Student Journalism Prize

Entries must be complete pieces of journalism intended for a public or clearly defined audience.

Eligible formats include:

• audio or radio journalism
• data journalism
• multimedia or interactive journalism
• photographic journalism or photo essays
• video journalism
• written journalism
• other journalistic forms approved by the prize administrators.

The work may be:

• published
• unpublished
• independently produced for assessment*, student publication or during an internship.

* Work submitted for assessment is eligible where the work itself constitutes journalism. Academic achievement, marks received and compliance with unit requirements will not be considered in judging.

For the purposes of this prize, journalism is work that:

• seeks to inform a public or defined audience about matters of fact, experience, significance or public interest
• is based substantially on reporting, investigation, observation, interviewing, documentary evidence, data analysis or another verifiable newsgathering process
• applies editorial judgement to selecting, testing, contextualising and presenting information
• distinguishes factual claims from analysis, interpretation and opinion
• meets appropriate standards of accuracy, fairness (including seeking fair comment), attribution, transparency and ethical practice.

Unconventional, distinctive, experimental and emerging news formats are welcome, provided that the entry remains demonstrably journalistic.

The following submissions are not eligible for entry:

• fiction or work containing substantially invented events, sources, quotations, audio, images or evidence
• public relations, advertising, marketing, promotional, advocacy or corporate communication produced primarily on behalf of an organisation, campaign, product or client
• sponsored or branded content where commercial or institutional promotion is the principal purpose
• academic essays, literature reviews, research papers, reflective statements or critical analyses that are not constructed as journalism for an audience
• personal opinion, commentary or reviews that do not include substantial original reporting or evidentiary work
• media production exercises that demonstrate technical skills but do not contain a substantive act of journalism
• unedited or minimally edited interview recordings, transcripts or source material submitted without sufficient journalistic construction and context
• work substantially produced by a person other than the entrant
• work that breaches copyright, confidentiality, consent, privacy, defamation or other legal and ethical obligations
• work found to contain fabricated, plagiarised or materially misleading content.

An entry may be deemed ineligible if its principal purpose or method is not journalistic, even if it uses some conventions associated with news or current affairs.

Where an entry was created collaboratively, the entrant must clearly describe:

• the names and roles of all contributors
• whether any contributor was paid or employed to work on the entry
• whether the work was produced under professional editorial supervision.

The person submitting the entry is responsible for distributing any cash prize among the contributors, and by submitting the entry, they confirm that all contributors have agreed to this arrangement.

If an entry contains sensitive, confidential or legally restricted material, the entrant must identify and indicate this at the time of submission.

Any use of generative AI or automated production tools must be disclosed. Such tools must not be used to generate or fabricate:

• draft or final text
• reporting, sources, quotations, interviews, events or evidence
• visual or audio design
• other creative material that meaningfully contributes to the work.

Entrants remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, legality and ethical integrity of all submitted material. This provision draws on guidance from Proudly Human’s De minimis AI use for authors and writers.

Entries will be assessed in accordance with five criteria:

1. Journalistic quality and rigour – the accuracy, depth, fairness and reliability of the reporting, including the quality of research, sourcing, verification and contextualisation.
2. Originality and distinctiveness – the extent to which the entry demonstrates an original idea, approach, investigation, perspective, treatment or form.
3. Public value and significance – the importance or relevance of the subject, and the entry’s capacity to either:
   • increase understanding
   • reveal something not previously known
   • represent an under-reported experience
   • contribute constructively to public discussion.
4. Editorial judgement – the quality of focus, structure, evidence, inclusion, omission, tone, framing and audience.
5. Communication and execution – the effectiveness with which the journalism is presented in its chosen medium, including clarity, coherence, accessibility and technical execution.