Entries are now open for the Sanlam Awards that recognise excellence in Financial Journalism. The award has become a prestigious and highly sought-after recognition since its inception in 1974.
There are five main categories open to journalists working in any medium (print, radio, TV, online, multimedia) and they include Business/companies, Economy, Financial markets, Consumer financial education, and African Growth Story.
The best performers in each medium across all five categories will be decided by the judges and announced on the awards evening as Radio, TV, Print and Online financial journalist of the year. Winners of these awards are selected by the judges and so these awards do not require a separate entry.
In addition, special awards which will include lifetime achievement, best newcomer and overall Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year will also be given. Winners of these awards will be decided by judges through a nomination and debate process and presented at the event in 2018. No entries are required for these categories of awards.
To be eligible for the awards, writers or broadcasters may enter a submission on a subject related to business, companies, the economy, financial markets or consumer financial education; entries will automatically qualify the writer or broadcaster for consideration for the Radio, TV, Print and Online financial journalist of the year awards; individual journalists can submit a maximum of one entry per award; each entry must have its own entry form and must be submitted separately.
Submitted entries must include a minimum of three and maximum of five articles, reports, recordings or transcriptions that have been published or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2017. With the exception of the African Growth Story award, only stories published or broadcast in South Africa are eligible; in terms of the African Growth Story award, any journalist working for a media vehicle (print, online, TV or radio) which is produced and distributed on the African continent is eligible. This includes South African reporters.
Also, stories originally published in a language other than English may be submitted and the organisers will arrange for a translation as part of the judging process; unpublished material will not be accepted.
As a rule, all entries must consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of five stories; must be an individual print article, a broadcast segment, an online article; each submission may consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of five stories.
Stories submitted for the award category should include an individual print article, a broadcast segment (television or radio), an online article and an audio podcast or online video.
Each entry should include a motivation of no more than 400 words. The motivation should specifically highlight to the judges the entry’s strengths in terms of news value, impact, rigour in reporting, analytical value, originality, integrity, specialist knowledge and storytelling (refer to the ‘criteria’ section of this website for more detail); all print and online articles must be submitted in a single file, preferably in PDF format; a live URL should be provided for all online articles, audio podcasts or online videos; unpublished material will not be accepted.
All print and online articles should be in a font size that is considered reasonably legible. E.g. if a broadsheet article is reduced to fit onto a PDF it can become illegible. Entrants are requested to give this due consideration during the entry process; for broadcast entries, entrants should ideally host their own video or audio elements and provide a working URL to a web page from where the video/ audio can be played. Alternatively, an audio CD or DVD (preferably on a single CD or DVD) can be delivered to: Petra Steenkamp, Group Communications, Sanlam Limited, 2 Strand Road, Bellville; broadcast entries should provide scripts or transcriptions if available – or at least a summary of the content – on each of the different recordings. Submitted entries will not be returned.
Closing date for submission of entries is March 2, 2018.
Please visit http://bit.ly/2gPGBBv for more information about the awards, including entry forms and the criteria.
