How the CAJ Awards Program Recognizes Canadian Journalism

Updated

The CAJ awards program is an annual set of awards that recognizes the best in Canadian journalism, with a particular focus on investigative work. It is open to entries from any practising journalist whose work has been published or broadcast in Canada. If you are a working journalist with work published or aired in Canada, you are eligible to enter; CAJ members pay reduced entry fees.

What the awards recognize

According to the Canadian Association of Journalists, its annual awards program "recognizes the best in Canadian journalism with a particular focus on investigative work." That focus means the program is positioned less as a general popularity or feature-writing prize and more as recognition for reporting that digs into issues — the kind of work the CAJ also champions through its advocacy on source protection, freedom of information, and access to information.

Who can enter

The eligibility rule stated by the CAJ is broad and practice-based:

  • You must be a practising journalist.
  • Your work must have been published or broadcast in Canada.

There is no indication in the available material that you must be a CAJ member to enter. Membership instead affects cost, not eligibility.

What membership changes

Membership does not gate entry, but it lowers the price of participating. The CAJ states that current members are eligible for reduced entry fees to all CAJ events or programs, including the annual awards program, and that this "can save hundreds of dollars over the space of a year."

The CAJ also notes a common route for non-members: a non-member can often join, pay the member rate, and still come out ahead, because "the membership fee and member rate [are] still less than the non-member fees." In practice, if you plan to enter the awards, it is worth comparing the non-member entry fee against the combined cost of membership plus the member entry fee before deciding which way to go.

How to get the specifics

The CAJ directs readers to its Awards program page for "full details of the program." The available site material does not list categories, deadlines, entry fees, or submission requirements, so those details need to be confirmed on that page rather than assumed.

If you are deciding whether to enter, the practical sequence is:

  1. Confirm your work was published or broadcast in Canada.
  2. Check the Awards program page for current categories, deadlines, and fees.
  3. Compare the non-member fee with the membership-plus-member-rate total.
  4. Submit through the process described on that page.

The CAJ's broader membership benefits — insurance discounts, telephone and internet rates, and reduced fees for events such as the national journalism conference — are separate from the awards themselves but may factor into the same membership decision.