Annual Journalism Award
Table of Content
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. AWARD CATEGORIES ........................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 AWARD CATEGORY FOR PRINT MEDIA (ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS)...................................................... 4
2.2 AWARD CATEGORY FOR TELEVISION ............................................................................................................ 4
2.3 AWARD CATEGORY FOR RADIO ...................................................................................................................... 4
2.4. AWARD CATEGORY FOR DZONGKHA NEWSPAPER ................................................................................ 4
2.5 SPECIAL AWARD: JIGME SINGYE W ANGCHUCK PRESTIGIOUS JOURNALISM AWARD ................ 4
3. CRITERIA & CONDITIONS..................................................................................................................... 5
4. THE AWARD ............................................................................................................................................... 5
5. AWARD ADMINISTRATION .................................................................................................................. 5
6. THE JURY..................................................................................................................................................... 5
7. TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE JURY ..................................................................................... 6
8. AWARD DAY & CEREMONY ................................................................................................................ 6
1. Introduction
IN line with its mandate to promote professional excellence and high standards in the
practice of journalism, the Journalists Association of Bhutan (JAB) will resume the
Annual Journalism Award from 2015. The event will be an annual feature that will
celebrate excellence in journalistic works by recognizing meaningful contributions
made by individual journalists.
JAB hopes that the Annual Journalism Award will reignite the passion for journalism,
encourage journalists to pursue stories that are not told, and most importantly,
contribute to uplifting of professional and ethical standards of journalism in Bhutan.
The sustainability of media in Bhutan has remained a nagging issue for several
years now. In the wake of poor financial health of the media, many capable and
promising journalists continue to leave the profession. Yet, there are many
journalists who continue to answer the call of journalism despite the difficulties and
hardships.
This Journalism Award is therefore for those dedicated journalists who work day in
and out, chasing stories and deadlines - to inform and educate, to bring out the plight
of the poor and the marginalised in the national mainstream, to keep watch over the
powerful and the influential, and to deepen democratic culture, among many others.
This award is for those journalists who work without getting paid often months in a
row. This award is for those journalists who still believe that media and journalism
have an important role to play in the development of our country and the progress of
our society.
JAB hopes that the annual journalism award will go a long way in inspiring young
journalists to reach even higher and at the same time encourage senior and older
journalists to stay back in the profession. We hope the award will rekindle the latent
passion in many of us and revive our commitment to journalism. We hope it will
encourage us to go the extra mile while reporting stories. And ultimately we hope the
award will set a new benchmark in the practice of journalism.
The award was earlier organized by the Department of Information and Media,
Ministry of Information and Communications. It has been felt that an independent
body like JAB should organize this annual event. To this end, with funding support
from the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC) and other media
development agencies in the country, JAB would like to announce the Annual
Journalism Award – 2015 and request all journalists to contribute their stories for
various categories and awards up for grabs.
1.2 Objective
The primary objectives of the Annual Journalism Award are:
i.
To recognize excellence of Bhutanese journalists and their contributions to
public service;
ii. To honor individual journalists for making a difference in the society through
their stories;
iii. To uphold the highest standards in the practice of journalism; and
iv. To recognize the contribution made by individual journalist to the profession of
journalism.
2. Award Categories
There are four Major Categories (Print, Television, Radio and Dzongkha
newspapers):
2.1 Award Category for Print Media (English newspapers)
i.
ii.
iii.
Best Investigative story
Best Feature
Best Editorial
2.2 Award Category for Television
i.
ii.
iii.
Best Documentary
Best Talk show
Best news story
2.3 Award Category for Radio
i. Best radio documentary
ii. Best Radio Talk show
iii. Best Radio personality
2.4. Award Category for Dzongkha Newspaper
i.
ii.
iii.
Best Investigative story
Best Feature
Best Editorial
2.5 Special Award: Jigme Singye Wangchuck Prestigious Journalism Award
This special award will recognize and honor the contribution of a senior journalist
who has worked for more than 15 years in the media and continues to practice
journalism even today. A Special Jury will be formed to go through the list of
candidates identified by JAB. The award is also instituted to encourage senior
journalists to continue their journalistic works. The award is also a tribute to His
Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, the father of Bhutan’s democracy.
3. Criteria & conditions
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
The award shall be given to only journalists (reporters, editors, producers,
broadcasters) working in the media including freelance journalists
Media herein means the Bhutanese news media organizations whose primary
responsibilities are to inform, educate, and entertain.
The award shall encompass both print and broadcast media in the country
Journalists nominated for the awards shall be registered members of JAB
An individual journalist shall be nominated for not more than one award
Stories nominated for the award should be certified by the parent news
organization
Stories nominated should have created wide impact
Each nominated story must be accompanied by a brief (200 words, written by
the nominee) background explaining its merit for the award
The entries will not carry the identity of the author when they are sent to the
jury. The Administration Committee shall, however, maintain the identity of the
author of each nomination.
Each entry shall be accompanied by the author’s CV
4. The Award
i.
ii.
The award will be in the form of a trophy, a citation, and cash
Winners will receive attractive cash prizes
5. Award Administration
i.
The Journalists Association of Bhutan will form a committee to administer the
award. The committee shall:
Receive, review, and verify the entries
Forward the entries to the jury
Compile ratings and declare the shortlist in the JAB’s website and
Facebook page
d. Organize the award ceremony
e. Invite the Guest of Honour and other guests
f. Declare the results during the award ceremony
g. All the above functions will be carried out by the administration with
absolute transparency
a.
b.
c.
6. The jury
The jury shall consist of three eminent persons for each category, who have
proven integrity and impeccable media or media-related background
ii. A list of potential jury members will be submitted by the JAB to the Board who
will finalize the list.
i.
7. Terms of Reference for the Jury
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ii.
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The jury must understand that the award is a symbol of recognition for
excellence in journalism
The jury will select/decide the winners in different categories based absolutely
on merit
If nominations in a certain category are not worthy of the award, the jury shall
withhold the award in that category for the year.
The identity of the jury members shall be made public
The jury’s selection of the winner in each category shall be final and binding
All Jury members will sign a declaration stating that they have no conflict of
interest
Appropriate remunerations will be made for their services.
8. Award Day & Ceremony
The award day shall be on the May 3, 2015 coinciding with World Press
Freedom Day
ii. The Award Administration shall be responsible for the organizational logistics
on the award day
iii. The venue shall be decided by the Award Administration and announced
through the media.
i.