The Challenge
Journalists tell important and impactful stories. They do this using a diverse skillset: writing, taking photographs, composing audio and video, developing interactive websites and much more. As a journalist, you will use powerful storytelling techniques to give a voice to local and global issues.
Choose a topic or issue that’s important to you. Something you’re passionate about or would like to draw attention to.
- It might be something happening in your local community or school like a new green space or a sporting team who have raised a heap of money for a charity
- It might be a social issue such as improvements in recycling efforts or better use of public transport
- It might be a global issue such as climate change or the impact of COVID-19
- It might be a person with an interesting story to tell, like your 100-year-old Grandmother or someone who has moved to Australia from another county.
For some insider help, check out our tips and tricks video by UQ journalism academics and alumni.
Category 1 – Video documentary
For this category, we are asking you to produce a 2-3 minute video documentary on your chosen topic. You must interview at least one person for the story and can use a mix of voice over commentary, face-to-camera, interview style, music or cutaway footage. It’s a good idea to choose a topic for your documentary that interests you.
When you are finished, upload your video to a video hosting platform such as YouTube or Vimeo and add the URL in the entry form.
Category 2 – Photo series and news story
For this category, we are asking you to produce a photo series of up to 6 photos with an accompanying news story (up to 300 words) on your chosen topic. You must interview and quote at least one person in your story. Photos can be taken on your choice of instrument such as an iPhone, film camera or DSLR.
Present your work on a digital publishing platform such as Adobe Spark, Shorthand or a blogging platform such as Blogger or Tumblr or any other digital platform you would like to use. Once published, add your story URL into the entry form.
We do not expect you to purchase a licence, most of these platforms are free or provide a free trial.
Terms and conditions
Read the competition Terms and Conditions before entering.
Looking for inspiration?
Need some inspo? Check out some of the work that UQ journalism students have produced over on our student produced news site, jacdigital.