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Andrew Neil joins media industry's leading lights to chair British Library competition

Publisher and broadcaster Andrew Neil is to chair a judging panel which brings together David Viggers, Head of Reuters UK Picture Desk, Mark Porter, Creative Editor of the Guardian and Faisal Islam, Business Correspondent at Channel Four News and Young Journalist of the Year 2006.

Collectively, they will be deciding the winners of a major competition, Make the Front Page, which challenges entrants to design the newspaper front page of the future; write a compelling article on today's burning social, business or political issue; or take the photograph that captures the essence of the story behind the headlines.

Andrew Neil, former Editor of The Sunday Times and now presenter of The Daily Politics on BBC Two and This Week on BBC One, said of his role as Chairman: "I am pleased to be a part of this exciting competition. The involvement of top media industry names and the opportunity to win either a work placement on a national newspaper, or digital equipment if you are under 16, promises to inspire a wealth of stimulating entries".

The competition is being run in conjunction with the British Library's major exhibition, Front Page, which brings to life the growth, development, rivalry and union of the newspaper industry in Britain over the last 100 years.

While the exhibition details a century of enormous changes in news-gathering, reporting and newspaper production, the Front Page competition aims to inspire original, thought-provoking entries that demand attention and carry on the tradition of newspapers to stimulate debate and nurture innovation.

There are three categories of entry:

  • Journalism
  • Photography
  • Layout design

Entries in the writing and photography categories could explore a social or political trend, arts or sporting theme, current affairs, business, scientific or other topical issue which demonstrates the current free flow of information, ideas and comment accessible to a modern audience.

Entries in the layout design category should show the judges how a newspaper front page could look in 10 years' time. They will also accept online submissions in the form of a URL.

The deadline for sending in an original article, photograph or front page layout is 5pm on Monday 7 August 2006. Winning entries will be published on the British Library website, and prizes awarded at a high profile London Design Festival event, hosted by the Library on 25 September.

The Make the Front Page Competition is supported by the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA), the Educational Charity of the Stationers' and Newspaper Makers' Company and the London Design Festival.

For further details on how to enter and full terms and conditions please go to http://www.bl.uk/frontpage.

For further information, contact Chloe Tait at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7110 or Chloe.Tait@bl.uk

Notes for Editors

The British Libraryis the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Further information is available on the British Library's website at www.bl.uk.

The London Design Festivaltakes place 15-30 September 2006. The Festival programme includes content from across the design spectrum, staged by organisations throughout the capital. Visit www.londondesignfestival.com for more information.

The Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA)
Founded in 1906 as the Newspaper Proprietor's Association, the NPA is the trade association for Britain 's national press, whose members have formed a unique and powerful coalition. Their products sell more than 15 million copies every day and inform and create opinion. A particular priority of the NPA is the promotion of a free, pluralist written press as a key agent of democracy in the UK and Europe. Its membership includes:

Associated Newspapers Ltd (Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard)
Express Newspapers Ltd (Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Star Sunday)
Financial Times Ltd (Financial Times)
Guardian Newspapers Ltd (The Guardian, The Observer)
Mirror Group Newspapers (Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Racing Post)
News International Ltd (The Sun, The Times, News of the World, The Sunday Times)
Independent News and Media (UK) Ltd (The Independent, the Independent on Sunday)
Telegraph Group Ltd (Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph)

The Educational Charity of The Stationers' and Newspaper Makers' Company was formed in 1985 following the closure of The Stationers' Company's School in the London Borough of Haringey. The Court of the Company appoints the Trustees. Their responsibility is to administer the Trust in accordance with the Trust Deed.

The income of the Charity is applied in promoting the education of persons under the age of 25 years who are resident in the United Kingdom and who are in need of financial assistance, with special regard to sons and daughters of Liverymen and Freemen of the Company and persons engaged in or intending to enter the stationers' or printers' trade, or any other of the trades accepted by the Company.

Awards are made in the form of bursaries, maintenance allowances or grants tenable at any school or college of education approved by the Trustees, and in providing financial support to assist young persons to pursue their education.

The Charity has also financed the provision of printing and publishing departments in a number of schools.

All enquiries, in confidence, should be sent, by post only, to: Mr J P Thornton, FCA
The Old Dairy, Adstockfields, Adstock, Buckingham, MK18 2JE.

The Make the Front Page Competition

  • All entries should be accompanied by a description of the research undertaken to prepare the entry of no more than 200 words.
  • Articles should be no more than 1,000 words. Entrants in the photographic category should submit one image only.
  • There are three categories of entrant: under 16s; 16 -19; 20 and over.
  • The judges' decision is final.
  • Prizes cannot be exchanged.
  • No purchase is necessary.
  • This competition is open to anyone resident in the UK except for those who are professional journalists, photographers or graphic designers, British Library staff and their families and supporting partners' staff and families.
  • In entering this competition you agree that the British Library has the right to edit, crop, and reproduce entrants' work electronically or in print as appropriate in conjunction with the competition.
  • Full terms and conditions will be published on the British Library website at the end of April. Under 18s will need to get a permission form signed by their parent or guardian. All those entering the photography category will need to complete a model release form indicating permission has been obtained to photograph any person who is identifiable.

Front Page: Celebrating 100 years of the British Newspaper (1906 - 2006)

The enormous changes in news-gathering, reporting and newspaper production over the past century are imaginatively unfolded in the exhibition through a selection of front pages from 1906-2006. These have been arranged into themes ranging from royalty, society, scandal, sport and celebrations through to war, disasters and assassinations.

Each theme has been "curated" by a newspaper group in order to highlight the individual editorial values and styles which grace the various British front pages. Visitors will be able to look behind the headlines to see what the papers say about themselves and their ever-evolving industry. Commentaries from editors and journalists written exclusively for the exhibition provide fascinating insight into the decision-making process behind the headlines.

The display will also remind visitors of some of the headlines that have become legendary in their own right. These include the 1912 Daily Mirror headline "Titanic sunk - no lives lost"; The Sun's 1982 headline "Gotcha" about the sinking of the Belgrano in the Falklands War; and the Independent on Sunday's 2003 headline on Saddam Hussain's weapons of mass destruction, "So where are they Mr Blair?"

The centrepiece of the exhibition is an innovative interactive "newsroom" where visitors can use computers to become Editor of their own newspaper. They will take on the job of making up a front page on screen, using individual newspaper house styles and choosing from a "jigsaw" databank of prepared stories and photographs, while working to a tight deadline.

All the front pages on display in this exhibition can be found in the British Library's collection of over 52,000 titles which are available for research. In recent years the Library has been active in undertaking projects to open up access to its newspaper collections and enable readers to view newspapers remotely via the Internet.

For further information please contact Rona Levin or Catriona Finlayson in the press office on +44 (0)20 7412 7115, or email Catriona.Finlayson@bl.uk