TheCable

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism has started accepting applications for the 12th edition of its award for investigative reporting.

Qualified applicants include Nigerian journalists or team of journalists, full or part-time, with stories published between October 4, 2016, and October 3, 2017.

In a statement, the centre said the award seeks to honour “in-depth coverage of clandestine activities on public and or corporate corruption, human rights abuses, or on regulatory failures in Nigeria”.

The journalism works could come from the print, online, photo, editorial cartoon, television, and radio categories in general.

Motunrayo Alaka, centre coordinator, said in addition to the broad categories, WSCIJ in collaboration with Oxfam, an organisation dedicated to working to end the injustices that cause poverty, has included a special prize for reporting agriculture and food security in this year’s edition.

“The prize, which is part of a larger programme, will serve as an encouragement to reporters who are dedicated to reporting the focus area,” the statement read.

“Received entries will be collated using the award coding system and assessed by a panel of media experts and related professionals with a good understanding of investigative reporting.

“Judges would broadly score stories based on the quality of investigation, evidence, human rights elements, ethical reportage, courage, individual creativity, public interest, impact and quality of presentation.”

She said the deadline for the submission of applications is 4pm on October 24, 2017.

“All entries, apart from the online categories which must be sent by email to [email protected], must be delivered to the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism office, Second Floor, No 18A Abiodun Sobajo Street, Off Lateef Jakande Street, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos,” the statement read.