The University of Brighton has been shortlisted for Innovation of the Year at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence, recognising the launch of a student-led sports network.
Purple Panthers Sports Network (PPSN) was launched for free in February 2025, using existing university resources to produce live and multimedia sports coverage, giving journalism students real-world broadcast and reporting experience while making content freely available to audiences via YouTube and Instagram.
This is the third time in the past eight years the University of Brighton’s journalism department has been recognised for innovation. In 2018, it won the award for its Premier League Apprenticeship with Brighton & Hove Albion, and in 2021 it received Highly Commended recognition for a Virtual Exchange partnership with the University of Florida developed and delivered during the pandemic.
“It’s fantastic to be nationally recognised for innovation again,” said Owen Evans, course leader for MA Journalism and MA Sports Journalism. “It’s brilliant to see all the hard work from our students, technical demonstrators, production staff and my lecturing colleagues recognised by our industry.”
The network is run by students, providing hands-on training in production, presentation and digital journalism. They covered Sport Brighton fixtures, professional darts at the Brighton Centre, Premier League
PPSN was devised by graduate Kai Mirza after spending his work placement module at The University of Florida in October 2024.
Sponsored by Reuters, the Awards for Excellence is heading to East Sussex for the first time to celebrate the achievements of individuals with promising journalism careers ahead of them. This year saw more than 550 submissions – once again breaking records and showcasing the exceptional talent entering journalism.
More details about the awards can be found here. The winners will be announced at the ceremony in the Brighton Dome on March 24, 2026.
Interested in a career in Sports Journalism? Find out more about our journalism courses here at Brighton.
