Wellcome Trust sponsors new award for Science Commentator of the Year

18 October 2012

Editorial Intelligence has announced that the Wellcome Trust is to sponsor a science category at the networking business’s annual Comment Awards. The awards celebrate the achievements of the finest UK print and online commentators and their editors over the past year.

The announcement was made at the 2012 Comment Awards on 18 October. Categories this year included the new Twitter Public Personality category, judged solely by public vote, and an award for the best Olympics Commentator.

Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, adds: "From our changing climate to the human genetic code and the workings of the brain, the insights and discoveries of science and medicine often have profound implications for our society. As an organisation which funds and supports science, we consider it critical that these implications are not only reported by the media, but actively debated as well.

"By supporting a new Comment Awards category for science, we want to encourage columnists to engage with scientific issues in their writing and comment editors to commission more of these pieces. Scientific comment that is challenging and thought provoking, but well informed and grounded in good evidence, should be an important part of our national conversation."

Julia Hobsbawm, founder of the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards, said: "The world of comment is hugely significant in changing public perception and understanding of key issues. We think that the addition of this new category sponsored by Wellcome Trust is the right way to recognise the importance and vitality of scientific comment coming out of the UK in mainstream media."

The first Science Commentator of the Year will be awarded in 2013.

Image credit: jon smith on Flickr.

Contact

Craig Brierley
Media Relations Manager
Wellcome Trust
T +44 (0)20 7611 7329
E c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk

Notes for editors

About Editorial Intelligence
Editorial Intelligence is a networking business which runs an opinion former network including a range of thought leader events and has a varied annual special events and publishing programme, alongside providing development programmes in building capacity in knowledge networking.

About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust's breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.