Ghana Journalists Association launches twentieth awards
Mr Roland Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA), on Friday launched the 20th media awards competition at a ceremony in Accra.
The competition which is slated for August 15, is open to GJA members working in the Ghanaian media.
It has as its theme: “Ghana in search of reliable energy to power development: The role of the media,” and also marks the 66th anniversary of the Association.
Mr Monney said the GJA constitution charges the association to promote high journalistic standards, and to reward members who excel in their work periodically.
GJA members who believe their works in 2014 contributed to the promotion of excellence in journalism are eligible, and indeed encouraged to contest.
He said entries will be received in all categories, except for the Journalist of the Year and the Komla Dumor most promising young journalist.
He said nominations from the public including media professionals would inform the thoughts of the awards committee and where the situation demanded, the awards committee would have the right to call for works from those listed before the winner was determined.
The GJA has decided that no contestant should submit entries for more than two categories, to encourage specialization and also to avoid the situation where there is the temptation to believe that the more awards a contestant wins makes that person the obvious choice for either journalist of the year, or the most promising young journalist.
He said this year, the GJA would select five media watchers and request them to make their choice of the journalist of the year and most promising journalist giving reasons for their choice.
This new arrangement will be aside from the one that request any member of the public to also submit nominations.
Mr Dave Agbenu, GJA General Secretary, explained that the awards were in five categories; Category one includes, separate awards for radio, television and print for news reporting and features.
Category two will be for both print and electronic on investigative reporting, photojournalism, sports for print and electronic which includes commentary, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu award for business and finance and economic reporting, small and micro scale enterprise.
Others are; environment, health, HIV and AIDS, development journalism for furthering the MDGs, parliamentary reporting, human rights focusing on child rights, political reporting, and crime and court reporting.
The rest are; sanitation and hygiene, disability, telecommunication, digital journalism including blogging, anti-corruption, education for electronic and print media, science, oil and gas sector, anti-narcotics, agriculture and rural reporting.
The third category which goes to the print media is for columnist and best cartoonist whilst the fourth category for media houses only covers democracy and peace building, best layout and designed newspaper and best rural radio station, best TV programme in Akan, best radio and TV programme in Dagbani , Ewe, Ga, Hausa and Nzema.
The fifth category is the GJA/Komla Dumor most promising young journalist and the GJA/Prof P.V. Ansah journalist of the year.
Entrants may submit entries for a maximum of only two categories, and not more than three published works should be submitted for any category.
Source: GNA