Photo essays included in this year’s PopDev Media Awards

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) announced on Wednesday the inclusion of a Special Category, the Citation for Photo Essay, in the 4th PopDev Media Awards. “We want to recognize the contributions made by photojournalists in informing and raising the public’s awareness on population and development issues through photos," PLCPD’s Executive Director Ramon San Pascual said. Last year's GMANews.TV entry by its photo editor, Joe Galvez, was cited by the 3rd PopDev Awards. Entries for the Photo Essay Special Category should consist of at least five to 10 photos published in print media or on the Internet between August 16, 2007 and October 15, 2008. Aside from the citation for photo essay, outstanding single photos will also be recognized as part of the Photojournalism Category-Best Single Photo, which is one of the major categories in the PopDev Media Awards along with the print and online, TV, and radio categories. The 4th PopDev Media Awards is open to all print, broadcast, online, and photo journalists nationwide. Entries must significantly explain the intrinsic connection between population factors and socio-economic issues such as public health, economic growth and poverty, environment, housing and urban development, sustainable development, food security, reproductive health and rights, family planning, reproductive health policy and governance, migration, and population ageing. For the print and online categories, awards will be given for Best News Reportage (should consist of a body of work or a series of at least three spot news reports); Best Opinion or Editorial Piece; Best Investigative Report, and Best Feature or magazine article. For television, awards will be given for Best TV Documentary and Best Magazine Program or Talk Show. For radio, awards will be given for Best Radio Program. Entries to this could be news, commentary (should consist of a series of at least three separate news reports or commentaries) or a special production of media agencies. Interested parties may send as many entries in a chosen category. Winners of the major categories will receive a cash prize, trophy, certificate, and a chance to go into a study trip to a PLCPD project area in the Philippines. For more information, interested journalists may visit the PopDev Media Awards webpage at http:www.plcpd.org.ph. or contact the PLCPD secretariat at 925-1800 or 9266619. - GMANews.TV