UCLA Anderson School of Management and the G. and R. Loeb Foundation invite individual journalists and all print, online and broadcast media outlets to submit entries in 12 competition categories for the 2021 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.
Nominations will also be accepted for two career achievement honors, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lawrence Minard Editor Award.
The Gerald Loeb Awards are the most prestigious honor in business journalism in the United States and were established in 1957 by the late Gerald Loeb, a founding partner of E.F. Hutton. Loeb had a deep appreciation for the significant role that journalists fulfill in society and created the awards to encourage and support reporting on business and finance that will inform and protect both the private investor and the public.
All competition categories accept submissions in all journalistic forms (including those produced for mobile distribution) and in any combination of forms: broadcast (video, audio and podcasts), digital/online, print, still photography, graphics, interactives, data visualization, blogs, news apps and social media.
For the 2021 #LoebAwards, the PDF attachment has been changed to an optional component for entries in competition categories not requiring transcripts. For entries not containing the PDF component, URLs will be required for all the elements associated with each entry. Updated submission guidelines and detailed descriptions of competition and career achievement categories for the 2021 competition can be found online at anderson.ucla.edu/gerald-loeb-awards.
All entries must be submitted online at bit.ly/loeb2021 no later than Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Consideration is limited to entries that were published or broadcast in the United States during the calendar year 2020.
Entries accepted in 12 journalism competition categories:
- AUDIO – Exemplary audio journalism on any platform that uncovers or illuminates a significant business, financial or economic issue.
- BEAT REPORTING – Exemplary coverage of a business, financial or economic beat.
- BREAKING NEWS – Exemplary coverage of a competitive business, financial or economic news story within seven days of an event, with special attention paid to the first 24 hours.
- COMMENTARY – Deep and insightful business, financial or economic editorials, columns, syndicated columns, blogs, on-air or video commentary or analysis.
- EXPLANATORY – Exemplary in-depth analysis and clear presentation of a complex business, financial or economic subject.
- FEATURE – Coverage in any medium that explains or enlightens business topics with exemplary craft and style.
- INTERNATIONAL – International business, financial or economic stories; must be English language and published in the U.S.
- INVESTIGATIVE – A business, financial or economic story or group of up to five (5) stories in any medium or in a combination of media. Factors the judges will consider include: originality, creativity and persistence in gleaning information, storytelling power and impact.
- LOCAL – Excellent coverage of a business, financial or economic story centered in a particular geographic area and offered primarily to consumers in that area. Pieces would be from a local newspaper, magazine, television, radio station or website.
- PERSONAL FINANCE & CONSUMER REPORTING – Excellent business, financial or economic journalism that informs and protects the individual investor and consumer. Includes personal finance, as well as other subjects related to informing and enlightening individuals so they can improve their situation. Eligible entrants include journalists and experts who are determined not to have conflicts of interest or personal agendas related to the submitted material.
- VIDEO – Exemplary coverage, storytelling and presentation in video (delivered in any format, including mobile, streaming and social) of a business, financial or economic story.
- VISUAL STORYTELLING – Exemplary use of images, graphics and interactives (still photography, video, charts, data visualizations, graphics, illustrations, news apps) to tell stories. These visual and data elements should be essential to the reporting in order to explain, enlighten or educate the reader/viewer/user about contemporary business, financial or economic topics. The images, graphics or interactives, and any accompanying text, voice track or sound, can appear in any medium. Judges will give strong consideration to the quality of the user experience on mobile devices, as well as entries grouped around a common theme.
Nominations will be accepted for two career awards in journalism:
- LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Recognizes an individual’s exceptional career contributions in the field of business, financial and economic news.
- LAWRENCE MINARD EDITOR AWARD – Recognizes an individual’s career contributions in business journalism editing.
