Journalism graduate highly commended at prestigious national awards

Journalism graduate Greta Mizere was highly commended at a national awards ceremony for her ambitious final-year project tackling one of the UK’s most pressing social issues.

Greta, who graduated from BA Journalism at Essex in 2025, was shortlisted for a top NCTJ Award for her dissertation project, ‘Is it Time to Move on from Prison?’, placing her among the most promising emerging journalists in the country.

Her work impressed the judges so much it was highly commended by the panel after just missing out on the top prize.

The NCTJ Awards for Excellence, run by the National Council for the Training of Journalists, celebrate outstanding work by student and trainee journalists across the UK. Greta said: “I was very surprised to be nominated, but I really appreciate that my work has been recognised. It was a challenging topic to investigate, and I’m grateful I was able to convey the views and the incredible work of people trying to rehabilitate and prevent reoffending.”

Being highly commended for an NCTJ Award is a significant achievement, highlighting high standards of reporting, originality and public interest journalism. The NCTJ is one of the UK’s most important journalism organisations, bringing together partners from across the media industry, as well as accrediting leading journalism courses to ensure students receive industry-recognised, professional training.

Greta’s project explored the overcrowding crisis in the UK prison system and examined alternative approaches to sentencing, rehabilitation and prevention. Produced during her final year at Essex and through in-depth interviews with leading figures from across politics, policy and practice in the UK and the United States, the work investigated how prison populations could be reduced.

Reflecting on her time at Essex, Greta praised the supportive and close-knit nature of the journalism course: “I had a great time studying at Essex, I’ve made memories that I will cherish forever. My degree at Essex has definitely shaped me to be the journalist I am today.” She now plans to pursue a career as a travel journalist, alongside creating educational digital content. Greta believes her Essex degree has prepared her for a wide range of journalism careers by combining hands-on training with the freedom to explore meaningful stories.

Jon Wright, journalism lecturer at Essex, said: “This nomination is a testament to Greta’s incredibly hard work and dedication. Choosing a subject like prison reform for her third-year project was an ambitious idea, but the work she produced was packed full of insight and clarity, demonstrating her skills across the media landscape.

"The awards event was a spectacular day, with an impressive selection of students and trainees from across the country gathering in Brighton. I was immensely proud of Greta to have been shortlisted, and to have a highly commended certificate amid such high calibre competition is a huge achievement.

"Moments like this also inspire our current and future students to put the work in and show their talent on national platforms such as this.

“The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is a key component of the Essex degree, and to have recognition like this in a year of bumper entries from across the country’s universities and journalism training providers is really positive.”

The BA Journalism course at the University of Essex is accredited by the NCTJ and is designed to equip students with industry-ready skills, ethical grounding and real-world experience. Greta’s nomination underlines the strength of the course and the importance of awards like the NCTJ in recognising the next generation of journalists making an impact through thoughtful, socially engaged reporting.