Deadline:
May 31, 2024
Location(s)
Online United Kingdom
Overview
The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF) is now accepting submissions for its 2024 Awards in International Journalism.
The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF) invites freelance journalists, local reporters and news fixers from around the world to submit entries for the 23rd annual Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism.
Details
The Awards recognise excellence and courage in reporting conflict, corruption, injustice and human rights issues, with winners receiving a $5,000 cash prize. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports the number of journalists killed and imprisoned in 2023 reached near-record highs. As levels of violence and intimidation against media professionals surge, this recognition remains as vital as ever.
Named in memory of American freelance journalist Kurt Schork, who was killed in 2000 while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone, the Awards recognise the bravery of journalists who take great personal risk, often for little reward, to shine a light on the truth and hold power to account.
The three award categories, open to those reporting for print and online publications, recognise the media professionals that Kurt particularly admired:
- Freelance Award: recognising freelance journalists who travel to the world’s conflict zones, usually at great personal risk, to witness and report on the impact and consequences of these events.
- Local Reporter Award: recognising the often-overlooked work of journalists in developing nations, or countries in transition, who write about events in their homeland.
- News Fixer Award: recognising the work of local journalists or experts, typically hired by foreign correspondents, whose guidance and local knowledge play an unsung but vital role in facilitating international coverage from difficult, dangerous or hostile locations.
Applications are now open and the deadline for submissions is midnight (GMT) on Friday, May 31, 2024.
Entrants for the Local Reporter and Freelance Awards must submit three articles each, published between June 01, 2023 and May 31, 2024. The judges will look for journalistic excellence in applicants’ submissions and evidence of determination and courage in obtaining their stories.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
2024 Submission criteria
- Entrants for the Freelance Award and Local Reporter Award must submit three articles each.
- The News Fixer Award requires journalists to submit a nomination on behalf of a fixer who has assisted them with a story. A nomination will only be eligible if three stories are entered, but they can either be submitted by one journalist, or by up to three separate reporters.
- The submitted articles must have been published between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024.
- Accepted media: any print-based medium, such as newspapers and magazines, or established online publications. Blogs, personal websites and social media pages or channels are not accepted.
- Articles can encompass war reporting, human rights issues, cross-border troubles, corruption or other controversial matters impacting on people’s lives. Judges will be looking for professionalism, high journalistic standards, and evidence of dedication and courage in obtaining the story.
- Because of problems with scanned entries and failed links in previous years, we require that each article be provided as a text file – MS Word (.doc or .docx) or similar text format (.rtf), or a PDF of a text file.
- You may supply a URL link to your article(s), or a scan (as a PDF or JPG file) as supporting evidence of the publication context, but your entry will be disqualified if you do not also submit the required text files.
- The awards panel will take into account nominations for fixers who have received more than one recommendation from journalists they have worked with.
Dates
Deadline: May 31, 2024
Cost/funding for participants
The three winners – each of whom will receive a cash prize of $5,000 – will be announced towards the end of this year, alongside an associated event.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
