Launched in 2010, The Reporting Award award provides up to $12,500 for a significant work of journalism, in any medium, on an under-reported subject in the public interest. In establishing the award, the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute’s faculty cited the need for encouraging enterprising journalism during a time of extensive layoffs and budget cuts throughout the journalism industry.
The American Society of News Editors has reported the loss of 16,200 full-time newspaper editorial jobs from 2003 to 2012, while Ad Age reports the loss of 38,000 magazine positions. These numbers are only partially offset by the growth of about 5,000 jobs at digital news organizations, as reported by the Pew Research Center.
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Over the last ten years, Reporting Award winners have covered Haitian earthquake victims; a shelter for homeless pregnant women; and membership disputes within Native American tribes.
Sarah Stillman, the Award’s first recipient in 2010, returned to Iraq and made her first trip to Afghanistan to pursue an investigative reporting project on the plight of foreign workers on U.S. military bases in both countries. Her resulting piece, “The Invisible Army,” appeared at a feature in the June 6, 2011 issue of The New Yorker. Ms. Stillman received a National Magazine Award for her article.
Benefits
The Institute will select one or several winners of The Reporting Award. Each winner may receive a different award amount, at the discretion of the selection committee. The maximum award amount is $12,500.
Regardless of the total award amount, the disbursement of the award is divided into two payments:
- $2,500 is paid upon the Institute’s acceptance of the proposal and signing of an award agreement.
- The balance of the award amount is paid upon completion of the work by the project completion deadline, provided the Institutes awards committee judges the work to be acceptable. The Institute expects that the completed work will be published in a reputable media outlet of wide circulation.
Eligibilities
While the institute welcomes applications from journalists working in virtually any field or country, there are some eligibility restrictions. The following individuals are not eligible to apply for the Reporting Award:
- NYU Affiliates
- Recent NYU graduates (degrees dated 2019 or later)
- Journalists holding staff positions at established media outlets that are in a position to fund such projects on their own.
- The Competition is open to anyone age 21 and older, with the exceptions provided for in this section. Entrants are not required to be published journalists but the Institute encourages applications from journalists with a proven track record.