Knight-Bagehot unveils WERT Prize for women in business reporting

The Knight-Bagehot Fellowships in Economics and Business at Columbia Journalism School announced the WERT Prize, which will honor women who produce business reporting that fosters a greater understanding of global business.

Details of the prize were unveiled at the Knight-Bagehot’s 43rd Anniversary gala on Thursday.

“We’re excited to launch this global prize, which we hope will inspire more women journalists around the world to pursue careers in business journalism,” said Raju Narisetti, director of Knight-Bagehot Fellowships in Economics and Business Journalism.

“At its core, the Knight-Bagehot program is designed to strengthen the ability of journalists to do more sophisticated business journalism and this prize underscores our commitment to advancing diversity in business and economics reporting.”

According to a 2017 report by the Women’s Media Center, women account for just 39 percent of business and economic stories.

The WERT prize, endowed by The Women’s Economic Round Table, will celebrate distinguished and deeply reported business stories by a woman. The recipient of the prize will receive $2,000 for published work in English, across platforms – print, radio, broadcast and digital.

In 2019, the WERT Prize honorarium will be $4,000, thanks to a one-time grant from the Muriel Siebert Foundation, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Women’s Economic Round Table, which was founded in 1988 by Dr. Amelia Augustus and Maria Rolfe.

Those who wish to enter a nomination must do so by Feb. 15, 2019 for journalism published in 2018. The prize winner will be announced in May.

For more information on how to enter, jurors and required materials, go here.