Golden trailblazers: City St George's Journalism Department marks 50 years of producing leading journalists with 50 of the brightest stars

It was hot back in 1976. The UK was sweltering in an unprecedented heatwave with hosepipe bans in place and worries about how the country would cope with the energy crisis, the USA had celebrated a big anniversary of becoming independent and a Labour Prime Minister resigned under pressure.

There's a pretty good chance you may have learned about the modern equivalent of those events because of something that happened at City St George's, University of London at the same time: the founding of the Department of Journalism.

To celebrate its golden jubilee, the Department of Journalism is launching the Golden Ambassador award.

Staff and former students have been nominating the alumni who have passed through the University’s doors and gone on to make a real impact with their reporting and media campaigning.

The longlist highlights 50 alumni who are powerful ambassadors for the mission that continues to drive the work at the University – that journalism matters – perhaps now more than at any time in the last 50 years.

This work has included exposing events at Downing Street during Covid, looking into the original outbreak in China, environmental and business investigations, media freedom and fact checking around the world, pioneering podcast and TikTok formats and the #MeToo movement.

Nominees have come from the full range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses at City St George’s, including an undergraduate student who found himself producing award-winning TV from campus in the USA during his study abroad.

Journalists and journalism educators from across the country have voted to find a shortlist from the 50, before a final Golden Ambassador will be chosen and unveiled at the 50^th celebration event on 12^th November 2026.

Professor Karen Fowler-Watt, Head of the Department of Journalism, said:

The starry long- list of nominees for our Golden Ambassador award is a testament to the incredible work of Journalism @ City over the last 50 years.

The achievements range from investigations that sifted the dial and even brought down governments to podcasts and campaigns that have made all our lives better.

The impact of this work is also global and often focused on the crucial area of media literacies and media freedom – currently under attack. Journalism never mattered more than now.

This was the 50@50 longlist:

In the field of Politics and Public Life

Esme Wren – Channel 4 News

Paul Brand – ITV and LBC

Chris Mason – BBC News

Pippa Crerar – The Guardian

Katy Balls – The Times and Sunday Times (of London)

Mathilda Mallinson – Media Storm podcast

Helena Wadia – Media Storm podcast

Ayshah Tull - Channel 4 News

Phoebe Frieze – BBC News

Lucie Heath – The i paper

George Parker – The Financial Times

In the field of International Journalism

Poppy McPherson – Thomson Reuters (Southeast Asia)

Aderonke Adeola – Aniyota (Nigeria)

Dominique van Heerdan – Sky News

Martin Pollard – Agence France Press (AFP)

Mimi Mefo Newuh – MMI News (Cameroon)

Rabiu Al Hassan – FactSpace West Africa (Ghana)

Abbie Cheeseman – Freelance correspondent (Middle East)

JoAnn De Luna – Freelance audio podcast producer and editor (USA)

Rob Picheta – CNN (USA)

In the field of Investigations and Crime 

Kevin Crowley – Bloomberg News

Siân Boyle – Posterity

Jamie Tahsin – Director and producer

Gary Younge – University of Manchester (formerly Guardian)

Charlotte Wace – The Times

James Ball – The New World / The i paper

Christopher “Kit” Chellel – Bloomberg News

Lucy Osborne – The Guardian

Simon Murphy – The Mirror

Muhsin Mahmud – ITV News

In the field of Innovation and Leadership

Dino Sofos – Persephonica and the Crossed Wires Festival

Sophia Smith Galer – Viralect

Sue Nelson – Boffin Media

Kemi Alemoru – Freelance editor, writer, host (formerly of Glamour magazine)

John Burn-Murdoch – The Financial Times

James Harding – Tortoise Media

Simon Rogers – Google

Keme Nzerem – Freelance presenter, correspondent, filmmaker

Fay Schlesinger – The Guardian

Zing Tsjeng – Freelance journalist (formerly Vice)

In the field of Culture, Wellbeing and Lifestyle

Samira Ahmed – Freelance journalist, BBC

Ben Green – The Athletic

Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff – Writer and podcaster (Fuller Project)

Ellen Atlanta – Ellen Atlanta LTD, Pixel Flesh

Benjamin Spriggs – Hearst UK

Candy Bloise – The American Dream School, Cafecito con Candy Podcast

Francesca Specter – Writer

Laura Atkinson – Style, The Sunday Times

Sharon Maguire – Film and TV director.