The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF) is now accepting submissions for its 2022 Awards in International Journalism. The Awards honour excellence in courageous reporting of conflict, corruption, human rights transgressions and other related issues.
The only international recognition of their type for print journalists, the Awards are split into three categories:
- Freelance Award: recognising journalists who travel to the world’s conflict zones, usually at great personal risk, to witness and report on the impact and consequences of these events.
- Local Reporter Award: recognising the often-overlooked work of journalists in developing nations (or countries in transition) who write about events in their homeland.
- News Fixer Award: recognising local journalists and/or experts, hired by a visiting foreign reporter or news organisation, whose guidance and local knowledge materially benefited the content, impact and reach of the stories submitted.
KSMF invites freelance journalists, local reporters and fixers from all over the world to enter the 21st annual Awards, established in 2002 in memory of American freelance journalist Kurt Schork who was killed in 2000 while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone.
Last year’s winners were Iranian American journalist Jason Motlagh (Freelance category), Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares (Local Reporter category) and Khabat Abbas from Syria (News Fixer category).
The Kurt Schork Awards continue to highlight the particular difficulties faced by freelance journalists, local reporters and fixers, as well as their courageous reporting. The News Fixer Award, launched in 2016 and presented for the first time in 2017, seeks to highlight the work of some of the unsung heroes of modern journalism.
The three winners – each of whom will receive a cash prize of $5,000 – will be announced towards the end of this year, alongside an associated event. Entrants must submit three articles each – published between June 01, 2021 and May 31, 2022. Judges will look for journalistic excellence in applicants’ submissions and evidence of determination and courage in obtaining their stories. The deadline for entries is midnight (GMT) on Tuesday, May 31.
Further details about eligibility and entry criteria, as well as the online entry form and an FAQ, can be found on the KSMF website at: www.ksmfund.org.
You can read about the 2021 Awards here, and watch Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, deliver a keynote speech for the online event here.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation has supported the Awards since 2009, as part of its global work to advance press freedom and to strengthen the independent media ecosystem.
About the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund
Named in honour of American correspondent Kurt Schork, the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund exists to keep the world aware of the debt we owe to brave journalists who work hard – often at great personal risk – to report on conflict, corruption and injustice. Its annual Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism uniquely honour the work of freelance journalists, local reporters and news fixers, who often otherwise receive little recognition.
About the Thomson Reuters Foundation:
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information services company. As an independent charity, registered in the UK and the USA, it works to advance media freedom, foster more inclusive economies, and promote human rights. Through news, media development, free legal assistance and convening initiatives, it uses the combined power of journalism and the law to build global awareness of critical issues faced by humanity, inspire collective leadership and help shape a prosperous world where no one is left behind.