The Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism

This is the major News Award. It recognises an outstanding body of news-breaking or campaigning journalism that demonstrates the leadership, initiative and courage of the reporter(s) and the impact of the story.

Criteria:

This award is for a body of up to five stories (including those that are representative of a longer series of articles) which had a direct impact on public opinion, or were the catalyst for a change in the law or changes in public attitude, behaviour or policy.

The work may come from any section of the newspaper but will demonstrate the writer(s)’ ability to consistently break news, find truth or defend free speech.

What to submit

Entry - either via the coupon on this site or CD-ROM - must include:

1. Your resume or career outline. This doesn’t need to be a full CV. It must include your contact details.

2. Up to five examples of work to support the entry.

3. A background statement describing each piece of work you submit.

The background statement

The background statement in support of your entry is important. It provides the context for judges to assess the journalistic enterprise you brought to the work.

The statement needs to cover everything that is not immediately obvious from the copy: how the idea or story came about, what you did, any difficulties you encountered and what happened next.

Remember, the editors judging your work do not come from your publication and may not be familiar with local affairs in your state. Do not assume they have in-depth knowledge of the story.

Please include details of how your work had a competitive advantage over not just newspaper rivals but also all broadcasters and websites in your area.

Where possible, you also need to outline how you reached the highest penetration of your potential audience. Show evidence of how you helped them to engage, respond and contribute across all media available to you. You may include detail that could not be published for legal, moral or ethical reasons if it gives better context to your contribution to the work. If your entry reaches the final rounds of the awards it will be subject to background checks with your editor and colleagues. You may write a supporting background statement of up to 1000 words for each piece of work you submit. Please include details of how your entry meets the selection criteria.

Dates for eligible work

Submitted work must have been published in the 12 months from August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010. 

Who can enter

The award is open to all editorial staff working on all News Limited national, metropolitan, regional and community publications, including websites and magazines, in Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Permanent part-time staff are eligible, as are those on contract. Casual employees, freelancers and contributors are not eligible. It is open either to individuals, or to teams that are jointly responsible for the entry.  

How much work to enter

You may enter only five pieces of work to support your entry. Please do not enter more than five. The judges will assess only the first five.

If you are submitting a long-running series or investigation, choose just five stories that are representative of the entire work. You may use your background statement to explain the rest.

If a single story spilled to more than one page on the day it was published, include all parts of it. There is provision on the entry coupon for up to 12 attachments per story, or work example, to accommodate this.

How many times can you enter?

Individuals may enter the same category (ie, Features Journalist of the Year) only once a year.

You may enter more than one category (ie, The Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism and Features Journalist of the Year), provided that different material is submitted for each category.

The same work may be entered in only two of the award categories. The exceptions are Scoop of the Year, where the scoop may be included again in a body of work for another award, and Photo of the Year.

How to enter

Please read the preliminary instructions provided on the website. There are links there for guidelines for library PDF or page archive retrieval.

Entry via the website is preferred.

If you cannot do this, a CD-ROM of your entry is acceptable. Please include on the CD a document giving your name, publication or website, category and contact details. Include a CV or resume, as well as the examples of your work. Send this to: News Awards, c/o Corporate Affairs, Level 5, News Limited, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010.

You may send your entry in the internal mail, where this service is provided – but email Sarah Cullens cullenss@newsltd.com.au so we know a CD entry has been lodged.

Entries from PNG, Fiji, WA Community Newspapers and some areas of News Digital Media will need to be via CD because they have no access to the entry coupon from the website.

If you have any problems submitting your online entry, call Les Hoffman, on 02 6680 2080 or email hoffmanl@newsltd.com.au.

If you have any questions about the awards, call Lucinda Duckett on 02 9288 3125 or email duckettl@newsltd.com.au.

Closing date

Entries must be received by Friday, July 30. There will be no exceptions.