Rising Stars in Media & Journalism 2016
Introducing our Rising Stars winners in the Sports category for 2016
Samantha Brooker
I have recently joined Secret Escapes as Head of Media, UK after being approached for this role by a previous employer. I am heading in to progress their creative solutions offering and help to grow what is currently a relatively media small team for such an expanding proposition.
I’ve kindly been nominated for securing the investment needed to steer the Factory Media business model from a print-loss digital company to a digital and broadcast business – opening a new revenue stream which has transformed our place in the market and paved the way for (fingers crossed) industry awards.
In truth I chose a career in client services purely because it was what my mum did. She ran her business from home and I grew up listening to her build rapport with clients on the phone. She always seemed to be laughing or having warm conversations with people so I never imagined myself doing anything less than this, and was lucky enough to find it in media.
Outside of work I love to exercise and travel, ideally both at the same time. I’m also a mentor within the Careers Academy where being a sounding board for my 17 year old mentee actually gives me a lot of perspective; remembering how hard it is to be 17 makes 29 feel a like breeze!
Nejra Cehic
Nejra is a London-based television reporter and radio anchor for Bloomberg, covering the financial markets and the top European business and economy stories. Since joining Bloomberg in 2010, Nejra has travelled all over Europe to report on a variety of stories. In the past year alone, Nejra has reported on the UK election, broken news from Brussels and covered the Bank of England’s Super Thursday live in the heart of the City. She has interviewed a number of prominent newsmakers, from economists to Prime Ministers to CEOs. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Nejra worked for BBC local radio, the BBC World Service and at the BBC Paris bureau. She has a PGDip in Broadcast Journalism from Cardiff Journalism School and a BA (Hons) in Classics and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. She was shortlisted for an Asian Women of Achievement Award in the Media category.
Jenna Jones
Residing Editor of the Semple blog and Magazine, Jenna graduated from Goldsmith University with a degree in Media and Communications and a fierce desire to find her dream job in the fashion industry. Jenna lives and breaths her sartorial dreams through the written word and can normally be found lusting over all manner of designer brands, from The Row and Alexander McQueen to Mary Katrantzou and Acne. When she isn’t managing the blog or planning the next issue of Semple Magazine Jenna can be found at the latest V&A exhibition, online shopping, coming up with awful puns or daydreaming about Coachella.
Roz Sanderson
After graduating from the University of Kent in 2010 with a degree in English literature and creative writing, my career as an editor has spanned national newspapers including The Independent on Sunday and The Financial Times, as well as for the Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine at the BBC. In the last three years I have worked my way up from an editorial assistant at UBM to editor, and have helped establish an award-winning group for Women in Health and Safety, after it was noticed there was a need for a support network for women in the profession. In my spare time, I volunteer for a children’s charity, sing in a community choir and grow vegetables in my garden.
Ruth David
I grew up across India and those gypsy feet followed me into adulthood, travelling to Washington DC for a masters and then to New York to work with Forbes. I moved back to Bombay to cover India for Forbes, then in two years moved again, this time to Hong Kong, covering financial institutions in the region and still writing the big finance stories from India. Bloomberg offered me a job back in India in 2010 and I joined them on the finance team, writing award-winning stories on the microfinance crisis in the country. I moved to London two years later, covering deals for Bloomberg. Starting from scratch in arguably the financial capital of the world was challenging but I built up enough contacts to break news on some of the biggest IPOs and mergers in Europe as well as report exclusively on the victories and failures of big investment banks.