MISA Malawi is inviting interested paid up members to submit their published stories for the 2023/24 MISA Malawi Annual Media Awards. The awards will be given out as part of the celebrations to mark World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) scheduled for Sunbird Nkopola, Mangochi, Saturday, May 4, 2024.
The awards will include four new categories:
- Cancer Story of the Year Award: This award will recognise exceptional newspaper, radio, television and online stories/reports with a particular focus on any of the following areas but not limited to:
- Growing burden of cancer in Malawi
- Difficulties linked to accessing quality anticancer drugs and treatment
- Socio-economic impact for people living with cancer, especially women
- High prevalence and mortality of gynecologic cancers in Malawi
- Cancer prevention initiatives
- Comprehensive cancer care ranging from prevention to palliative care
This award will be sponsored by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
- Best Journalist of the Year Award on Child Labour Reporting: This award aims to raise awareness on the challenges that child labour poses at household, community and national level. The award also aims to recognise exceptional newspaper, radio, television and online stories/reports with a particular focus on examples of best practices in holistic/multi-sectoral efforts to eradicating child labour in Malawi. The award will be sponsored by Joining Forces Africa (JOFA), a consortium of six organisations dedicated to the promotion of children’s rights and welfare.
- Best Journalist of the Year Award on Early Childhood Development (ECD) Reporting: This award aims to recognise one outstanding journalist in early childhood development reportimg. This award focuses on the significant role that ECD plays in an economy with special focus on challenges affecting the sector in Malawi and efforts aimed at ensuring universal access to early childhood development initiatives. The award will be sponsored by Early Childhood Development Coalition Malawi.
- Community Media House of the Year: Supported by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), the award will recognise a community media house that has published quality development stories. Quality will refer to stories with demonstrable impact, involve the community and are well balanced among other elements.
Also note that in 2024, Old Mutual Responsible Business Journalist of Year Award focuses on stories about implementation of Malawi’s new Pensions Act of 2023.
On this basis, 2023/24 MISA Malawi Annual Media Awards will have the following categories:
- New categories:
- Cancer Story of the Year Award
- Best Journalist of the Year Award on Child Labour Reporting: Print, Electronic, Online
- Best Journalist of the Year Award on Early Childhood Development (ECD) Reporting
- MISA Malawi Traditional awards
- Print and electronic
- Investigative Journalist of the year award
- Business and Economics Journalist of the year award
- Responsible Business Journalist of the year award
- Red Ribbon/HIV Journalist of the Year Award – NAC
- Human Rights Journalist of the year award
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene journalist of the year award
- Lilongwe Water Board Urban Water Development journalist of the Year
- ICT journalist of the year award
- Best Older Persons Journalists of the year award
- Public Infrastructure Management Journalist of the year award
- Health Research Journalist of the Year
- Democracy and Good Governance
- Best Women and Girls Journalist of the Year Award
- Quality and Standards Journalist of the Year
- Supply Chain of Essential Medicines Award
- Adult Learning and Education (ALE) Journalist of the year award
- Combined print and electronic
- Sports journalist of the year award
- Photojournalist of the year award
- Raphael Tenthani Columnist of the year
Electronic Only
- Podcast of the Year Award
- MISA Malawi will also recognise the following categories:
- Overall winner award
- Life-time achiever award
- Print media house of the year award
- Electronic media house of the year award: Radio
- Electronic media house of the year award: Television
- Electronic media house of the year award: Online
- Community media house of the year award
MISA Malawi members will be required to vote/nominate their respective winners under Lifetime Achiever and Print and Electronic Media House of the year awards. Entries for Raphael Tenthani Columnist of the year award should be accompanied by motivations and samples of the nominees’ published works. The submissions should be emailed to misamalawi@gmail.com on or before April 30, 2024.
Media houses are also free to nominate themselves for Media House of the Year Award in line with the Rules and Regulations governing the awards in question. The media house of the year awards will be open for nomination between 15th and 30th April, 2024.
The MISA Malawi awards committee will evaluate entries based on the following:
- Impact
- Consistency
- Courage
- Investigation
- Gender awareness
- Analysis
- Relevance
The awards committee will accept entries published or aired between 1st April, 2023 and 31st March, 2024. The deadline for receiving individual entries is March 31, 2024 and April 30, 2024 for those based on nominations. Individuals can only send a maximum of two entries per category.
Entries should be sent or hand-delivered to the following address:
Secretary for the awards committee
MISA Malawi Secretariat
Mtolankhani House
Off-Lilongwe Kasiya Road
Acacia, Lilaga Community
P.O. Box 30463,
Lilongwe 3
You can also submit entries for sports, photojournalist, Raphael Tenthani Columnist, Quality and Standards, ICT and Urban Water Development categories using the linked Google Form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScpQ_YSbEjl-AbG22O1GqyB0mt2Iypf9Z0nG1rluBE2bTDiZQ/viewform
Please note that this form will only receive entries for the specified categories.
For inquiries, please call the following numbers: +265 (0) 888 32 73 11 or +265 (0) 999 327 311
