Here’s a list of current media and journalism awards, including deadlines for applying. If we’re missing any major awards, please contact Mark Glaser at mark [at] mediashift [dot] org, and we’ll add them to the list. Any Featured Awards are paid sponsorships. Award descriptions are excerpts, edited for length and clarity.
APRIL 2017 DEADLINES
The John B. Oakes Award
The John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, which carries a $5,000 prize, is given annually for news reporting that makes an exceptional contribution to the public’s understanding of environmental issues. The award was founded in 1993 by family, friends and colleagues of Oakes (1913-2001), who was an environmental journalism pioneer and an editorial writer for The New York Times.
Deadline: April 14, 2017
John Chancellor Award
The John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, founded in 1995, is presented each year to a reporter with courage and integrity for cumulative professional accomplishments. The prize honors the legacy of pioneering television correspondent and longtime NBC News anchor John Chancellor.
Deadline: April 21, 2017
MAY 2017 & BEYOND DEADLINES
Global Shining Light Award
Every two years, the Global Investigative Journalism Network presents the Global Shining Light Award, a unique award which honors investigative journalism in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions.
Deadline: May 15, 2017
2017 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism
Since its inception in 2002, the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund has sought to support those journalists Kurt most admired, the freelancers and local reporters whose work is often poorly paid, mostly unsung and all too often fraught with danger.
Deadline: May 31, 2017
2017 Future of Storytelling Prize
Immersive, narrative-driven projects have a chance to win $5,000. Submissions that may include, but are not limited to: virtual, mixed, and augmented reality; web-based, audio, and data-driven works; mobile apps; narrative games; multimedia installations; and multi-platform projects.
Deadline: July 7, 2017
DEADLINES DOWN THE LINE
Online Journalism Awards
The Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), launched in May 2000, are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism around the world.
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards
Columbia University
The award recognizes excellence in broadcast, documentary and digital journalism.
Asian Digital Media Awards
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
The awards honor Asian publishers that have excelled in their digital offerings.
Middle East Digital Media Awards
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
The awards honor Middle Eastern publishers that have excelled in their digital offerings.
Society of Professional Journalists Awards
The Society of Professional Journalists has various awards for professional to collegiate journalists for excellence in various forms of media. Awards are rolling and there are several with deadlines in June. Please check the site for more details.
The Bookmarks Awards
Digital Media and Marketing Association
The Bookmarks Awards, based in South Africa, honor excellence in digital work, from websites, app development and games to multimedia and digital journalism.
The Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative
Moment Magazine is launching a fellowship to support reporters pursuing investigative stories that address anti-Semitism, anti-Israel and other prejudices that threaten Jewish rights to dignity and self-determination. One grantee will be awarded $10,000 USD. Applicants will need to make the case for how their proposal addresses problems of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel prejudice in a new way or concentrates on an under-reported aspect of this issue.
The Cabot Prizes
The Columbia Journalism Awards
The prizes recognize a distinguished body of work that has contributed to Inter-American understanding.
Mark of Excellence Awards
Society of Professional Journalists
The Mark of Excellence Awards honors the best in collegiate journalism. Judged at the regional and national level, the annual competition offers 51 categories in newspapers, magazines, photography, radio, television and online journalism.
Charlie Ericksen Internship Supplement
The NAHJ Washington, D.C. Chapter is now taking applications for the Spring 2017 Charlie Ericksen Journalism Internship Supplement. One internship supplement will be awarded to a student who is interning at a Washington D.C. Area news outlet.
Tribeca Snapchat Shorts
The Tribeca Film Festival and Snap Inc. are excited to bring back Tribeca Snapchat Shorts, now an official Festival category, created in an effort to discover visionary artists in the mobile space. This new category provides the perfect opportunity for people who are passionate about Snapchat and narrative storytelling to present their mastery of the smallest screen. The Festival and Snap Inc. are excited to support the next generation of storytellers and promote creativity on Snapchat.
New America Award
Society of Professional Journalists
SPJ’s New America Award honors public service journalism that explores and exposes an issue of importance to immigrant or ethnic communities currently living in the United States.
IWMF African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative
The IWMF designed the African Great Lakes Reporting Initiative to support journalists committed to pursuing stories that go beyond the well-established path of political instability, armed conflicts, and humanitarian crisis in the region.
NYU Journalism Reporting Award
The Reporting Award provides support of up to $12,500 for a work of journalism in any medium on significant underreported subjects in the public interest. In establishing the award, the Carter Journalism Institute’s faculty cited the need for encouraging enterprise journalism during a time of extensive layoffs and budget cuts throughout the journalism industry.
Meyer “Mike” Berger Award
The Meyer “Mike” Berger Award and its $2,000 cash prize are awarded for outstanding human interest reporting across platforms.
IWMF Fund for Women Journalists
The Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists enables the IWMF to dramatically expand its support of women journalists. Promoting the work and advancing the role of women in the news media across the globe is critical to transparency and the diversity of voices.
Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative to Expose Prejudice
DPIJI provides grants to journalists ages 22 to 38 to research and write in-depth stories about a modern manifestation of anti-Semitism or any other deeply engrained prejudice. Each year, Moment—with the help of an advisory board of journalists—selects one DPIJI Fellow, who receives $5,000 ($2,500 upfront and $2,500 upon publication) to produce a story.
IWMF Awards
The fight for media freedom has never been more critical. For 28 years, the IWMF has been highlighting the work of brave women journalists and honoring their contributions to press freedom around the world. Join the IWMF this year in recognizing essential and diverse voices by submitting a nomination for the Courage in Journalism.
Data Journalism Awards
The awards is an international contest recognizing outstanding work in data journalism worldwide.
Bianca Fortis is the associate editor at MediaShift, a founding member of the Transborder Media storytelling collective and a social media consultant. Follow her on Twitter @biancafortis.