Now in its seventh year, the annual awards recognise and celebrate the UK’s best print and online commentators and their editors. The awards are the first of their kind in the UK, run by Editorial Intelligence, the knowledge networking business.
Announcing the shortlist, chair of judges Sir Anthony Seldon said: “Against the backdrop of a UK general election, attacks on freedom of expression, and a changing media landscape, the past 12 months have been a vibrant time for comment journalism, and never has the form been more important. It’s been a vintage year for comment and the shortlist this year reflects that, with some very hard fought categories. I’m particularly delighted to see more women and those from diverse backgrounds shortlisted and look forward to revealing the winners in November.”
The Comment Awards 2015 shortlist:
ARTS, CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Ed Smith, New Statesman
Hugo Rifkind, The Times
Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
Shane Thomas, Media Diversified
BUSINESS COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services
Adrian Wooldridge, The Economist
Andrew Hill, Financial Times
Gillian Tett, Financial Times
BUSINESS ETHICS COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by IESE Business School
Andrew Hill, Financial Times
Jim Armitage, Independent
Michael Skapinker, Financial Times
COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Ipsos Mori
Brian Reade, Daily Mirror
Eleanor Mills, The Sunday Times
Simon Jenkins, London Evening Standard
COMMENT PAGES OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Vodafone
Financial Times
The Guardian
The Times
COMMENT PIECE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by eiDigest
David Aaronovitch, The Times
Lindy West, The Guardian
Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
COMMENTARIAT OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by John Lewis
Caitlin Moran, The Times
David Aaronovitch, The Times
Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
ECONOMICS COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Barclays
Allister Heath, The Daily Telegraph
Ed Conway, The Times
Gillian Tett, the Financial Times
FOREIGN COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Gifted to the IRC – International Rescue Committee
Gary Younge, The Guardian
Patti Waldmeir, Financial Times
Roula Khalaf, Financial Times
INDEPENDENT BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Liz Gerard, SubScribe
Matthew Scott, Barrister Blogger
Stuart Forster, Go-eat-do
MEDIA COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
George Monbiot, The Guardian
Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
Yomi Adegoke, Freelance
ONLINE COMMENT SITE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Virgin Media
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Weber Shandwick
Dan Hodges, The Daily Telegraph
Dominic Lawson, The Sunday Times
Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
SCIENCE COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by The Wellcome Trust
George Monbiot, The Guardian
Oliver Morton, Intelligent Life
Philip Ball, Prospect Magazine
SOCIETY AND DIVERSITY COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Lloyd’s Banking Group
Hannah Fearn, the Guardian
Jenni Russell, The Times
Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR
Cory Doctorow, The Guardian
John McAfee, International Business Times UK
Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
YOUNG COMMENTARIAT OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by the Taylor Bennett Foundation
Bintu Sannoh, the Guardian
June Eric Udorie, Freelance
Yomi Adegoke, Freelance
This year’s judges, chaired by Dr Anthony Seldon, Master of Wellington College, hail from an eclectic range of industries and background with a 50/50 gender split, and include: broadcaster and author, Anita Anand; Director of Entertainment and Comedy at ITV, Elaine Bedell; Managing Partner for Talent UK & Ireland at EY, Liz Bingham OBE; Professor of American Literature at the University of East Anglia, Sarah Churchwell; director and producer Menhaj Huda; President of YouGov, Peter Kellner; Editor of Management Today, Matthew Gwyther; Founder of MDR, Chris Preddie OBE; journalist and author, Rachel Shabi; and Global Business Leader at Google, James Rosenthal.
Winners of The Comment Awards 2014 included: David Aaronovitch at The Times for Commentariat of the Year; Dominic Lawson at Daily Mail and The Sunday Times for Columnist of the Year; and The Times overall for Best Comment Pages.
Barclays is the lead partner to the awards, with LBC supporting as broadcast media partner. Additional category sponsors will be announced shortly.
Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London on 24 November, 2015.
