Mobile Journalism Awards

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

AWARDS SHOW

Join the Live Awards Show on October 16, 2023 at 7 p.m. Berlin time.

REGISTRATION IS FREE
https://www.smartfilmschool.com/webinar/mobile-journalism-awards-2023/register

Celebrating The Best of Mobile Journalism

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

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

Enter your work for season five of the #MojoAwards.

Prizes

Season 5 Winners will have their films screened at international events and receive prizes donated by Zacuto, IK Multimedia, and the Smart Film School.

Two Ukrainian journalists during a mobile journalism training workshop with Robb Montgomery in Ukraine. — Ukrainian journalists in Odessa attending a mobile journalism training workshop.

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

Winning films are be screened at live event(s) and international journalism festivals each April.

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

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/

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.

Visual Editors is a USA registered 501(c)(3) charity founded in 2014 to support visual journalism education. Officers and staff donate their time and expertise – there is no payroll, our overhead is bare-bones.

Your contributions directly support these programs.
Donations can also be made by bank wire transfer if you prefer.

The Visual Editors, NFP treasurer can provide you with details when you are ready to give.

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

Aphrodite Salas, Journalism Professor, Concordia University, Montreal

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 receives 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.

More ways to donate

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

Films from the winners 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