2013 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism Now Accepting Entries

Related: ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX

The Walter Cronkite Award For Excellence In Television Political Journalism encourages and showcases substantive and innovative coverage that informs viewers about their electoral choices. Administered by the Norman Lear Center at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism of the University of Southern California, the award recognizes television journalism that helps viewers understand who the candidates are; what the issues and ballot propositions are; how electoral choices will affect their lives; how to assess campaign information, including advertising; and how to register, vote and make their own voices heard.

This year we partner with the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania to introduce the Brooks Jackson Prize For Fact Checking Political Advertising, which recognizes TV journalists' best practices in reducing the level of deception and confusion in U.S. political ads. The prize is named for the founding director of http://www.FactCheck.org.

The award ceremony and symposium will be held April 19 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., and will recognize work produced during the 2011-2012 presidential election season. Entries are now being accepted.

DEADLINE:
Entries must be postmarked by January 11, 2013. An early bird deadline with reduced entry fee is December 14, 2012.

AWARD CATEGORIES:
Local Broadcast Station

Local Cable Station

Local Public Station

Individual Achievement, Local: Any individual from a local public, commercial, broadcast or cable station is eligible.

National Network Program: Public, commercial, broadcast and cable networks are eligible to submit separate entries for one or more daily or weekly regularly scheduled program.

Individual Achievement, National: Any individual from a national public, commercial, broadcast or cable station is eligible.

Group: Entries will demonstrate achievement on stations across an ownership group. Broadcast, cable and public station groups are eligible.

NEW: The Brooks Jackson Prize for Fact Checking Political Advertising (see below)

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
Coverage submitted must have aired in the United States sometime during 2011-2012.

Entry forms, narratives and video log-lists must be submitted electronically via our online entry form.

Web content: any submission has the option to include a narrative about the applicant's use of multimedia, social media and/or interactive technology on a TV news website, which may include screenshots, links and compilations of online content.

Non-English language entries are encouraged and must be accompanied by an English transcript, or it may contain English subtitles or be dubbed in English.

This year's competition includes the inaugural Brooks Jackson Prize for Fact Checking Political Advertising. The prize recognizes TV journalists' best practices in reducing the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. The prize is named for Brooks Jackson, the founding director of FactCheck.org. Winners will be selected by a special jury convened by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Winning submissions will include a narrative about the applicant's use of multimedia, social media and/or interactive technology on their TV news website, which may include screenshots, links and compilations of online content. Two prizes will be awarded, one for local news and one for network news. Entries may be submitted by individuals, teams, news programs, stations or networks. An individual, team, news program or station may submit only one entry in this category, but a network may submit entries from more than one program. Multiple individuals or teams from the same station may apply separately.