CSIRO offers $5000 Journalist 'Award'

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 12:19

Opinion and Analysis

Australia's national government body for scientific research in Australia, the CSIRO, has decided it wants to 'acknowledge and celebrate journalists alongside CSIRO's scientists and researchers' for the first time, offering a $5000 travel grant to the journalist judged by the CSIRO's judging panel that best used 'exceptional reporting' that promotes the awareness and impact of science to Australians.

If you're a journalist with a scientific bent, you may well be interested in hearing about the CSIRO's new $5000 prize for journalists.

Called the 'inaugural CSIRO Medal for Journalists', the CSIRO says it is to 'acknowledge and celebrate journalists alongside CSIRO's scientists and researchers' for the first time, offering a $5000 travel grant to the journalist judged by the CSIRO's judging panel.

Visions of medals being handed out by the Soviet Union to compliant citizens comes to mind, with the mere saying so probably barring me from ever winning such an award, but far be it from me to deny the CSIRO the right to hand out prestigious awards and $5000 travel vouchers if they so wish.

The CSIRO's media release state that the award 'encourages and showcases exceptional reporting that promotes awareness of science and its impact to the Australian community.'

It also states that this year's inaugural award for journalists 'will acknowledge their role of communicating science in ways that help Australians to engage with science.'

Presumably an article promoting actual science in determining the truth around climate change will also be an article that will never win the CSIRO's award, seeing as there is supposed 'consensus' in this regard, despite much debate still occurring on both sides of that particular equation.

The CSIRO notes that: 'The article, film, story or body of work in traditional or new media will publicise scientific advances that have, or will, further the social and economic interests of Australians.'

If you are a science-based journalist that wishes to apply for the CSIRO's award, you must submit work that demonstrates how that article 'promoted the impact of CSIRO's science performance', that article must show that the journalist has 'effectively communicated the work of a CSIRO employee and or their partners', the article must have 'highlighted the significance of the work to the local or the broader community', and it must have 'communicated the benefits to individuals, industry or society'.

The deadline for entering the award is Friday the 26th of August, 2011, and includes articles written between the 8th of June 2010 to the th of June 2011.

The winner will be notified in early September 2011, with the award ceremony due to be held in Canberra on October 12, 2011.

More information and an application form is available here at the CSIRO's site.