The Scripps Howard Foundation today announced expansion of its National Journalism Awards to better reflect changes in the communications industry.
The competition, established in 1953, offers $185,000 in prize money for excellence in 18 categories. Opportunities for 2009 work have been increased across multiple platforms and two new categories have been created for community journalism and breaking news. Eligibility in many categories has been extended to freelancers, and newspapers that publish three or more times weekly are now eligible for competitions previously open only to daily newspapers.
“The National Journalism Awards has long been regarded as one of the industry’s most popular and highly respected competitions,” said Mike Philipps, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation. “The revisions make more categories accessible to online news sites, small-market media outlets, magazines, radio and television stations and, in general, professionals who are doing outstanding journalism in today’s multimedia environment.”
The categories, eligibility requirements and entry forms are available online at the foundation’s Web site, www.scripps.com/foundation. The deadline to enter is Jan. 30. Winners will be announced March 12 on the foundation’s Web site and by major media outlets.
Winners of this year’s competition will be honored April 23 at an awards dinner in Tampa, Fla., home of The E.W. Scripps Company’s ABC-affiliate WFTS-TV, Channel 28.
Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and First Amendment causes. It is the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company (www.scripps.com), a diverse, 130-year-old media enterprise with interests in television stations, newspapers, local news and information Web sites, and licensing and syndication.