Entries Open For Mind Media Awards 2015

The Mind Media Awards, which celebrate reporting and portrayals of mental health in print, broadcast and digital media, has opened for entries for 2015.

Organised by the mental health charity Mind, journalists, bloggers, broadcasters and production teams are being invited to submit work which has helped to raise awareness of mental health problems and tackle outdated stereotypes.

Last year, Mind received hundreds entries to its Media Awards, which were dominated on the night by young winners including BBC Three's intimate selfie-documentary, Diaries of a Broken Mind. The film comprised of self-recorded footage by 25 young people with various mental health problems, and won the award for best Factual TV programme.

Teenager Ellen White claimed the Blogger award for her website, Ellen's OCD Blog, where she posts candidly about living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. E4 comedy My Mad Fat Diary, based on the teenage years of writer Rae Earle, won in the drama category, while BBC Radio 1 and 1xtra were presented with the Making a Difference award for their long-standing commitment to reporting on mental health issues.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said: "We're delighted to see ever increasing numbers of journalists, programme makers and publications working hard to create sensitive, compelling and stigma-busting material which show people with mental health problems as a whole rather than as their diagnosis.

"We've seen some incredible work already this year which includes the voices of people who have experienced mental health problems, and we're looking forward to receiving entries from the media which showcase first-rate work that really challenges and changes attitudes towards mental health."

The ten categories open for entry for the Mind Media Awards 2015 are:

• Factual TV – Full length documentaries or compilations of excerpts from series that observe and report real-life situations and stories. This might include observational 'fly-on-the-wall' formats. These may be broadcast or available online.

• Entertainment – TV programmes that cover mental health within an entertainment, comedy or scripted reality format, including entertainment magazine and chat show formats. It may be awarded for an individual programme or for a compilation of shorter excerpts taken from a series or strand.

• News and current affairs – A news item, or current affairs feature, or item with a news 'hook', from a bulletin or magazine style programme from TV, radio or online.

• Radio – Factual, drama or docu-drama radio programme. Compilations from a magazine programme will also be considered.

• Drama – A single drama or drama series transmitted on TV. If one programme from a series is entered, it should be accompanied by a synopsis of the other episodes to provide judges with context.

• Soaps or continual series – A TV or radio 'soap' transmitted twice or more each week continuously for at least six months of the year. Alternatively, a continual drama series where stand-alone storylines conclude within each episode but the main characters continue throughout the series. Entries may be one episode, but should be accompanied by a synopsis of the other episodes to provide judges with context, or a compilation from a number of episodes following a single story line.

• Blogger – A blogger or vlogger, originating in the UK, who has embraced digital media to raise awareness about mental health issues or to support the mental health community. Entries should include evidence of reach and impact.

• Publication – A magazine or newspaper that demonstrates commitment to reducing stigma around and/or raising awareness of Mental Health issues through a campaign, series of features or range of coverage across the year. Excludes specialist mental health publications.

• Journalist – An individual journalist (print, broadcast or online) who has made an outstanding contribution to the understanding of mental health issues. Entries must originate in the UK and be published or broadcast from the UK. Entries may be an individual article or a body of work.

• Student Journalist – An individual student or group of students for print, broadcast or online material developed for university or college media targeted at students or for a piece of journalism completed as part of a university course.

In addition, two special awards will also be given out on the night. These are:

• Speaking out – Presented to an individual who has experienced mental health problems, for their inspirational contribution to at least one of the shortlisted entries. No separate entry required, these will be selected by the judges from the shortlisted entries.

• Making a Difference – Presented to an individual or organization in recognition of their outstanding contribution to improving the portrayal of mental health in the media. The award is for those who set the agenda and initiate change. No separate entry required, these will be selected by the judges from the shortlisted entries.

To be eligible for the Mind Media Awards, programmes or articles must have been transmitted or published in the UK, or have been available online between 9 June 2014 and 9 June 2015 inclusive.

The deadline for entries is Friday 26 June 2015.

Winners will be announced at an event at the Troxy on Monday 16 November, which will bring together celebrities, industry professionals and people who have shared their personal experiences through the media.

More information regarding the categories, criteria and how to enter, can be found via the Mind website.

Image: Ellen White (centre), 15, who won Blogger of the Year in 2014. Photo courtesy of Mind.

(JP)