Simply the best - University web journalists and broadcasters take top awards
Students at the University of Southampton are celebrating victory at two national media awards ceremonies.
Judges at the Guardian Student Media Awards voted Wessex Scene Online (www.wessexscene.co.uk) the best student website of 2004.
"This is fantastic news," said Students' Union President Andy Wilson. "Everyone at the Students' Union was rooting for Southampton to win and it is high time that the site won the award, having been nominated three years in a row. Well done to everyone who has had a hand to play in the website."
The Guardian declared the site showed: "A lively, informative, tabloid sensibility, which reflects student interests. This team know who they are writing for."
The trophy was collected at the event in London by designer Peter Wood. He was accompanied by Vice-President Communications and Wessex Scene Editor-in-Chief Laura Fewell and fellow webteam member Chris Buckle.
The award came in the same week that University of Southampton student radio station Surge collected an award at the 2004 Future UK Internet awards for its website www.surgeradio.co.uk. It won the 'Best Reader' category for a site offering DJ profiles, news updates, online audio and a Total Request feature that allows listeners to control which songs are played when there are no presenters on air.
The Total Request system received a Gold award for Technical Innovation at the 2003 Student Radio Awards, sponsored by Radio One.
Notes for editors
The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. The University has around 20,000 students and nearly 5,000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £270 million.