City graduate named country's best young broadcast journalist

Buy photos » Natasha Da Silva has won a top national award in broadcast journalist. (s)

A COVENTRY University graduate has been named the country’s best young broadcast journalist in an eminent awards ceremony.

Natasha Da Silva won the Journalist of the Year accolade at the Broadcast Journalism Training Council’s (BJTC) annual awards.

The 22-year-old also scooped the prize for Best Documentary for a radio feature she made based on the after-effect of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami in her home country of Sri Lanka.

Natasha, who received her award from ITN news anchor Alistair Stewart, said: "It was tough because it was a very emotional subject."

Natasha, who graduated with first-class honours in Journalism and Media this summer, was 14 at the time the tsunami struck the Sri Lankan city of Columbo.

Her documentary tells the personal stories of those who survived, exploring what life is like for families in the aftermath of the tragedy which killed tens of thousands of people.

Rachel Matthews, principal lecturer in journalism, said: "For one of our students to win this award less than 12 months after our course received its BJTC accreditation is a demonstration of the quality of work produced by students and staff. It is truly a team effort."

Last week we reported how Cov Uni student Dean O'Brien from Tile Hill was nominated for Student Photographer of the Year in the Guardian Student Media Awards.

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