The Epica Awards has announced that journalist Claire Atkinson – who has spent her career covering the global media business – will preside over the jury in this year’s Awards.
A seasoned reporter covering the media industry, Claire has held senior positions at The New York Post, NBC, and Business Insider.
Atkinson writes a newsletter, “The Media Mix,” and has been commissioned to write a biography of Rupert Murdoch by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette.
“We’re always looking for what’s new, what’s different. We spend our lives scouring the internet for stories, watching TV, and reading the news. So I think we’re hyper-aware of innovative ways of communicating…As far as I’m concerned, if my eyes are open, I’m working,” said Atkinson.
“Like us, brands want to know where society is going, because they need to be aware of the cultural trends that are going to influence how they sell things and where they’re going to advertise. So I think a jury of journalists is highly appropriate for an advertising awards show,” she added.
Atkinson started out on trade titles, including Ad Age and Broadcasting & Cable, before moving to the New York Post, where she spent seven years on the media beat for the paper’s business desk. She later joined NBC News, where she was senior media editor. More recently she was chief media correspondent at Business Insider.
Raised in the UK, Atkinson moved to New York in 1999 as she considered it “the centre of the media”, her passion, as well as “the centre of ambition”. Her parents were ravenous consumers of news media and she grew up wanting to be a journalist.
“Journalism gives you a ringside seat to history,” she said. “Plus you get to interview some wild people that you’d normally never get to meet”.
She said media and advertising are “a ball that’s constantly in motion” and is “fascinated by commercial messaging and the way companies speak to us, as well as how the people in power speak to media, and how the media speak back”.
The Epica Awards is open for entries until 11 October. An online ceremony will be held on 12 December.
