THE CITYROAMER.COM

By: Alwin Aguirre

The 2016 Bright Leaf Awards kicks off in search for the best agriculture stories for 2016. The 10th year of the prestigious agricultural journalism award is bigger and better than ever! Bright Leaf will be going around the country to bring the contest to a wider audience.

The new Bright Leaf caravans will visit 15 cities. This is the highest number of places that Bright Leaf has ever visited in a year. Aside from meet-and-greet sessions with local media practitioners, there will also be more activities for participants, including:

Round table discussions on pressing agricultural issues with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, local government units, and community leaders;
Workshops on feature writing and photojournalism in selected areas; and
Beneficial community-related activities in selected areas.

The highlight of the Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards is to honor the most important, ground-breaking, and outstanding agricultural news stories. These stories should have been published in print media or aired on radio and television. The awards also celebrate the best photojournalists in the industry – those who are able to capture the spirit of an aspect of Philippine agriculture in one frame.

Launched in 2007, Bright Leaf invites journalists from all over the Philippines to submit their stories and photos for a chance to bring home the prize for the following categories:

Agriculture Story of the Year
Agriculture Photo of the Year
Tobacco Story of the Year
Tobacco Photo of the Year
Best Television Program or Segment
Best Radio Program or Segment
Best Agriculture News Story National
Best Agriculture News Story Regional
Best Agriculture Feature Story National
Best Agriculture Feature Story Regional, and
The Oriental Leaf Award. This special award is given to those who have won five Bright Leaf Awards in any category. The Oriental Leaf Awardees become part of the Bright Leaf Hall of Fame, an elite group of journalists.

There is no entry fee required to participate in the 2016 Bright Leaf Awards. Journalists and photographers may submit several entries for consideration. However, an entry may not be entered in more than one category. Entries should be published, aired, or broadcast between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016.

Entries may be in English or any of the Philippine languages. For entries that are not in English, participants will need to submit an English translation. The deadline for submission of entries is September 1, 2016.

The winners of the 2016 Bright Leaf Awards will be receiving cash prizes, premium items, and an all-expense-paid trip in an Asian country. For more information, contact the Bright Leaf Secretariat at (0915) 550-8301 or (0918) 413-0797, (02)5456425 email secretariat@thebrightleafawards.com or visit the Bright Leaf website at www.thebrightleafawards.com.