Maya G. / 2025-04-16
Excitingly, we're finally able to announce that Carleton University will be facilitating OCDSB's first-ever High School Journalism Awards! Below are the details. Good luck to everyone!
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Carleton School of Journalism will hold an annual awards banquet that celebrates excellence in high school journalism and recognises budding student journalists poised to shape the future media landscape and community conversations, both locally and beyond.
The 2025 Journalism Awards and Gala will feature six categories:
1. BEST FEATURE REPORTING
This category honours features for their exceptional reporting, with significant depth of research, analysis, insight and new understanding of a single story or subject. Qualifying entries may also include profiles. Depth and quality of the journalism and writing will be considered, as well as the relevance and impact of a subject or event being clearly outlined to audiences through analysis, storytelling, and overall presentation.
2. BEST FEATURE ON A LOCAL ISSUE
This category honours features that cover a local story or subject with significant depth and insight, outlining its value and connection to the local community. Qualifying entries may also include profiles. (Boundaries for what is included in qualifying for a “local” issue will consider the Ottawa-Carleton area.)
3. BEST FEATURE REPORTING ON SCHOOL COMMUNITY
This category honours features or news reports that cover a story or subject related to one’s school community with significant depth and insight, outlining its value and connection to the school and its network and community. Qualifying entries may also include profiles.
4. BEST FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL STORYTELLING
This category honours exceptional and innovative visual storytelling in reporting through photography, graphics, data visualization, multimedia, and other graphic design and visual aids. Quality and impact of visuals and their effectiveness in expressing a story or subject’s depth and detail will be considered.
5. BEST VIDEO FEATURE
This category honours exceptional and innovative work in reporting and storytelling through a video format, including animation. The incorporation of video storytelling techniques and their impact on the story or subject being presented will be considered.
6. BEST IN CREATIVE WRITING
This category honours excellence in creative writing in reporting and storytelling. Qualifying entries may include any variety of creative writing pieces, including short fiction, personal essays, profiles, and poetry.
Entries to be considered for the 2025 awards will be accepted between September 2024 and April 2025. Submissions will be open until Friday, May 2nd, 2025. Winners will be announced at the Gala at Carleton University, set to take place on May 24th, 2025. Students who submit work will also have an opportunity to attend a free half-day journalism and media production workshop at Carleton University. Prizes for entries that win in each category will be outlined in the following weeks.
If you have any questions concerning this event, feel free to email me (mghad2@ocdsb.ca) or Mr. Datta (akshat.datta@ocdsb.ca).