Who can enter?
The Cronkite Awards are open to television stations, station groups, networks, news programs, news specials and individuals, including students and apprentice and emerging journalists. Local station entries can come from markets of any size. Broadcast, cable, commercial and public television are eligible, as are online-original video news sites. Non-English entries (accompanied by English translation) are welcome.
What is the period of eligibility?
The video (news segment, episode, special or compilation) must have been televised between February 1, 2021 and January 21, 2023.
What is the deadline for submissions?
A video reel must be submitted by February 22, 2023. * (Deadline extended to March 1st, 2023)
Can I enter more than once?
There is no limit to the number of submissions per news organization, as long as each entry addresses the topic of disinformation.
How do we submit our video?
Videos must be no longer than 30 minutes in length. They can be uploaded in the submission form through our awards management website. Links to the online videos can also be provided.
What is the cost to enter?
The cost to enter is $50 per entry. The fee is waived for students and apprentice and emerging journalists. If you require financial assistance for the entry fee, please reach out to us.
Are compilations from one show, station or station group eligible?
Yes, as long as all segments address the topic of disinformation and the video submission is less than 30 minutes in length.
Is a series spread out over several broadcasts or programs eligible? Is content from across a station group eligible?
Yes, a series is eligible as long as the video submission is 30 minutes or less. Content from across a station group is eligible as long as that video submission is 30 minutes or less.
Are entries not pegged to particular campaigns or elections eligible?
Yes. They may focus on issues, movements, methods, platforms, public discourse – as long as disinformation and threats to democracy are important to the story.
Are entries focused on other nations eligible?
Yes. Stories about other countries are eligible if they bear on the role of disinformation in the assault on democracy.
How is the Brooks Jackson Prize different from the Cronkite Awards?
The Brooks Jackson Prize is a separate award given to an entry that demonstrates how fact-checking can be institutionalized within the format of a program or the news schedule of a station. That is, the reel must show that:
- Fact-checking is not a one-off. Instead, fact-checking segments recur, and they are characterized or featured as fact-checking.
- Fact-checking is a beat, identified with a particular correspondent (or team of two).
When will we hear that we won?
Winners will be contacted in the spring of 2023.
Who administers the Walter Cronkite Awards?
The awards are administered by the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, in coordination with the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Who can I contact for questions regarding submissions?
Questions can be directed to cruger@usc.edu