R100 000 award for journalism exposing business corruption

This is an award where the full amount of R100 000 will be awarded to one person, there will be no runners up.

As the most significant exposé of corporate corruption in recent years, the Enron scandal alerted audiences to the scale and depth of global private sector fraud. Of course South Africa is not immune. To highlight the seriousness of corporate treachery in this country, and to acknowledge the various pressures brought to bear on journalists who uncover it, the Valley Trust is awarding R100 000 for the finest journalism of this nature.

The criteria for the award are as follows:

1. The award is open to any journalist/s across the mediums (newspaper, magazine, radio, television and Internet), but submissions must have been published or broadcast in South Africa, by a South African media entity.
2. The judges will be assessing first and foremost the extent of the corporate corruption exposed and the extent of the pressures experienced (and overcome) by the journalist/s. The consequences of publication/broadcast will also be an important factor (directors forced to resign, commissioned investigations, etc).
3. The award is solely applicable to journalism dealing with private sector corruption. Entries that deal with government or parastatal corruption will be disqualified.
4. There will be no runner-up prizes and the entire sum of R100 000 will be awarded to the winner. However, it is acknowledged that teams of journalists will often work on one story, and that the editor/producer will play a significant role. Entrants must clearly state if entering as a team, and supply the names of all relevant journalists and/or the editor/producer on the team.
5. Entrants must submit one copy of the published article/taped broadcast plus a written motivation explaining the pressures brought to bear. All submissions must be sanctioned and signed-off by the appropriate editorial manager - the senior editor in print and Internet, and the executive producer or station manager in broadcast.
6. Only entries published/broadcast between 1 May 2003 and 30 April 2004 are eligible.

The closing date for submission of entries is September 20, 2004. The winner will be announced in October 2004 in the press and various media channels, and the full "story behind the story" will be published in the November issue of The Media magazine. There will be no awards ceremony.

All entries to be addressed as follows: Valley Trust Award, PO Box 1574, Parklands 2121, Gauteng.

The judges are Hon Justice Cloete of the Supreme Court of Appeal; Taco Kuiper of the Valley Trust; Professor Tawana Kupe of Wits University; V Bray, ex-Chairman of JCI/Western Areas; and Kevin Bloom, Editor of The Media magazine.