Entries for Journalism Awards to close soon

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are inviting journalists from all media organisations to enter the Protect New Zealand Journalism Awards to be held this coming October.

The award, established by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators (NZGAJC) and Protect New Zealand, includes a prize of $1000.

The aim of the award is to recognise journalists who have written about or reported on any biosecurity-related issues within the last year beginning 11 August 2003 and finishing 11 August 2004.

Entrants have the option of submitting a single feature length piece of print or audio/visual journalism focusing on biosecurity, or a series of four shorter stories.

The primary objectives of the Protect New Zealand programme is to:

Improve understanding of what biosecurity is and why it is important; Educate people about biosecurity risks; Encourage people to become personally involved in protecting New Zealand’s biosecurity; Inform people of how they can help reduce the risk of pests and diseases arriving and spreading in New Zealand.

The $1000 award and a Certificate will be presented at the NZGAJC Awards Evening to be held in Wellington during October (date and venue to be advised).

Further information about the award and the NZGAJC can be found at http://www.guildag.co.nz Further information about Protect NZ can be found at http://www.protectnz.org.nz .

Entries close 5 p.m, Friday 24 September.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>