The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) has announced the return of the Uganda National Journalism Awards after It was cancelled in May 2018 over funding challenges.
Wambi Michael with the ACME/Revenue Watch Institute Broadcast Award 2011. URN National Perspective edition on Impact of Oil Exploration on the Environment won the award
The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) has announced
the return of the Uganda National
Journalism Awards. The Awards were cancelled in May 2018 over funding challenges.
Several journalists had submitted entries for the 2018
awards, but the suspension until further notice of the awards meant that these
works would not be recognized. Launched 7 years ago, the awards are aimed at
improving the quality of journalism through inspiring and recognising
excellence in reporting.
According to ACME,
the suspension was followed by funding challenges following the expiry
in December 2017 of the framework under which the Awards process was previously
funded.
However ACME has
today announced the call for entries and nominations to the Uganda National
Journalism Awards 2020 after securing funding.
According to Peter G. Mwesige, the ACME Executive Director, they
have now secured funding from the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) to
provide core support for the next three editions of the Awards.
He says ACME will continue to work on sustainable ways of
funding the Awards with support from a broader array of partners, including
media houses, businesses, non-governmental organisations, and government
agencies, he added.
“The most critical thing is to ensure that the rewarding
process remains of the highest standards, free from interference by funders or
other interests,” said Dr Mwesige.
The 2020 Awards are open to all professional journalists
working in print, television, radio and online news platforms in Uganda for
stories published or broadcast between 1 January and 31 December 2019.
Some of
the award categories are; Agriculture reporting, Health, Investigative, Arts
Reporting, Breaking news, Justice Law and order,Business and Local reporting
among others.
An independent expert panel of 16 members will select
winning entries based on accuracy, initiative, originality, clarity of
interpretation, storytelling ability, public benefit/impact, audience
engagement, innovation, and writing and creative flair.
Both the winner and first runner-up in each category will
receive a substantial cash prize. Plaques and certificates will also be given.