Entries for NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards to open next week

Entries for this year's NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards will open on July 9th, organisers have announced.

The awards programme, which is sponsored by the National Lottery, celebrates the best in Irish journalism and features a total of 24 categories spanning all areas and disciplines of modern journalism.

Entry to the awards is open to any work published in print, online, video, or audio from any NewsBrands Ireland member title.

This year, a new category called the Covid-19 Journalism Award has been added. It will honour the best article or series of articles which have shed light and increased understanding of coronavirus and its impact.

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Entries are not restricted to health journalists and may cover any areas which were affected by the virus – society, business, government, as well as healthcare.

Newsbrands Ireland said the winning work “will have been in the public interest and will exemplify why a commitment to fact-based ethical journalism serves an important public purpose at a time of social media fake news and disinformation”.

The issue of social media and disinformation is also highlighted by former Irish Examiner editor and chairman of the judging panel Tim Vaughan.

“Yet again, Irish news publishers have triumphed in producing outstanding and important journalism in the most difficult circumstances,” he said.

“They have been a crucial source of truth during Covid-19, especially when unregulated social media tech giants were happy to publish for profit scare-mongering falsehoods and damaging conspiracy theories.”

Andrew Algeo, chief executive of the National Lottery, said the organisation was “delighted to sponsor the NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards again in 2020”.

“These awards are a recognition of the immense and valued role that great journalism plays in Irish society,” he said. “Shining as it does a bright light and explaining the impact of events in their true context.”