Society of Environmental Journalists
Awards for Reporting on the Environment
SEJ's awards honor the best environmental journalism in seven categories, bringing recognition to the most important stories on the planet. TV, radio, print and online journalism about environment or related issues are eligible. $500 offered for first-place winners in all categories.
PRIZES: First-place winners receive $500, a trophy and certificate. Winners of second and third place and honorable mentions receive a certificate. All winners and recipients of honorable mentions will receive discounts to the annual conference. Registration rates will be distributed in August.
ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS: Any journalist may enter unless he or she is a member of the SEJ Board of Directors, Awards Committee, SEJ staff or awards personnel. Exceptions will be made if an SEJ board member is part of a group entry, provided that the board member did not play a significant role. Judges may enter, but not in a category in which they are judging.
ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS: Only journalism that is predominantly about an environmental subject is eligible for the contest. The awards committee is the final authority for determining whether an entered story meets that standard.
ELIGIBLE ENTRIES: Books must have been published during the calendar year directly preceding the contest deadline, i.e., January 1 - December 31, 2016, for the contest closing April 1, 2017. All other entries: Only journalism that is published or broadcast (including cable) or online in a media outlet accessible to the general public during the most recently completed 12-month period that began March 1 and ended the last day of February may be entered in the contest. Series that begin or end during the designated contest period qualify in their entirety, but a specific series may only be entered in one contest year, and rules concerning the number of stories to be submitted for each category still apply. A story that has been entered in the contest may not be entered in another category or in a subsequent year's contest, even if it has been republished in a different medium (print to web, for example). Stories or projects produced by SEJ are not eligible. Work published in web logs and other personal web sites is eligible as long as the site is accessible to the general public.
GROUP ENTRIES: In addition to individuals, groups may enter as a team. Only individuals or groups of individuals may enter — not publications, stations or other corporate entities. Reporters with bylines, photographers, graphic artists and reporters without bylines who were given credit for reporting on the entered stories must be included in the reporting team. For the beat-reporting categories listed below, only an individual, either alone or with a small supporting team, can enter, and that individual must have written or produced all reports submitted for judging. In all categories, if a team is awarded prize money, the cash award will be sent to the primary reporter for distribution. (Primary reporter has only to do with processing the entry — not with the individual's journalistic role in the entry.) SEJ may, for budgetary reasons, choose to limit the number of individual certificates or other materials presented to winning group entries.
CATEGORIES: The categories for the contest are as follows:
Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Large Market: An investigative report or series on a single environmental topic, published or aired between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Related stories published on the same day count as one part. Audio and video stories must not exceed 60 minutes; Print and Online series must not exceed five parts. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: Print media: circulation of 200,000 average daily circulation or more, according to the latest audited figures; TV & Radio: national networks in the U.S. and elsewhere and top 20 markets in the U.S. as determined by Nielsen; Online: online news organizations with 50 or more employees. Small-market entities collaborating with large-market entities qualify as large-market. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links are accepted.
Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Small Market: An investigative report or series on a single environmental topic, published or aired between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Related stories published on the same day count as one part. Audio and video stories must not exceed 60 minutes; Print and Online series must not exceed five parts. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: All outlets and publications falling outside the large-market definition. Small-market entities collaborating with large-market entities qualify as large-market. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links are accepted.
Outstanding Beat Reporting, Large Market: Up to five broadcast or published news reports on a broad range of environmental topics published or aired between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Entry must be the work of an individual, either alone or with a small supporting team. Related stories published or aired on the same day count as one story. Audio and video entries must have a combined total running time of no more than 60 minutes. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: Print media: circulation of 200,000 average daily circulation or more, according to the latest audited figures; TV & Radio: national networks in the U.S. and elsewhere and top 20 markets in the U.S. as determined by Nielsen; Online: online news organizations with 50 or more employees. Small-market entities collaborating with large-market entities qualify as large-market. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links are accepted.
Outstanding Beat Reporting, Small Market: Up to five broadcast or published news reports and/or commentary on a broad range of environmental topics published or aired between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Entry must be the work of an individual, either alone or with a small supporting team. Related stories published or aired on the same day count as one story. Audio and video entries must have a combined total running time of no more than 60 minutes. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: All TV, Radio, Print and Online publications falling outside the large-market definition. Small-market entities collaborating with large-market entities qualify as large-market. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links, are accepted.
Rachel Carson Environment Book Award: A nonfiction book, published between January 1 and December 31, 2016, covering an environmental topic. Memoirs and picture books are not eligible.
Outstanding Explanatory Reporting: A story, series or occasional series that illuminates a significant complex environmental subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, storytelling and clear presentation. Entries must be published between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Related stories published or aired on the same day count as one story. Audio and video stories must not exceed 60 minutes; Print and Online series must not exceed five parts. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: All Audio, Video, Print and Online entities. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links are accepted.
Outstanding Feature Story: One environmental interest story not directly tied to a recent news event with an emphasis on storytelling, while also including an explanatory aspect that sheds light on our environment and gives details to concepts or ideas. Entries must be about environmental issues and published between March 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. Multi-part stories are prohibited. A cover letter and multimedia links may be included as supplemental materials. Eligibility: All TV, Radio, Print and Online entities. PDF or MP3 files, 25MB max, or links are accepted.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES: Individuals or groups may participate in more than one entry per year, in the same category or in different categories. However, no story may be included in more than one entry and each entry must be submitted separately with a separate entry fee. This means, for example, that the same package of stories cannot be entered in more than one category and each story in a package may be part of only one entry.
ENTRY FEE: SEJ members in good standing, or teams that include at least one SEJ member, must pay SEJ a fee of $40 per entry to be eligible for judging in all categories. Non-members who do not wish to join must pay $100 per entry in all other categories. Non-members who wish to join SEJ for the first time and who qualify for membership may pay a special rate of $40 plus their first-year discount member dues:
USA: $40 ($70 thereafter)
Canada: $40 ($70 thereafter)
Mexico: $15 ($35 thereafter)
Outside North America: $15 ($20 thereafter)
Student: $25 ($40 thereafter)
Group entries pay the same fee as individuals. Groups or individuals that enter the contest more than once in the same year must pay a separate fee for each entry. Groups pay the SEJ member rate if at least one of the reporters on the team is an SEJ member.
DEADLINE: April 1, 2017, 11:59 pm, your local time. Books or hard copies must be postmarked by April 1, 2017.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://sej.memberclicks.net/sej-awards-overview