2010 Australian Star Prizes for Excellence

2010 Australian Star Prize for Rural Writing

The Australian Star Prize for Rural Writing, sponsored by John Deere, offers a cash prize of $1,000. The award is organised by the ACAJ to recognize excellence in print journalism in the rural sector. The winner is chosen from finalists nominated by State rural media organisations affiliated with the ACAJ. The successful entry goes on to represent Australia in the IFAJ Star Prize for Agricultural Journalism (Print), which will be announced during the annual IFAJ Congress in Belgium, April 17 to 21, 2010. Individuals cannot enter the IFAJ award direct – they must be selected by the ACAJ.

To be eligible for entry, the story must:

• Be of wide agricultural interest.
  
• Be written by an individual or team.
  
• Have been published as editorial between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, in the print media or online.
  
• Be a single story. Multiple articles that make up a series are not allowed. In such a situation, select one article from the series to enter.

Judging criteria:
Writing will be judged on the following:

• Style 25%
  
• Content 50%
  
• Objectivity and balance 25%

The layout and design of the article will not be considered in the judging.

Prizes:
State finalists – at the discretion of the local rural media organisation.
National - $1000 cash prize from John Deere, and entry into international award.
International – first prize winner receives a trophy, a gold IFAJ pin, a certificate and a cash prize of 750 Euros. Second place winner receives a gold IFAJ pin, a certificate, and a cash prize of 250 Euros.

Entry deadline for state finalists to ACAJ: Monday, January 11, 2010.
The article must be submitted electronically as an attachment to an e-mail file and sent to Emily Bogue – Emily_Bogue@tac.vic.gov.au by the deadline.
The following information must be provided in the e-mail to which the article is attached -
Name, address, e-mail address and telephone number of the entrant.
Name of the publication or website where the article was published, along with the date and issue of the publication.

For more information contact national award coordinate Emily Bogue – work - 03 5225 6450; mobile, 0429 416 778 or email, emily_bogue@tac.vic.gov.au

2010 Australian Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting

This new award recognizes excellence in rural broadcast journalism. The winner will be chosen from finalists nominated by State rural media organisations affiliated with the ACAJ. The successful entry in each category goes on to represent Australia in the IFAJ Star Prize for Broadcast Journalism, which will be announced during the annual IFAJ Congress in Belgium, April 17 to 21, 2010. Individuals cannot enter the IFAJ award direct – they must be selected by the ACAJ.

Categories

• Television – for the best piece produced primarily for broadcast on television.
  
• Radio – for the best piece produced primarily for broadcast on radio.
  
• Online radio (podcasts) – best audio piece produced primarily for broadcast via internet.
  
• Online video –best audio visual piece produced primarily for broadcast via the internet.

Who can enter
State organisations may provide one finalist for each category. To be eligible, the entry must:

• Be a story of broad agricultural interest.
  
• The story may be the work of more than one journalist.
  
• Have been broadcast/ uploaded via television, radio or the internet between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
  
• Be a single story. Providing multiple pieces that make up a series is not allowed. In such a situation, select one story from the series to enter.

Judging criteria
Judging will focus primarily on the work of the journalist and not the work of the whole team involved in producing the story. Criteria will include content and style, objectivity and balance.

Prizes
State finalists – at the discretion of the local rural media organisation.
National - TBC. Depending on the number of entries received, the ACAJ will select a winner in each category, and from those winners announce an overall winner.
International – The winner of each category will be awarded a certificate, 250 Euros and a gold pin.

Entry deadline for state finalists to ACAJ: Monday, January 11, 2010.
Entries must be submitted via email and sent to lizk@adam.com.au by the deadline. They should be in the form of an MP3 file or web-link to the story, which must be available in a format/file type which can be easily played via widely available media software such as Windows or Real Player.
The following information should be provided in the email -

• The category in which the piece is being entered.
  
• The name, address, email address and telephone number of the entrant.
  
• The name of the program or website where the story was broadcast, together with the date of the broadcast, or the date when the material was uploaded to a website.
  
• A brief (maximum 100-word) summary of the journalist’s role in creating the piece to assist the judges in their deliberations.
  For more information contact national award coordinator, Liz Harfull, phone 08 8339 3449, mobile 0409 674 941, or email lizk@adam.com.au
  

2010 Australian Star Prize for Rural Photography

The Australian Star Prize for Rural Photography is organised by the ACAJ to recognize excellence in rural photography. Winners are chosen from finalists nominated by State rural media organisations affiliated with the ACAJ. The winning entry in each category will officially represent the ACAJ in the IFAJ Star Prize for Agricultural Photography, sponsored by DeLaval. International winners will be announced during the annual IFAJ Congress in Belgium, April 17 to 21.
Please note, unlike other Star Prize awards individual photographers who are members of an organisation affiliated with the IFAJ may also enter the IFAJ award direct.

Categories

• People
  
• Production - including photos of machinery or technical aspects of farming, plant and animal production, bio-energy etc.
  
• Nature/landscape

Who can enter?

State organisations may provide up to three entries. They are encouraged to provide one finalist for each of the three categories. To be eligible, each entry must:

• Be on an agricultural subject
• Fit in one of three categories
  
• Have been published as editorial material in a printed publication or on the Internet between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
  
• May be either colour or black & white.
  
• A photograph that was part of a photographic feature may also be entered, but only one photo from the feature may be entered.

Judging criteria
Photos will be judged on creativity, quality and impact. Photographs in this contest should enhance the editorial message of the associated story or technical copy.

Prizes
State finalists – at the discretion of the local rural media organisation.
National – Framed certificate to overall winner.
International – The winner of each category will be awarded a certificate, 250 Euros and a gold pin. An overall winner will be chosen from the three category winners and receive a trophy, an IFAJ golden pin and an additional cash prize of 250 Euros.

Entry deadline for state finalists to ACAJ: Monday, January 11, 2010.
Entries must be submitted as an attachment to an email file and sent to Gordon Collie at gordon@agriprose.com.au by the deadline. Entries must be sent as a jpg-file - the size must be 13 cm x18 cm at 300 dpi, and no larger than 1MB.
The following information must be provided in the email to which the photograph is attached:

• Name, address, email address and telephone number of the entrant.
  
• Designated category - people, production or nature/landscape.
  
• The name of the publication/internet address where the photo was published, with the date and issue of publication and the headline of the story.
  
  All entrants must agree to give the ACAJ and the IFAJ free rights to publish their photos on the ACAJ/IFAJ websites, in ACAJ/FAJ publications and at the IFAJ congresses.

For more information contact national award coordinator Gordon Collie, Phone: 07 3856 3614. Mobile: 0409 473343 or Email: gordon@agriprose.com.au