The Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism (Israel) Now Open for Submissions

01 February 2011
The Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism (Israel) Now Open for Submissions
Deadline: 17 February 2011


The Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism

The Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership and the Pratt Foundation are proud to announce the Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism. Recognizing the role of the mass media in promoting public debate about the future of Israel’s environment, the Pratt Foundation of Melbourne, Australia has established the Pratt Award for Environmental Journalism to encourage excellence in reporting about the environment. The Award is designed to raise awareness among the Israeli public and the media community about the social, economic, cultural and ethical aspects of the environmental crisis in Israel. For 2010 the Award Committee will receive submissions of articles, reports, programs or films that were first published or broadcast in the Israeli media between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. Submissions will be received for excellence in environmental journalism for the four following categories:

* The print media (including on-line journals)
* The electronic media (Television and Radio)
* The local print and electronic media
* The independent media or community TV (print or electronic media, including the internet)

The Award Committee invites journalists to submit articles, reports and programs relating to the following issues: Public Health and the Environment, the Environmental Crisis, Globalization and the Environment, Consumer Society and the Environment, Sustainable Development, Place and Community, Environmental Justice, Intergenerational Justice, and Human Rights and the Environment.

The deadline for submissions is February 17, 2011

Guidelines

To Download Guidelines & Entry forms in English - acrobat

A. Purpose

The Pratt Awards for Environmental Journalism in Israel were established in 2002 to recognize and encourage excellence in the field of environmental journalism in the Israeli media. The goal of the awards is to raise awareness among the Israeli public about the social, economic, cultural and ethical implications of Israel’s environmental crisis. The Awards have been established by the Pratt Foundation of Melbourne, Australia, in recognition of the importance of the mass media’s influence on the public agenda and in order to promote public debate about the future of Israel’s environment.

The Awards will be granted once a year to journalists and media professionals who have demonstrated excellence and professional integrity in the coverage of environmental issues in the print or electronic media, including television and radio, and/or who have produced an article, series of articles or programs which, in the jury’s estimation, have made a significant contribution to the understanding of Israel’s environmental problems, from a socially- and environmentally-conscious perspective, and/or had a significant impact on public opinion and policy makers

B. Eligibility

Candidates for the Pratt Awards must have been residents of Israel at the time of the publication or broadcast of the article or program. All articles and programs submitted must have been published or broadcast in Israeli print or electronic media (including internet/on-line journals, radio and television channels), within the time frame determined by the Prize committee.

The Awards will be granted once a year to journalists and media professionals who have demonstrated excellence and professional integrity in the coverage of environmental issues in the print or electronic media, including television and radio, and/or who have produced an article, series of articles or programs which, in the jury’s estimation, have made a significant contribution to the understanding of Israel’s environmental problems, from a socially- and environmentally-conscious perspective, and/or had a significant impact on public opinion and policy makers

C. Entry Rules

Candidate journalists may submit a selection of articles, programs, or films (up to 3), or a group of articles or programs, which were published or broadcast as a series. Submissions may also be received from third parties, who wish to recommend a candidate. The articles, programs or films, are to be submitted along with an official entry form. Media reviews of the submitted materials may be attached to the submissions. All candidates must submit a copy or copies of their work, labeled with the date of publication or broadcast, and the name of the publishing newspaper, journal, or media outlet. Radio programs will be submitted with an accompanying transcript. Articles and programs may be entered in any language. Articles and programs in languages other than Hebrew must be accompanied by a full translation into Hebrew

The Award committee reserves the right to invite individual journalists to apply for the Pratt awards. The Award Committee will have final say in assigning submissions to a given category. The Award committee also reserves the right to refrain from granting the awards if no submission meets the Award criteria, or for any other reason.

Articles or programs written or produced employees of the Heschel Center or by members of the Award committee or by members of the Jury are not eligible for the award competition.

D. The Awards

The monetary sum to be awarded will be determined every year by the administration of the Pratt Foundation.

For 2008 awards will be granted in each one of the following categories:

o The print media (including on-line journals)
o The electronic media (Television and Radio)
o The local print and electronic media
o The independent media or community TV (print or electronic media, including the internet)

The Prize Committee reserves the right to grant an award for Life Achievement or for a unique initiative

E. The Jury and Award Criteria

The jury for the Pratt Awards will be comprised of at least four representatives from the following categories: a member of the Heschel Center staff, a senior journalist, a public figure, a writer or an artist, an academic, a business person.

The jury will select the winning articles or programs by majority vote. In choosing the winners the jury will consider one or more of the following criteria: relevance for public health, treatment of the environmental crisis, the connection between globalization and environmental destruction, the relation between consumer society and the environmental crisis, sustainable development, place-based environmentalism, environmental justice, intergenerational justice, and human rights in relation to the environment. Submissions will also be judged by the depth of research, accuracy, length, originality, style, and the public impact of the publication or broadcast.

The Prize Committee reserves the right to grant an award for Life Achievement or for a unique initiative

F. Administration of the Prize

The Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership and the Pratt Foundation will choose the Jury and advertise the Awards among media outlets, newspapers, editors and reporters. The Heschel Center will administer the timetable for the submissions and presentation of the Awards, announce the winners, and organize the Awards ceremony.

The articles and programs submitted for the Awards will be initially screened for eligibility at the Heschel Center, and copies of eligible entries will be distributed among the members of the Awards Jury to read. The members of the Awards Jury will convene once to view and listen to the entries in the category of the electronic media, and to deliberate and choose the winners.

G. The Awards Ceremony

The Award Ceremony will include one or more of the following elements: an address by a member of the Jury, a response by the winners, a guest lecture, artistic program.

For further inquiries contact Michal Avni, 050-7541524, or by email: media@heschel.org.il.

More information here.
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