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Tenth Kent Press & Broadcast Awards goes live

February, 2024

The tenth Kent Press & Broadcast Awards (KPBA) is now open for entries. 

Designed to recognise and reward local journalism, the not-for-profit scheme is organised by Tunbridge Wells-based PR, marketing and public affairs agency Maxim.

Anyone working in the Kent media can enter as many categories as they wish, free of charge. Every finalist is invited to attend the awards ceremony, also free of charge, which will take place at the Spitfire Ground, Canterbury, on Friday, 5 July 2024, and will be followed by a 10th anniversary party at the same venue.

Rachel Knight, Director at Maxim, said: “We’re very proud to have been helping to celebrate local journalism for a decade now. Before we launched this year’s awards, we carried out a survey with potential entrants and were pleased to hear 93% of respondents are happy with the entry process.

“The media landscape has changed dramatically over the last 10 years so we also asked which categories were still relevant. After consulting the judges, we’ve made some changes and this year there are 16 categories, several of which are new. They include the ‘Kent Making it Happen Award’, which is for those working hard behind the scenes to make the news happen, such as sub-editors, producers, news editors and camera operators. We haven’t been able to recognise all of these roles before but they are a vital part of the newsroom.”

One survey respondent commented: “The KPBA format works incredibly well due to its independent approach to its judging process, rather than a paid to enter or local pre-vote format, as this can exclude great talents within the county.” 

The judging panel comprises Susie Boniface, a national journalist known as Fleet Street Fox; Elaine Bruce, a former BBC News journalist and editor; Sian Elvin, a national journalist and editor; Anthony France, crime correspondent for the Evening Standard; Rebecca Smith, former senior editor for Kent Regional News and Media; John Warnett, a retired radio journalist with more than 30 years’ experience; Leo Whitlock, a former local newspaper journalist for more than 20 years, much of which was spent at the KM Media Group; and Adrian Wills, a former newspaper and ITV broadcast journalist.

Rachel added: “KPBA is a lot of hard work – not just for Maxim but for our judges who give their time free of charge. However, we firmly believe it’s important to recognise those who are holding power to account, giving a voice to those who may not otherwise be heard and highlighting important stories in our region.

“As a not-for-profit scheme, we couldn’t run KPBA without the generous support of our sponsors. We know the economy is tough at the moment, but there are many benefits to being involved so please get in touch if you’d like to know more about sponsoring a category.”

The categories for 2024 are:

  • Kent Broadcast Journalist of the Year, sponsored by Le Shuttle
  • Kent Broadcast Presenter of the Year, sponsored by CPL Films
  • Kent Design(er) of the Year
  • Kent Feature Journalist of the Year (Broadcast), sponsored by Shepherd Neame
  • Kent Feature Journalist of the Year (Print)
  • Kent Investigation of the Year 
  • Kent Magazine of the Year, sponsored by Stagecoach South East
  • Kent Making it Happen Award
  • Kent New Journalist of the Year, sponsored by East Kent Colleges Group
  • Kent News Website of the Year, sponsored by Port of Dover
  • Kent Newspaper of the Year
  • Kent Print & Online Journalist of the Year
  • Kent Programme of the Year
  • Kent Story of the Year
  • The Neil Bell Kent Sports Journalist of the Year, supported by Kent Cricket
  • Kent Voices Award


The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday, 19 April 2024 with the finalists announced in June. To find out more and download an entry form, visit kpbawards.co.uk. 

For information on becoming a category sponsor, contact Rachel Knight on 07941 697601 or email rachel@maxim-pr.co.uk.

posted in: maxim/client news,

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