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CITY OF MALOLOS – Bulacan print and broadcast journalists together with those delivering news on the social media are being encouraged to make reports on the agriculture sector and win awards, cash prizes and a trip to ASEAN countries.
The invitation was made during the recent launching of the first of the roadshow series for the launching of the PMFTC Inc.’s 12th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards in Central Luzon at the Bistro Malolenyo in the City of Malolos.
After the Malolos launch, Bright Leaf will be visiting key cities across the Philippines to engage media practitioners and invite them to join the Bright Leaf Awards.
As an agricultural company, the Bright Leaf is PMFTC’s way of honoring the most important and outstanding agricultural news stories that were able to raise the discourse of critical agriculture issues, and celebrating the best photographs that captured the spirit of Philippine agriculture in a single frame.
Benjamin Baltazar, chief of the operations division of the Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon, noted that “agriculture is in need of responsible journalism to uplift and empower the lives of our farmers and fisherfolk resulting to a continuous increment of production and harvest of crops and livestock in the country especially in Region 3.”
On the other hand, Bayen Elero-Tinga, PMFTC external affairs director, said “As one of the pioneer award-giving bodies in agriculture journalism, Bright Leaf continues to honor and give due recognition to journalists and photographers, who are the people behind the stories that pay tribute to the struggles and successes of our country's farmers and other producers. They are the brave messengers, who bring to public attention the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives.”
Beside the regular news and photo categories lined up for the agriculture journalism award, this year’s Bright Leaf competition introduces a new and special category, Best Online Story, which will be awarded to the best agriculture news or feature story published in an online news website.
The addition of the new award category is to keep up with the growing number of readers getting their information on online news web sites.
Journalists can join their enties in 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 Best Online Story
There is no entry fee in joining the competition. Journalists and photographers may submit as many entries for consideration. However, an entry may not be submitted in more than one category. Entries should be published, aired, or broadcast between September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2018.
The deadline for entries is September 1, 2018.
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.
Winners will be announced during the 2018 Bright Leaf Awards ceremony in November, and will be receiving cash prizes, iPads, and an all-expense-paid trip to an Asian country.
For more information, interested parties may contact the Bright Leaf Secretariat through their mobile numbers (0945) 477 2035 or (0929) 195 0620, their landline (02) 9755236, or send an email to secretariat@brightleafawards.com. They can also visit the Bright Leaf website at www.brightleafawards.com or its Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/brightleafawards/ to learn more information about the competition and past winners.