Uganda National Journalism Awards deadline extended to May 31

African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) has extended the deadline of submissions for the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2020. The deadline has been moved in order to give journalists more time to submit their entries in light of the travel and work restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Uganda National Journalism Awards 2020, held with the support of the Democratic Governance Facility, are open to all professional journalists working in print, television, radio and online news platforms in Uganda for stories published or broadcast between 1 January and 31 December 2019.

Awards categories

The Uganda National Journalism Awards 2020 will be given to the best reporting in 20 categories, namely:

1. Agriculture reporting	11. Health reporting
2. Arts reporting	12. Investigative reporting
3. Breaking news reporting	13. Justice, law and order
4. Business, economics and financial reporting	14. Local reporting
5. Data journalism	15. National news reporting (Broadcast)
6. Education	16. National news reporting (Print)
7. Energy, oil, gas and mineral resources	17. News illustration
8. Environment reporting	18. Photo and video journalism
9. Explanatory reporting	19. Political reporting
10. Feature writing	20. Sports

The judging process

An independent expert panel of 16 members will select winning entries based on accuracy, initiative, originality, clarity of interpretation, storytelling ability, public benefit/impact, audience engagement, innovation, and writing and creative flair.

The prize

Both the winner and first runner-up in each category will receive a substantial cash prize. Plaques and certificates will also be given. A separate prize for exceptional journalism shall also be awarded to a participant in UNJA who exhibits extensive knowledge of his or her reporting beat, provides evidence of growth over the period of assessment, consistently produces quality work, and is highly regarded by others in the profession. Winners will be celebrated at a grand gala to be held in Kampala in June 2020. Additionally, winning entries will be published online and in a booklet to be distributed by ACME.

How to participate

All submissions must have been published or broadcast in a Ugandan media outlet or a regional outlet with a substantial Ugandan audience during the 2019 calendar year. Web-based news organisations that follow a strict code of journalistic ethics and publish original reporting on a regular basis may also submit entries.

To submit an entry for the awards, visit the Eligibility Rules and Submission Guidelines page on this website.

Further information

For more information about the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2020, write to awards@acme-ug.org, subject: ‘UNJA 2020 inquiries’.