Amnesty International Australia’s annual Media Awards for 2016 have now been launched, recognising excellence in reporting on human rights issues in the Australian media.

Journalists, photographers, cartoonists and their editors and producers are invited to enter stories broadcast or published between 1 August 2015 and 1 August 2016.

Previous winners of the awards, now in their third year, have included journalists from the ABC, The Sunday Telegraph, The Australian, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Indigenous Media Association, and Australian Regional Media.

Eighteen distinguished industry professionals will be judging the six categories. Judges include Sky News Political Editor David Speers, radio host Angela Catterns, Huffington Post Political Editor Karen Barlow, NITV Supervising Producer Catherine Liddle, Fairfax cartoonist Cathy Wilcox and photojournalist Daniel Berehulak.

The media awards ceremony will be held in Sydney on 8 November, hosted by Channel 10 news anchor and Walkley Award winner Hugh Riminton.

Around the world, journalists play a vital role in uncovering abuses and corruption, often putting their own lives at risk to report on issues that would otherwise remain hidden from the public. The Amnesty International Australia Media Awards acknowledge the courageous work of journalists and photojournalists who work across all media types.

This year’s categories

  • Indigenous reporting
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Photojournalism
  • Print/online
  • Cartoon

Key dates

  • 18 July: Entries open
  • 17 August: Submissions close
  • 26 September: Shortlist announced
  • 8 November: Media Awards ceremony in Sydney

Click here for more information.