Below is the shortlist of individuals and organisations most commonly selected by readers of TheMediaBlog.co.uk for our Media Hero and Villain Of The Year awards. Read the nominations of fellow Media Blog readers and then have your say by voting, via the link at the bottom of this post - voting closes at midnight, Friday 17 December.
The Heroes:
- Private Eye: For proving it is still possible for print publications to grow circulation through a commitment to quality editorial.
- Julian Assange: For "showing the power of the open internet", according to readers, and failing to be cowed by the threats of governments with a vested interest in silencing Wikileaks' revelations.
- Mitch Benn: He's proud of the BBC and reminded us all this year why we should be too.
- Dan & Dan: The brilliant 'Daily Mail Song' became a web sensation and perfectly satirised the editorial obsessions of the UK's most discussed newspaper.
- MyDavidCameron.com: This social media phenomenon was a creative, crowd-sourced victory for satire and humour that left traditional media playing catch-up.
- BBC 6Music Listeners: The online campaign to save 6Music not only advertised the plight of the station, it recruited enough new listeners to save it. You can't buy advertising like that.
The Villains:
- The Press Complaints Commission: It sadly comes as no surprise when newspapers break their codes of conduct but the toothless nature of the industry's watchdog is both a cause for concern and a poor advert for self-regulation.
- Alex Beam: Poorly written and researched, an article by the Boston Globe columnist criticised the friends and families of those who died in the Hillsborough stadium disaster. If the content wasn't insulting enough, the total failure of professionalism was a dark day for journalism.
- John Witherow & AA Gill: BBC presenter Clare Balding understandably took offence when described as a 'Dyke on a Bike' by Gill and her offence was compounded when his editor, Witherow offered the clumsiest of defences.
- David Cameron: The Prime Minister has barely concealed his dislike of the BBC or his plans to limit its powers in favour of commercial, more on-message competitors. It came to a head when he described job cuts at the BBC as "delicious".
- FIFA: It's quite plausible, of course, that England failed in its bid to host the World Cup because the bid simply wasn't good enough. However, Football's world governing body has made no secret of its distaste for an independent media unwilling to bend to the will of political and commercial interests.
- Panorama: The BBC's flagship current affairs programme raised eyebrows and ire when it further exposed the levels of corruption within Fifa on the eve of its vote on who would win the World Cup. The programme was branded "an embarrassment" by England's bid team.
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