Each year the Communicator of the Year award is given to an individual who has managed to cut through a cluttered news agenda to stand out from the public-facing, media-trained crowd. This is the first time the award has been presented to a football manager.
Holloway was chosen for his straight-talking style and for refusing to resort to pre-prepared statements or bland soundbites in interviews and in his column for the Daily Mirror.
Instead, his ability to speak his mind has made him the sports journalist’s go-to man for honest, colourful and entertaining quotes – and the odd bizarre analogy for good measure.
Crucially he is always careful to express his gratitude to fans and his love of Blackpool, describing the seaside town as similar to himself because ‘we both look better in the dark’.
‘His authenticity and passion are a godsend in an age of cautious and overly media-trained mundanity,’ said Danny Rogers, editor in chief of PRWeek.
Previous winners of the Communicator of the Year award include Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley.
