Canadian Journalism Foundation and Facebook Journalism Project announce news literacy award

The new CJF-Facebook Journalism Project News Literacy Award is a joint initiative by The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) and the Facebook Journalism Project, established to promote news literacy among Canadians in an age of widespread information on various platforms and from different sources.

The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, will celebrate journalistic efforts that encourage Canadians to understand and assess the quality of news in their communities. It will also recognize best practices that underpin factual reporting as key contributions to Canadian democracy.

“A healthy news ecosystem is essential to Canada’s democracy and so is the authentic exchange of ideas and information. Facebook is deeply committed to both,” says Kevin Chan, Head of Public Policy for Facebook Canada. “This award—to promote journalistic efforts that increase the critical consumption of news—is an important part of bringing that commitment to life.”

The following types of news projects would be eligible for the award:

  • Journalistic works and undertakings that explore the relationship between journalism in all its forms and democratic engagement, with a focus on models for the future of news;
  • Projects that test new or innovative processes or practices that enlighten audiences about the time, effort and costs involved in maintaining standards of excellence and factual reporting in professional journalism in the digital age;
  • Innovative initiatives by news organizations and other relevant organizations that help create an informed news audience by providing them with the tools to help expose misinformation.

You can read more about the award here.