The Press Club, Mumbai endeavors to promote best practices among journalists and encourages quality writing, fair play and high ethical standards. In the pursuit of these goals, the Press Club has been awarding the best performers among photo-journalists in Mumbai for the last 10 years. Last year, for the first time, the Club introduced awards for writers in two different categories – the K.N.Prabhu Awards for Excellence in cricket writing, and the Pradeep Shinde Awards for the Excellence in Crime Reporting. These awards were given away at a glittering ceremony on February 15, 2011 in Mumbai to winners from as far off as Thiruvananthapuram in the South, and Srinagar in the North.
The excellent response last year and the need to create a professional platform for recognizing talent and hard work have encouraged us to expand the spectrum of awards this year. It is still a small start and we hope to cover many more categories and mediums in years to come.
THE CATEGORIES OF AWARDS FOR 2012 ARE:
1. The K N Prabhu Award for Excellence in Cricket Writing instituted by the Press Club and Podar Enterprise.
2. The Pradeep Shinde Award for Excellence in Crime Reporting for the Best Crime story or investigation in 2012.
3. Award for the Best Political Story of the Year for the most outstanding news report / commentary/ investigation related to political events and leaders in the country.
4. Award for the Best Business Story of the Year for the most outstanding news report/ commentary/ analysis in respect of corporate bodies or finance and banking or economic policy-making.
5. Entertainment Writer of the Year Award for the best news Story/report/ analysis of events related to entertainment and celebrities featuring filmed entertainment, television or other mediums.
6. Award for the Best Story on Health / Environment for the most outstanding contributions to bringing the spotlight on a burning or relevant issue concerning health or the environment.
7. For the first time in India, the Press Club will institute a Lifetime Achievement Award for an Outstanding lifetime Contribution to Journalism.
Conditions of Entry:
1. Each of the categories of awards will carry a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh. The winning article/story will be awarded prize money of Rs.75,000 and a citation, while the runners-up will be awarded prize money of Rs.25,000 and a citation.
2. Indian journalists residing anywhere in the country are eligible to apply for the awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be selected by a special jury from among a short-list drawn up by the Managing Committee of the Press Club. Editors or editorial heads can also nominate stories/articles of journalists working in their charge.
3. Entries are invited of articles that have been published on an established media platform (newspapers, magazines or websites) and that have been published in calendar year 2011. However, each applicant will be allowed a maximum of 3 entries across all categories.
4. Entries of published articles can be in any language, but those entries not in English must be accompanied by an English translation.
5. Entries are required to be recommended/ supported by the Editor or Department Head of media platform.
6. Entries must be sent by April 5, 2012 as a soft copy to the following address: manager@pressclubmumbai.com. This should be followed by a hard copy accompanied by a short CV and address of the journalist author delivered to the Press Club office or posted to: The Manager, The Press Club, Mumbai, Glass House, Azad Maidan, Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai – 400 001. The envelope/cover with the article must be marked ‘Journalist Award’.
7. The Awards Ceremony will be held in Mumbai sometime in May 2012. Those winners who are not from Mumbai will be provided air fare to and fro and hotel accommodation.
8. A distinguished panel of judges in all categories appointed by the Press Club will decide on the winning entries. The decision of the panel will be final.
