Agriland news journalist William Kellett has scooped one of the top prizes at this year’s National Student Media Awards, known as the ‘SMEDIAS’.
At an awards ceremony at the Aviva stadium in Dublin last night (Thursday, April 28), it was announced that William and his team at University of Limerick (UL) had won the award for ‘Website of the Year’.
As part of William’s final year studying Journalism and New Media at UL, he and his fellow classmates were tasked with running a fully functioning news platform.
He was appointed the digital editor of the online news platform for the Limerick Voice, which also involved a print version of the newspaper, which is published each April.
William led a team of 25 students who wrote weekly articles for the Limerick Voice website on topics ranging from news to sport, to health and politics.
“The main aim of Limerick Voice is to report on news that directly affects the people of Limerick, so we not only have a close connection with the community, it also gives people the chance to tell stories that might not be given the chance on mainstream media,” William said.
He also undertook several modules in TV, radio and film production along with modules in investigative journalism, sports and magazine journalism and feature writing.
Agriland Journalist
William Kellett is from Co. Meath and comes from a farming background on both sides of his family.
He joined the Agriland news team in 2020, where he has since covered political news, protests, machinery events overseas and honed his skills as a digital journalist.
Outside of writing he is a former winner of the Irish National Racing Driver of the Year award and is a circuit racing enthusiast.
SMEDIA awards
The ‘SMEDIAS’ are open to students from every college across Ireland and are judged by renowned media industry leaders.
The awards celebrate and honour students’ achievements in the areas of journalism, film and TV, radio, photography, new digital media, and media trí Ghaeilge.