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GUIDELINES: PAJ NATIONAL JOURNALISM AWARDS 2014-15
5 East Avenue, Camperdown, Kingston 8
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
- Nominees must be employees of, or freelancers with a Jamaican media house – broadcast or print. Employees of regional or international media houses based in Jamaica whose work is extensively about Jamaica are also eligible.
- All entries will be judged on the principles of journalistic excellence – writing, research, originality, accuracy, incisive storytelling, analytical skills, the importance of the subject matter and the public interest.
- Electronic entries must show evidence of technical proficiency with use of sound and or images. Photographs must demonstrate sharp, balanced composition and good technical quality.
PREMIUM AWARD
(1) JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
- The most outstanding journalist (any category of journalist – whether news, sports, business, entertainment etc) with a body of work of high quality between October 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015
- At least five items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
- Nominations will be accepted from media houses as well as individuals. Media houses may nominate more than one candidate
PRESTIGE AWARDS
(2) PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
- For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive investigative reporting on a subject of public interest
- The entry must include the initial story and related follow-up story (stories)
(3) YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
- The most outstanding young journalist with a body of work of high quality between October 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015
- Nominee must have been working in Jamaican media for less than three years
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
(4) HUGH CROSKILL/RAYMOND SHARP AWARD FOR “SPORTS JOURNALISM” (Print and Electronic, two awards)
- For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive reporting on sports issues
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
(5) HECTOR BERNARD/THEODORE SEALY AWARD FOR “NEWS JOURNALISM” (Print and Electronic – two awards)
- For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive reporting on news issues
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
(6) CARLTON ALEXANDER AWARD FOR “BUSINESS & FINANCE JOURNALISM” (Print and Electronic – two awards)
- For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive reporting on business/finance issues
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
GENERAL AWARDS
(7) CARL WINT AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE STORY (PRINT AND ELECTRONIC – TWO AWARDS)
- For the best feature story or series of related feature stories; (electronic stories should be no more than 10 minutes in length)
- Open to journalists across all beats – sports, lifestyle, entertainment, news, tourism, environment, health etc.
(8) BEST TELEVISION/RADIO FEATURE
- For the best feature longer than 10 minutes
- Open to any journalist or team across all beats – sports, lifestyle, entertainment, news, tourism, environment, health etc.
(9) BEST ENTERTAINMENT STORY (Print and Electronic – two awards).
For the person or team which demonstrates the best reporting on an entertainment story or series of related entertainment stories
(10) KEN DAWSON AWARD FOR VIDEOGRAPHY
Best videography for a story or a series of stories or features across all beats – sports, lifestyle, entertainment, news, tourism, environment, health etc.
(11) ASTON RHODEN AWARD FOR NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography that best illustrates a news event or an issue of public interest
(12) JUNIOR DOWIE AWARD FOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography that best illustrates a sporting event or sports-related story
(13) ERROL HARVEY AWARD FOR HUMAN INTEREST PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography that best illustrates a human interest subject i.e. person or persons in an interactive and/or emotional way, people and their problems, concerns, achievements etc.
(14) MORRIS CARGILL AWARD FOR OPINION JOURNALISM
- Best opinion journalism across all beats – sports, lifestyle, entertainment, news, tourism, environment, health etc.
- Minimum of five items. Entries are eligible from print, broadcast, blogs, podcasts or video blog/video log
(15) THE MAURICE GARRISON AWARD FOR SMALL PUBLICATIONS
The publication must:
- Be a tabloid size or magazine (but not part of a daily/weekly newspaper)
- Be printed at least monthly
- Serve a particular interest or community
- Appearance/design should be professional
(16) BEST NEWS WEBSITE
Entries will be judged for both content and technical excellence. In the area of content, marks will be awarded for:
- Breaking news and timeliness
- Accuracy
- Impact
- Fairness
- Original stories
In terms of technical excellence, marks will be awarded for:
- User friendliness
- Effective and innovative use of multimedia g. audio, video, podcasts, vidcasts, photographs, blogs
- Design
Entrants must submit no more than five URLs of home pages published on-line between October 1, 2014 and August 31, 2014.
The entries must include dates of publication and headlines of works being submitted for consideration. Entries are to be e-mailed to the pressassociationjamaica@gmail.com
(17) BEST COVER DESIGN – NEWSPAPERS
This award is aimed at recognizing Sub-editors/Paginators for outstanding design of newspaper covers. One sample is being invited from each nominee. The entry will be judged on:
- Creativity
- Use of colour
- Attention-grabbing headline
- Graphic/art interplay with text
(18) BEST NEWSPAPER MAGAZINE
This award is aimed at rewarding production teams for outstanding magazines that appear weekly or more in newspapers. Each nominee must send three samples of the magazine. The entry will be judged on:
- Creativity
- Use of colour
- Grabbing headline
- Graphic/art interplay with text
- Content, to include writing, original work etc
(19) EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM REPORTING
- For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive reporting on tourism related stories
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
(20) EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING ON THE ENVIRONMENT
For the person or team which best demonstrates incisive reporting on environment matters
- At least three items of work must be submitted (an initial story and the related follow-up stories will be counted as a single item)
(21) BEST NEWS, SPORTS OR CURRENT AFFAIRS BLOG
Entries will be judged for both content and look including
- Excellent writing
- Originality of expression
- Use of visual media
- Use of multi-media
- Regular updates
Candidates should submit their URL
SPECIAL AWARDS 2015
A SINGLE ITEM MAY BE ENTERED FOR EACH OF THESE SPECIAL AWARDS
(22) UNICEF MEDIA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING ON CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Submissions must:
- Focus on at least one major developmental issue affecting children, including violations of children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Demonstrate strict observance to the International Federation of Journalists’ ethical guidelines on reporting on children’s issues
- Include the voices of children in order to be considered
(23) DIGICEL AWARD FOR TECHNOLOGY
- For the person or team which best demonstrates the best reporting on technology and its impact on society
(24) SAGICOR MEDIA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING ON HEALTH AND WELLNESS
- For the person or team which best demonstrates the best reporting on health and wellness related issues
- Submissions must focus on at least one major developmental issue affecting health and safety
(25) AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN REPORTING ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR (Print and Electronic – two awards)
For the person or team which best demonstrates the best reporting on agricultural issues
ENTRY PROCEDURES
- Paid-up members of the PAJ are not required to pay a fee with entries; however persons who are not paid-up members of the PAJ must pay an entry fee of $3,500 before any of their entries will be considered.
- Audio and video productions must be submitted via CDs or DVDs.
- ALL submissions must be done in triplicate and must be properly labeled with nominees’
names, media houses and award category. Entry submissions must be work done between October 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015. - Applications must be delivered to the PAJ Head Quarters by 2 pm Friday, September 25, 2015. Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of the Secretariat but will attract a late fee of $500.00
- The PAJ does not take responsibility for returning entries to
We require only copies of stories/productions, which we reserve
the right to keep for reference. Direct enquiries to Tel. # 631-6390/348.1682 or email at pressassociationjamaica@gmail.com.
