* ATTENTION EDITORS AND AWARDS COORDINATORS * // Call for Entries: Canadian Hillman Prize in Journalism, Deadline January 13, 2017

7th Annual Prize Honours Excellence in Journalism

In Service of the Common Good

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - The Sidney Hillman Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Canadian Hillman Prize honouring excellence in journalism in the public interest. The Hillman Prize seeks out top investigative reporting that draws attention to social or economic injustice and hopefully leads to corrective measures. We strive to recognize discernment of a significant news story, resourcefulness and courage in reporting, skill in relating the story and the impact of the coverage.

Past Canadian Hillman Prize winners include The Globe and Mail, Radio-Canada, The Toronto Star, The Edmonton Journal & Calgary Herald, the CBC, and the Hamilton Spectator.

The 2017 Canadian Hillman Prize will be given to a reported piece or series published or broadcast in 2016. Eligible entries include reporting in newspapers, magazines and online, as well as broadcast journalism (television and radio), tablets and multimedia. The contest is open to journalists and subjects globally, although the content must have been published in Canada and made widely available to a Canadian audience.

The deadline for submissions is January 13, 2017. 

The recipient(s) of the 2017 Canadian Hillman Prize will be announced in mid-March and be awarded travel to receive a $5,000 honorarium and certificate at a reception to be held on March 30, 2017 in Toronto. The winner(s) will also be invited to travel to New York City to participate in the U.S. Hillman Prize ceremony to be held May 9, 2017. The Canadian winner(s) will be listed among all Hillman Prize winners on the Hillman Foundation website.

There is no entry fee.  Submission of a cover letter explaining why the entry meets the required criteria, and the nominated material, is all that is required.  These can be entered online at the link below.

This year's entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of Canadian judges: Tony Burman, whose more than four decade career as a journalist includes managing director of Al Jazeera English, and chief news editor of CBC News;  Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and one of Canada's leading progressive voices in mainstream media; and Bonnie Brown, television documentary producer and radio news producer at CBC for 17 years.

Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honoured journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good. Sidney Hillman was the founding president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union of America, a predecessor union of Workers United, SEIU. Sidney Hillman, an architect of the New Deal, fought to build a vibrant union movement extending beyond the shop floor to all aspects of working people's lives. 

"The popular appetite for investigative, socially significant stories seems insatiable these days, and Canadian reporters are stepping up to the plate to deliver it," said Alex Dagg, Public Policy Manager Airbnb and Hillman board member. "What we learn, when this Call for Submissions for the Hillman Prize goes out, is that regardless of the constraints, be they political or financial, Canadian journalists will find a way to tell stories that are of consequence to us all. Once again, we are very much looking forward to seeing this year's entries."

Link to enter:

http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/canadian-hillman-prize/nominations

For more information about the Hillman Prize, please visit hillmanfoundation.org.

SOURCE Sidney Hillman Foundation

Courtney Radic, 416-427-5041 or [email protected]