Financial journalism award entries now open

Entries should be submitted before Friday 29 January 2010. The award is open to financial, business, investment and consumer fulltime and freelance journalists and work must be about investment issues or matters related to personal finance.

The new CEO of the Financial Planning Institute (FPI) Godfrey Nti and a FPI board member will act as judges in association with Robert Brand, the Pearson Chair of Economics Journalism from Rhodes University. Former FPI CEO, John Arnesen, who acted as a judge for the award for the past three years, will continue his involvement and participate in the judging of the 2010 award. Judges will consider the quality of the information provided, judge the journalistic merit (writing/presentation style), factual correctness; level of research evident in entries and newsworthiness.

“The continued participation of the FPI is very encouraging. We have no doubt that the institute's input has assisted with the development of the award. Considering the market events of the last eighteen months and the impact it had on investment portfolios and consumer's finances, the availability of good information about money matters is very important. The aim of the award is to encourage quality reporting about those issues that could assist and guide investors and consumers when making decisions about money,” says Citadel CEO Neil Brown.

Categories and prizes

• Breaking News - R7500 (one prize of each for print and electronic media)
  
• Analysis and opinion - R7500
  
• Best feature - R7500
  
• Consumer education - R7500
  
• Chairman's Award for Investigative Journalism - R7500
  
• Alternative investment award - R7500
  
• Newcomer of the Year - R5000
  
• Overall winner - R20 000

Winners of previous year's awards include 702 Talk Radio's Bruce Whitfield, personal finance editor Bruce Cameron, Financial Mail's Stephen Cranston and Moneyweb founder Alec Hogg. The award has also attracted entries from consumer magazines and television programmes as coverage of personal finance issues continues to grow in all media.

More details at ‘Media Room' on www.citadel.co.za