CIVIC JOURNALISM COMMUNITY PRESS AWARDS

The Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE) Foundation launched the Annual Community Press Awards for Excellence in 1996, the first and only awards program of its kind in the country.  The first awards were given to regional newspapers in 1997, with only the daily category. The weekly category was added in the next awards season. 

The awards program was envisioned to raise the standards of journalism by honoring community newspapers both for editorial excellence and for their role as catalysts for community development. 

When KAF ended its support in 2005, the awards program has been undertaken solely by the PPI. In 2008, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) became an institutional partner. That year, TCCEC started to support PPI’s efforts to help improve reportage through training courses, particularly in Civic Journalism.  Since then, Civic Journalism has been what the awards program is about. This is in line with the principal partner’s corporate social responsibility program which, among other things, seeks to promote journalism as medium of community feedback and participation. 

In 2013, Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) became PPI’s principal partner in its flagship programs, including the Awards. 

Other special categories were occasionally added, such as Best in Fisheries Reporting with Oceana Philippines, Best in Climate Change and Biodiversity Reporting with ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Best in Culture, Arts and History Reporting with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Best Reporting on Disasters with Coca-Cola, and Best in Reporting on Migration Issues with International Labour Organization. in 2024, on PPI’s 60^th Anniversary, the Best News Website category has been added. 

Only PPI member-newspapers are eligible for the awards. All copies of the previous year, monitored from January to December, are screened. Those which pass the monitoring stage go through initial screening by journalism educators-cum-practitioners who select the regional finalists. These finalists are then submitted to the Board of Judges composed of experts from various fields for final judging. Each winner receives a cash prize and a trophy. 

The Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) serves as Awards Secretariat.