Media Release 25 Aug 2016 - Australian Press Council

MEDIA RELEASE | 25 August 2016

Press Council to fund three new prizes for journalism students

The Press Council will support three new prizes for journalism students as part of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia's existing program of prizes, known as the Ossie Awards.

The annual Ossie Awards, named after journalist Osmar S. White, are organised by JERAA to recognise outstanding achievement by students in more than two dozen university journalism schools in Australia and New Zealand. Senior journalists and editors judge the main award categories.

It has been agreed that Council will fund the following prizes, to be presented at the end of this year along with the other JERAA prizes already established:

The Australian Press Council Undergraduate Prize for an essay on the topic of press freedom or media ethics ($200)
The Australian Press Council Postgraduate Prize for an essay on the topic of press freedom or media ethics ($200)
The Australian Press Council Prize for Journalism Student of the Year ($750). This is for a student who has performed well in all academic subjects and who has also produced outstanding journalism as part of their coursework.

The Press Council has been awarding annual prizes to journalism students at a small number of journalism schools since 1985. The new JERAA prize categories will replace that program.

“The Press Council believes there are a number of roads to good journalistic practice and that it is crucially important for journalism students to become aware early in their careers about media ethics, the work of the Council and our standards of practice. These awards will help us to build on our already excellent relationship with journalism educators and journalism students around the country,” said the Press Council’s Chair, Professor David Weisbrot.

JERAA President, Professor Matthew Ricketson, said: “We’re proud to join with the Press Council in creating new categories at the Ossie awards to encourage and celebrate the work of journalism students. The two awards for undergraduates and postgraduates will help raise awareness about the importance of press freedom and media ethics, while the third award will recognise students who combine strong academic performance with equally strong journalistic storytelling ability."

Last year, more than 150 entries were submitted to the Ossie awards across the then 14 categories, with 23 universities in Australia and New Zealand taking part. For more information on the Ossies, click here. For more information on the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, click here.

Queries about award categories, deadlines or entry criteria should be directed to Dr Alex Wake - School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476 Melbourne VIC 3001. Telephone 03 9925 9749. Email alex.wake@rmit.edu.au.

For more information about the Australian Press Council, contact the Director of Research and Communications by email at michael.rose@presscouncil.org.au or by telephone: 02 9261 1930.

Australian Press Council
Address: Level 6, 309 Kent St, Sydney, 2000 Phone: (02) 9261 1930 or 1800 025 712 Fax: (02) 9267 6826
Email: info@presscouncil.org.au Web: http://www.presscouncil.org.au