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Call for Application: Wole Soyinka 2021 Award for Investigative Reporting

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) is beckoning on all Nigerian professional journalist or team of journalist, whether full-time or part-time to sumbit their applications for the 14th edition of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.

To be eligble, the journalist's work must involve reporting on public and corporate corruption, human rights violation, or on the failure of regulatory agencies, amongst other criteria which is mentioned in the body of this article. In addition, the work in question would have been published or broadcast in a Nigerian media between 4th October 2018 and October 2019.


WSCIJ Investigative Reporting Award

Application DeadlineOctober 24, 2019
Country to studyNigeria
TypePostgraduate
SponsorWole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
GenderMen and Women

Benefits of WSCIJ Investigative Reporting Award

The award win includes a cash prize, an award plaque, a certificate of commendation, a computer backup hard drive and an international study tour.

Requirements for WSCIJ Investigative Reporting Award

The Award is open to any Nigerian professional reporter or team of reporters (full time or freelancing), 18-years and above, who have published stories either online, in print, or through electronic media primarily targeted at and received by a Nigerian audience.

The main criterion for eligibility is that the work (single work or single-subject serial) must involve reporting on public, and or corporate corruption, human rights violation, or on the failure of regulatory agencies. The story should reflect a high quality of investigation in terms of newsworthiness, capacity to expose or prevent clandestine activities, corruption in the public domain, an understanding of human rights implications enhanced by the quality of delivery/presentation/writing. Such works should have been first published or broadcast in a Nigerian media between 4th October 2020 and 3rd October 2021.

An applicant may only submit a maximum of a total of two entries.

Print Entries – Newspaper and Magazine

  1. Entrants are required to send the original and a CLEAN Photocopy

Broadcast Entries – Radio and Television

  1. Transcripts should be written in English language
  2. Audio entries should be sent in audio CD format, with accompanying script while video entries must be on CD, with accompanying script.
  3. 2 copies of each entry is required

Photographic Entries

  1. In addition to the broad criteria, photo entries will be scored on creativity, impact and technical quality.
  2. Each entry must be well captioned in English
  3. It must come with the original photo, a copy of the published work with a clean photocopy of the latter and a CD with the picture(s)

Online Entries

  1. Clearly indicated URL (web link) for the published work is required as printouts are unacceptable.
  2. Entry should be sent online to [email protected]

Editorial Cartooning

  1. In addition to the broad criteria, editorial cartooning will also be scored on impact, creativity and originality.
  2. An original copy of the published work with clean photocopy are required

Generally

  1. Entry is free.
  2. Only a maximum of two entries across all categories of the award will be allowed per entrant.
  3. All submitted works must be in English Language.
  4. The reporter with the most outstanding work(s) amongst the finalists will be selected as the WSCIJ-Nigerian Investigative Reporter of the year.
  5. Entering for this competition commits you to grant WSCIJ a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free licence to use your works for any purpose deemed appropriate for the development of the award initiative, the Centre and the Nigerian and global media.
  6. To enhance the development of media in the country, reporters that have been winners in this competition on at least three occasions are ineligible to enter.
  7. Employees of the WSCIJ and/or their immediate families are ineligible to participate in the competition.
  8. WSCIJ guarantees that there is no connection between any sponsor and the judging process despite possible sponsorship of some categories of the award.
  9. The competition shall be covered and interpreted with the laws of Nigeria.

Selection: All entries will be collated using the entry coding system and judged by a panel of experts from the media and related professions who are keen on investigative journalism. Judges would score stories based on ethical reporting, courage, individual creativity and public interest slant.

Selection Process

Judging Process

  • A distinguished judges’ board, which comprises respected persons with suitable knowledge, competencies and experience in news media practice, investigative reporting and ethics shall adjudge the competition.
  • All entries are coded to disguise media house and reporter’s by-line using the WSCIJ entry coding system before dispatch to judges
  • Judges’ board members can only assess, score or vote on works to which they have no organisational or family ties.
  • Entries detected to have plagiarised content will be disqualified.
  • Due to WSCIJ’s commitment to excellence, it will be in order to have categories without a finalist if the entries in such a category are adjudged to have fallen below expected standard
  • The rigorous eligibility and judging process uphold the integrity and reputation of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting 2021 competition. The judges reserve the right to disqualify any piece of work and/or finalist if, in the judges’ opinion, there exists reasonable doubt about the authenticity and/or accuracy of the submitted entry and/or the integrity of the finalists based on the set criteria
  • WSCIJ award recipients (Soyinka Laureates (winners), runners-up and commended works) are expected to be persons with high ethical and professional standards. The organisation reserves the right to withdraw awards at any point in time based on the misconduct of an award recipient.

Application Deadline

October 24, 2019

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) on award.wscij.org to apply

 The submitted package should include:

  • A brief synopsis of the story/series, picture, or portfolio.

In the synopsis,  the applicant is expected to:

  • Explain the background of the project, identifying the issues and key players.
  • Describe what led to the topic or caption, any unusual condition faced in developing the project and whether the investigation had any ramifications.
  • Describe challenges to the content of the story/series that were not reported in the original work.
  • Include up-to-date curriculum vitae for every reporter who bears the byline of the story with passport photograph(s).
  • Include any relevant background information on submitted work(s).

Kindly send entries to:

The Centre Coordinator,
18A, Abiodun Sobanjo Street, Off Lateef Jakande Road,
Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Online entries must however, be sent via email to [email protected]

For more details, visit WSCIJ website


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