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Fighting for journalism and profitable news media
🏆If your journalism has made a difference over the last year you now have an additional five days to submit your entry for consideration in the 2026 British Journalism Awards.
The deadline for entries has been extended to Wednesday, 29 September.
This year’s awards are presented in association with headline sponsor STARLING.
Categories include: scoop of the year, investigation of the year, journalist of the year and news picture of the year. The finalists will be announced on 27 October with the winners revealed at the awards dinner in London on 10 December.
Some 80 independent judges will assess the entries. New judges for this year include: former BBC environment editor David Shukman, former science editor of ITV News Deborah Cohen, former Sunday Times Insight Team journalist Linda Malvern and former Sunday Mirror editor Gemma Alridge.
Last year’s winners included Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman who was named Journalist of the Year for her landmark coverage on an abuse scandal in the Church of England including an exclusive interview with Justin Welby that led to the first ever forced resignation by an Archbishop.
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The judging criteria for these awards are as follows:
— Did this work have an impact?
— Did it show skill and rigour?
— Did it serve the public interest?
— Was it revelatory?
These awards are open to all journalists who are producing work for a UK audience. They pit well-resourced documentary teams against lone freelances.
The great leveller is the fact the judges are looking primarily at the quality of the stories (rather than at high production values).
Full list of categories for the 2026 British Journalism Awards
Arts & Entertainment
➤ For the journalist who has done the most to probe and investigate the worlds of showbiz, the arts and entertainment. The judges are looking for work which shows journalistic skill and rigour, is revelatory and which serves the public interest. Your entry should be about one theme/story (so recognisably part of the same body of work).
For print/online entries, please provide up to three examples of work. Broadcasters can submit up to three clips or one entire programme in support of their entry. A supporting statement of up 500 words must also be included. Collaborative entries are accepted.
Business, Finance & Economics Journalism - sponsored by STARLING
➤ For the journalist who has done the most to probe and investigate the world of business. The judges are looking for work which shows journalistic skill and rigour, is revelatory and which serves the public interest. Your entry should be about one theme/story (so recognisably part of the same body of work).
For print/online entries, please provide up to three examples of work. Broadcasters can submit up to three clips or one entire programme in support of their entry. A supporting statement of up 500 words must also be included. Collaborative entries are accepted.
Campaign of the Year
➤ For the series of articles, broadcasts or digital project which has done the most to make a difference in society and serve the public interest. You cannot enter the same work in the Campaign and Investigation categories. Judges will be looking for evidence of a campaign’s impact, originality, bravery, skill of execution and at how journalism has been used to further the campaign’s objectives. The submitted work should all cover the same theme/campaign.
For print/online entries, please provide up to five examples of work. Broadcasters can submit up to five clips or one entire programme in support of their entry. A supporting statement of up 500 words must also be included.
Comment Journalism
➤ This category recognises the best comment journalist of the year. The judges are looking for the most incisive comment which has brought new ideas and thinking to bear when discussing a matter of public interest.
For print/online entries, please provide up to three examples of work. Broadcasters can submit up to three clips or one entire programme in support of their entry. A supporting statement of up 500 words must also be included. This category is aimed at recognising the best individual commentator. Collaborative entries are not accepted for this category, there should be just one named entrant.
Crime & Legal Affairs Journalism
➤ This category is for the best journalism covering crime, courts and the law. The judges are looking for work which shows journalistic skill and rigour, is revelatory and which serves the public interest.
For print/online entries, please provide up to three examples of work. Broadcasters can submit up to three clips or one entire programme in support of their entry. A supporting statement of up 500 words must also be included. Collaborative entries are accepted.