Call for Applications: Excellence in Journalism Award (Guinea)

With the chance for winners to attend an in-person workshop and receive reporting grants, this prize will also equip them to carry out this vital work and become bulwarks against the return of corruption, human rights violations and the neglect and mismanagement that created the conditions for the coup.

Categories

• Responsible Journalism: For a distinguished example of journalism that specifically seeks to hold high-profile individuals or entities accountable. The submission may cover political, cultural or economic elites or the impact of their actions on the public.
• Investigative Reporting: For an outstanding example of investigative reporting using any journalistic tool available. Any article or series that provides insight into an important and complex topic, demonstrates mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation, and allows readers to place the information in a meaningful context. Where possible, articles should leverage current technologies for reporting and storytelling, including data visualization, interactive graphics, and creative use of social media.
• In-depth reporting: This award recognizes in-depth articles that stand out for the quality of their writing, their originality and their conciseness. Articles not relating to news items stand out for the quality of their writing. Articles should be memorable in terms of reporting, elaboration and creativity. Submissions may consist of a single article, a portfolio of independent articles, or a series of articles on a single topic.
• Editorial Writing: For distinguished editorial writing, the criterion of excellence being clarity of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and the power to influence public opinion in what the author conceives to be the right direction.
• Image Reportage: For an outstanding example of news or reporting photography or video in black and white or color.
• Audio reporting: For an outstanding example of audio journalism serving the public interest, characterized by quality reporting, writing and production.
• Courage in Journalism: For an outstanding example of journalism that critiques and challenges threats to press freedom and journalistic professionalism.
• Reporting on Critical Gender Issues: For a striking example of journalism that highlights women or gender non-conforming people in society and their contributions or struggles in various fields, including but not limited to, journalism.

Prize Information

• Award winners will receive a special invitation to attend an intensive, three-day, in-person journalism training program in Guinea in 2024.
• Prize winners will also be eligible for $1,000 reporting grants, as well as one-on-one mentorship during their reporting projects.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must relate to work published in Guinea during the calendar year. They must indicate the category in which they are submitted and include a biography and contact details of the journalists cited.
• Anyone can submit work to the competition, whether they are a news organization editor, an individual journalist or a reader.
• To be considered, the work must originate from a Guinean newspaper, magazine, radio or television service, blog, news agency or news site who publishes regularly.
• Independent journalists, photographers, cartoonists, columnists, critics or bloggers who produce work in print or online are eligible to enter the competition if their work has been published by eligible newspapers, magazines or news sites during the calendar year.

Submission Process

• Submission limits:
  • Editors of an eligible newspaper, news agency, union, magazine or other news site may submit no more than three individual nominations in any one category. Journalists from eligible publications can register themselves. An individual may submit an entry to more than one category, but may only submit one entry per category. The same content cannot be presented in more than one category.
• Highest journalistic principles
  • The ICFJ is committed to honoring work that exemplifies the long-standing ethics of the journalism profession. This includes a commitment to honesty with the readers and subjects of the work. The best journalism is transparent about its sources and methods. The rigor and completeness of sources is an important factor in judging the quality of applications, whether in-text attribution, footnotes, or citation of documents. These standards apply to all participants, regardless of the medium or form of the work. Additionally, the awards recognize and celebrate independent and innovative work, enterprise reporting that holds public officials accountable, dedication to the public good, and the dogged pursuit of reporting despite challenges.

For more information, visit ICFJ.