Higher Education Media Awards

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  • Joanna Mather is the 2013 Australian Higher Education Journalist of the Year

 

Joanna Mather of the Australian Financial Review, has been awarded the 2013 Higher Education Journalist of the Year. For her story “Uni chief consider fee rises”

Read the winning story here

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Professor Glyn Davis AC, Chair of Universities presented the award.

“Australia is well served by an especially high standard in education journalism and Universities Australia is very pleased to continue its support for these prestigious awards.”

National Press Club President Laurie Wilson and member of the judging panel commented that while the standard of entries is always very high, there are prizes for both print and broadcast and next year the judges would like to see more support from the broadcast media.

Category Winners

Category one – Award for excellence in communicating knowledge of Australia’s University Sector

WINNER – Joanna Mather, Australian Financial Review for “Uni chief consider fee rises”

Category Two - Award for excellence in communicating research and innovation, teaching and learning, equity and access, social inclusion or Indigenous education issues

COMMENDATION – Tim Dodd, Education Editor Australian Financial Review for “Free online courses will change universities” plus supporting articles

WINNER – Amanda Dunn, Senior Writer at The Age for – “Losing our local flavour"

 

 

Universities Australia (formerly the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee - AVCC) is the peak industry body representing Australia’s universities. Universities Australia has partnered with the National Press Club of Australia to present annual higher education media awards that reward and recognise excellent journalism and communication that covers key issues in higher education including the economic and social benefits emanating from Australia's universities to the government, industry and the community in general.

The awards are open to employed and freelance media professionals, or writing and production teams, who write/broadcast, on higher education policy, university teaching and research, and/or on the work of individual academics and institutions.

INVITATION TO SUBMIT

Entries for the Universities Australia Higher Education Media Awards 2014.

Submissions are due by 2 February 2014 and should be lodged as follows:

By mail, with a cover letter to:

The Awards Co-ordinator
National Press Club of Australia
PO Box 6184
Kingston  ACT  2604

OR

By email, with a cover letter to:

Higher Education Awd – your name and category in the subject line.
marketing@npc.org.au


ELIGIBILITY

The awards are open to employed and freelance media professionals, or writing and production teams, who write/broadcast on higher education policy, university teaching and research, and/or on the work of individual academics and institutions.

The awards have been established to recognise high quality media coverage of the Australian university sector, and work within and among universities, but do not cover university promotional material.

In each category, journalists are invited to submit entries in the following formats:
*    print stories
*    tapes, DVDs or pod/vodcasts of broadcast stories
*    live links/ or DVD downloads of online stories


GUIDELINES
*    One entry per person or team.
*    Individuals or teams may enter only in one category. Entrants should submit what they consider to be their best work and enter in the most appropriate category.
*    Each entry should comprise a single story with an option of presenting up to two additional follow-up stories expanding the theme of the original.
*    Each entry must have a cover letter which includes:
–    the entrant’s / team members’ contact details;
–    the award category being entered;
–    the name of the story.
*    Each entry should be accompanied by a narrative explanation of why the entry is an example of excellence, including elements such as context, technique, exclusivity, impact, influence of decision on opinion makers, or other outcomes.
*    For those submitting by mail, four (4) copies of the entry must be provided for distribution to the judges.
*    Work submitted should have been broadcast/printed in the 2012 calendar year (i.e. 1 January to 31 December 2012).
*    Where there is more than one person nominated for one entry, if that is a winning entry, the prize money will be divided among the entrants.
*    If there is a tied result in any category, the prize money will be divided among the winners for that category.


CATEGORIES
1.    Award for excellence in communicating knowledge of Australia’s university sector

Awarded to the entry that best demonstrates knowledge and understanding of current, key issue/s for the university sector through high quality, coherent reporting and analysis.

The entry should demonstrate a significant contribution to broadening awareness and understanding of the work of universities, their staff and students and the place of universities in Australia’s social and economic profile.

One award for print:        $1,000
One award for broadcast:    $1,000

Criteria:
*    high quality news reporting or opinion/comment;
*    communicates to a range of audiences (not only a specialised higher education sector audience);
*    analyses policy that places issues facing universities in the context of Australia’s overall economic, social and educational context.

2.    Award for excellence in communicating research and innovation, teaching and
learning, equity and access, social inclusion or Indigenous education issues

Awarded to the entry that best explains key issue/s relating to university research and innovation, teaching and learning, equity and access, social inclusion or Indigenous education through high quality, coherent reporting.

The entry should demonstrate a significant contribution to the profiling of the work and significance of individuals or teams of researchers, teachers and other university employees working in (or attached to (e.g. a medical research institute)) an Australian university, across any discipline.

One award for print:        $1,000
One award for broadcast:    $1,000


Criteria:
*    explains the purpose of the research, teaching or other initiative or program and outlines its outcomes;
*    places the project or initiative in the broad context of the relevant discipline area, and in the context of national and international achievement;
*    reports the challenges facing the person or groups.


3.    Universities Australia Higher Education Journalist of the Year

Awarded to the person or team who has submitted the most outstanding of all entries, as demonstrated through significance, impact, influence, reach, writing (and production if applicable).

Study Tour:    $10,000

 

HIGHER EDUCATION JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR WINNERS

2009            LUKE SLATTERY               THE AUSTRALIAN
2010            JOHN ROSS                     CAMPUS REVIEW
2011            ELIZABETH FINKEL            COSMOS MAGAZINE
2012    BERNARD LANE                 THE AUSTRALIAN
2013    Joanna Mather                 Australian Financial Review