The Walkley Award for Best Freelance Journalist of the Year is an initiative of the Walkley Foundation in partnership with the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance. The Award recognises the unique contribution that freelance journalists make across all media platforms to the future of the industry and is open to residents of either Australia or New Zealand.

In its inaugural year the  winner will receive $3,000 in prize money, $500 worth of professional development training and/or conference attendance through the Walkley training and conference program and two tickets to the Walkley Awards Gala Dinner.

The Award for Best Freelance Journalist of the Year will be chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence.  Judging will be for a body of work published or broadcast in any medium in the last year. The criteria used for judging will include:

• newsworthiness
• research
• writing
• production
• incisiveness
• impact
• public benefit
• ethics
• originality
• innovation
• creative flair

Judges will take regard of the resources available and effort expended in the preparation of the work.

What can I enter?

Entrants may submit up to 5 pieces of work published or broadcast through media outlets or on-line in Australia or New Zealand from 30 Jan 2011 to 1 Feb 2012. Work may include a submission from one medium only or any combination of print, photo, on-line, blog, social media, video and/or radio.

What constitutes a piece of work?

In some cases the nature of the work will be clear for example a stand alone article, a photograph, a blog entry, a radio or television story or interview, or a twitter stream. It may however constitute a combination of some or all of these elements. In journalism today this is often fluid and principles of common sense should be applied.

What date do entries close?

Entries open Monday February 6, and close at 5pm, Wednesday, March 7th, 2012.

When will the winner be announced?

The winner and two finalists will be announced at the Annual Media Alliance Freelance Conference in Melbourne on Friday March 30, 2012. All entrants will receive an invitation to attend the announcement.

How are entries judged?

Judging for the Best Freelance of the Year Award will be the same as the Walkley Awards. This will be peer judging by a three-person panel of journalists who will determine the winner and two finalists based on the criteria specified.

What are the conditions of entry?

Entrants must be regularly and constantly engaged as a freelance journalist/photographer in any one of a number of branches of journalism including: print, photography, on-line, blogging, radio, video, or television. Entrants must be residents and citizens of Australia and or New Zealand and work submitted for entry must be published, produced or broadcasting in either Australia or New Zealand.

What does it cost to enter the awards?

Entry is free for Members of the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance and the EPMU as a benefit of membership. The cost of entering the award for non-members is $260 including GST. Inquires about Media Alliance membership please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details or call 1300 656 513

How to enter

To submit your entry, visit here and follow the online prompts. At the end of the online submission process, you will be sent a confirmation email, which you must print and include with your entry when you post it to The Walkley Foundation. Failure to provide the stipulated material may result in disqualification of the entry.

Post material by the closing date of 5pm on Wednesday March 7, 2012 to:

The Walkley Best Freelance Journalist of the Year
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance,
245 Chalmers Street,
Redfern, NSW, 2016

What do I need to include with my entry?

Printed confirmation of email with entry number.

Entry declaration

Four printed copies of each piece of work entered.

For radio and video submissions four individual CD’s or DVD’s on each piece entered including 4 hard copies of transcripts for each.

For blog or social media 4 hard copies documenting the stream.

Four hard copies of your 200 word entry statement.

Note: At the completion of your online entry a confirmation email will be sent to you. Please print and attach four copies to your entry and send to:

The Walkley Best Freelance Journalist of the Year
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance,
245 Chalmers Street,
Redfern, NSW, 2016

Do I have to include a 200-word entry statement?

Yes, your entry statement is to assist the judging process and should outline the case for consideration for the award. You may address the judging criteria and explain the circumstances in which the entry was produced and why you have selected the pieces for submission. Please note, your statement must only be 200 words and only one version of that statement is required to cover all pieces of work entered. Statements longer than 200 words will not be considered.

What is the entry declaration?

You will need to submit a declaration that each piece of work entered is your own and supply as a reference the name and contact details of commissioning editors or producers of each piece of work for verification.

Are group entries permissible?

No.

Where can I get an entry form?

There are no hardcopy entry forms. You can only enter the awards online here.

Time Line

Entries Open
Monday February 6, 2012

Entries Close
5pm, Wednesday March 7, 2012

Judging
Monday, March 12 – Monday, March 26

Winner and Finalist
Announced Friday, March 30, 2012

Terms & Conditions of Entry – Please read carefully

Entries are open to all Australian and New Zealand freelance journalists who are regularly and constantly engaged as a freelancer and have had work published or broadcast in any medium through Australian or New Zealand media outlets or on-line between January 30, 2011 and February 1, 2012.

Entrants must be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents of Australia.

All entrants are required to submit a declaration to establish their bona fides as a freelance journalist/photographer and must certify that the entry is their original work, and apart from normal subeditorial/production treatment, they have adhered to the Media Alliance Code of Ethics in its preparation, undertake to abide by the Code of Ethics in the year to 1 Feb 2012 and have complied with all copyright requirements. All entries should declare in their entrant's statement any subsequent formal corrections, challenges to the accuracy of an entry or claims of plagiarism or defamation against the work.

Each entrant may enter only once with up to five pieces of work.

The cost of entering the awards is $260.00 per person (inc. GST). Through its support of the Walkley Foundation, the Alliance covers the entry costs for its financial members of the MEAA and the EPMU as a benefit of membership.

Judges have the right to reject an entry which in their opinion does not comply with the requirements of the competition. The judges' decision will be final. The Walkley Foundation Advisory Board reserves the right to withdraw an award if it later finds the entrant did not comply with the entry conditions.

The Walkley Foundation reserves the right to use all material submitted for presentation and media use and to reproduce it for the purposes of promoting the awards and for allowing a telecast of the presentation ceremony.

Please keep copies of all material submitted. Entries will not be returned.