For the 25th year running, Amnesty International invites journalists, editors, film-makers and photographers who have captured a powerful human rights story in the past year to enter its Media Awards.

The prestigious and highly-coveted Amnesty International Media Awards honour the vital role journalists play and the serious risks they face in highlighting injustice around the world.

Amnesty Award winners are often at the forefront of breaking news and exposing human rights abuses around the world.  Winners have included journalists from Channel 4 News, GQ, The Sunday Times, The Herald and ITV News. 

Amnesty welcomes entries from a diverse range of media outlets and encourages journalists from all media outlets to consider submitting pieces for the Awards.

There is free entry for Best Student Journalist and Nations and Regions categories, and an early bird discount for other categories until 1 June.

Amnesty International UK Director of Communications, Kerry Moscogiuri, said:

“Whether it be exposing racial profiling in the London housing market, or reporting on the atrocities in Syria, or a unique and compelling reportage on the refugee crisis, the media plays a crucial role in informing everyone about human rights abuses that happen every day.

“We recognise that such reporting is painstaking and is often risky.  This is why Amnesty pays tribute to outstanding human rights reporting, and we celebrate the journalists that dare to carry out this brave reporting, and their editors and outlets which give them the freedom to do so.”  

Judges

Each year, the UK’s finest editors, correspondents, photojournalists and documentary makers from every genre dedicate time and their professional expertise to judge the entries. 

This year is no exception.  Confirmed judges for 2016 Media Awards this year include:

§  Beatrice Rubens (BBC Radio)

§  Cathy Newman (Channel 4 News)

§  James Rea (LBC and Global News)

§  Oly Duff (The 'i')

§  Naresh Puri (BBC News)

§  Rankin (photographer and Hunger magazine founder)

§  Russ O’Connell (Sunday Times)

The Awards

Entries – which must have been published or broadcast for the first time in the UK between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016 – are invited in the following categories:

• Best Student Journalist – Run in collaboration with National Union of Students and The Observer
• Documentary – Programmes given a UK TV or theatrical screening         
• Features – Magazine or newspaper content that creatively explores topics, issues or stories relating to human rights.
• Multimedia – Websites, apps or interactive online news or feature-based reporting
• News – A news article or series of articles published in a UK national newspaper or website
• Nations and Regions – Print, online or broadcast entries from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions
• Photojournalism – For images published in the UK
• Radio – One news item or a series of podcasts, or programmes broadcast to a UK audience
• Television News – One news item or a series of broadcasts to a UK audience
• The Gaby Rado Award for Best New Journalist – For journalists who have been working in broadcast, online or print media for five years or less.

Amnesty will celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Media Awards in a series of ways this year. Kerry Moscogiuri added:

“For a quarter of a century Amnesty International has celebrated the best of human rights reporting. We are determined to continue doing so for another 25 years.” 

Visit the Amnesty Media Awards website