
Tom (picture courtesy of The Sun) from Ludgershall was mentored by The Sun Assistant News Editor Veronica Lorraine and focused his column on the great British tradition, Tea.
Tom said: “Column Idol was one of the best experiences I've had. I got a taste of how a national newspaper is run on a daily basis - but also a chance to develop my skills and grow as both a writer and a person. I can't thank everyone at The Sun and Media Trust enough for the opportunity to step up to the plate. Most of all I would like to thank my mentor Veronica, who was a pleasure to work with and really helped me to develop and execute my ideas.”
This year, Column Idol was fronted by music star Jessie J, comedian James Corden and England footballer and children’s books author Theo Walcott.
The mentors were recruited through Media Trust’s youth mentoring scheme and each worked closely with their finalist to support and advise them on writing their final column.
Dominic Mohan, 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 Tom. We have extremely high hopes for him and think we may have found a star of the future."
Tom’s mentor, Veronica Lorraine said: “When reading through the hundreds of applications to Column Idol, Tom's pitch about Tea stood out right from the start, so to be picked as his mentor was an absolute delight.
“In the current climate it was particularly satisfying to be able to help and mentor someone so young, so talented and so enthusiastic. I am full of praise to Tom for having the confidence to put across what was actually a serious message in an effortlessly light-hearted, and humourous manner. I hope this is just the beginning, and I expect great things from him."
Katie Lloyd, Deputy Chief Executive at Media Trust said: “It has been fantastic to partner with The Sun on Column Idol for the second year running and continue to see The Sun supporting young people in such a positive way. The topics the finalists tackled ranged from the experiences of a hearing impaired person to perceptions of the elderly, Tom is a deserving winner and impressed us all with his column and confident pitch. This has been another great opportunity to get young people’s voices and opinions heard by a huge audience.”
Finalist Ridhwaan Yusuf so impressed the judges with his column addressing the lack of Asian footballers in top-flight football that he has been named as a highly commended runner up. As a result his article was published in The Sun on 22 September.
The six finalists were selected from more than 850 entrants. To enter the competition, participants had to be aged between 18-25 and submit a short description about themselves, what they’d like to write about and why they deserve to be crowned Column Idol 2011.
The Column Idol judging panel included: Sun Editor, Dominic Mohan; Sun Columnist, Jane Moore; Sun Agony Aunt, Deirdre Sanders; Media Trust Deputy Chief Executive, Katie Lloyd.
The Column Idol mentors included: Fran Wetzel (Digital Sub-Editor); Lia Nicholls (Deputy Bizarre Editor); Mark Gilbert (Deputy Online Sports Editor); Sean Hamilton (Deputy Features Editor); Trevor Kavanagh (Associate Editor); Veronica Lorraine (Assistant News Editor).
About Media Trust
The Media Trust says: “The Media Trust is a national charity that believes everyone should have a voice and the opportunity to be heard. We work with media organisations and charities to enhance their communications and enable communities to find their voice. We own and run Community Channel, the UK's only national channel to be run by a charity. Media Trust corporate members are BBC, Channel 4, Daily Mail and General Trust,Discovery Networks Europe, Google, Guardian Media Group, IPC Media, ITV plc, MTV Networks UK & Ireland, News International, OMD, Sky, Warner Bros and WPP.”
