Mobile Journalism Awards

The Best of Mobile Journalism

The Mobile Journalism Awards is an annual global competition run by the Visual Editors Non-Profit to identify, advance and celebrate the best mobile journalism reporting each year.

#MojoAwards has three categories:
Mobile Journalism, Crisis Reporting, Documentary

Recent winners

Finalists films from the fourth season of the #MojoAwards were showcased in special screenings in April at the NABshow and the International Journalism Festival.

These are the finalists from Season Four. https://www.visualeditors.com/mojoawards-finalists-for-season-four/

CALL FOR ENTRIES
https://filmfreeway.com/MobileJournalismAwards

The fifth season will open with a call for entries in the fall of 2023.

SMALL CAMERAS, GLOBAL IMPACT

Finalists films are screened at a special event at the NABSHOW in Las Vegas each year and by invitation at global journalism conferences and other events organized by U.S. Speaker Program.

SCREENINGS

NAB Show – Las Vegas

The Mojo Awards finalists are screened at the NABshow.
The workshop is hosted by the Broadcaster Educator’s Association.

International Journalism Festival – Perugia, Italy

The Mobile Journalism workshop included a screening of finalists films at the 2023 Festival in Perugia, Italy.

In addition, the best films from all seasons of the Mobile Journalism Awards are curated in a permanent collection at the Smart Film School.

This allows scholars from all walks of life to review the collective body of documentary film work and new entries from each year’s competition results.

Students need not be intimidated to submit their work.

In fact, a female student from Mexico was awarded Best Documentary honors in season two.

CATEGORIES

Mobile Journalism
• An open call for feature stories, news reports, travel stories, and human-interest features that have been shot primarily with smartphones.

NOTE: Judges can make several awards from work entered into this category. It all depends upon the variety, originality and quality of the work sent in.

• Assets from other small mobile gear like portable mics, GoPros, Drones, 360° and Action Cams is allowed.
• English Subtitles (burned in) are mandatory for any non-English scenes.
• All aspect ratios are supported (Square, Horizontal, Vertical).

Documentary
• Non-fiction subject between 3 and 10 minutes in length on any topic. Must be accurately reported with integrity using journalism ethics. Creative approaches to editorial illustration and narrative exposition that push the frontier of the documentary genre forward are certainly welcome.

Enter your #UkraineCrisis mojo stories in the Crisis Reporting category.
(Photo of Ukraine refugees being welcomed to Berlin by Robb Montgomery)

Crisis Reporting
Entries may consist of reports, documentaries, live shots, news packages, or human-interest features that have been shot primarily with smartphones.
• Stories can be filmed in any location (battlefield, border crossings, homes, in transit, or anywhere necessary to tell the story of the crisis).
• Assets from other small mobile gear like portable mics, GoPros, Drones, 360°, and Action Cams is allowed, but material that was clearly produced with the capabilities of larger cameras is ineligible.
• English Subtitles (burned in) are mandatory for any non-English scenes. All aspect ratios are supported (Square, Horizontal, Vertical).

The best Documentary Short Films and Mojo Stories are screened at a special event at the NABSHOW in Las Vegas (In partnership with the Broadcast Educators Association).

HOW TO ENTER

CALL FOR ENTRIES
https://filmfreeway.com/MobileJournalismAwards

This competition showcases the best stories and mobile storytellers each year.

Journalism is a cornerstone of free speech and a strong defender of democratic ideals.

By raising the standards for mobile journalism and hosting public screenings, journalists can show the impact of non-fiction storytelling.

The Mobile Journalism Awards recognize excellence in non-fiction storytelling by mobile reporters.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Mobile Journalism filmmakers whose films have been selected will be screened at live event(s) and journalism festivals.

Each journalist who has a film selected in the #MojoAwards festival at www.Mojo.Show will be awarded $500 gift certificates from the Smart Film School.

A list of previous winners can be found here.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Proceeds from this event and the #MojoWorkshop support Visual Editors, NFP – A public charity that provides visual journalism educational resources.

The public can also support this project by giving to the charity.

Congrats to all who enter!

JUDGES

Marta Machado, Thomson Reuters Foundation, London

Marcela Kunova, Journalism Co UK

Becky Beamer, Photo Journalism Professor, Oslomet University, Norway

Robert Stewart, Emeritus Director, E. W. Scripps School of Journalism

Kim Fox, Professor, The American University Cairo

Jacques Rosselin, Head of the EFJ School of New Journalism, Paris

Naila Hamdy, Director, The American University Cairo

JOIN THE #MOJO CLUB FOR FREE

The #MojoAwards is also a #MojoMeetup where you can network with MOJO colleagues from around the globe in real time and share tips about the latest tools and techniques.

Join the international mojo community online (for free!) at MOST – Mobile Storytellers.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

#MojoAwards has received mobile journalism stories from reporters in United States, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Italy, France, Canada, Russian Federation, S. Korea, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Chile, Jordan, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Ireland, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, Switzerland, and Israel.

This group of forms the competition committee. The directors of journalism schools, editors-in-chief, and media development experts volunteer their expertise to the non-profit.

They also advise on categories, judging criteria, and help to coordinate additional screening events of the winning work from this competition.

The #MojoAwards are a project of Visual Editors, NFP, a Chicago-area non profit that supports visual journalism scholarship.

Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this project.

Visual Editors,NFP is listed in Guidestar.

Institutional donors may request a copy of the organization’s 501(c)3 ruling from the IRS and the certificate of good standing issued by the Illinois Secretary of State.

MEDIA COVERAGE

A selection of top #MojoAwards work premieres in April each year at the NABshow in Las Vegas.

Follow this page and the #MojoAwards hashtag on Twitter for all competition announcements.

Official updates will be posted by @MobileMost and @VizEds

The best work from each awards season is also curated in this permanent collection at the Smart Film School.

Visual Editors