THE Press Association of Jamaica’s (PAJ) National Journalism Awards will this year, for the first time, recognise the work of bloggers, with one new award, and the opening up of an existing award.

The category of “Best Blog” has been created, while the Opinion Journalism Award is now being opened up to bloggers, as well as producers of podcasts and vidcasts, and the Online Journalism Award has been re-branded as “Best News Website”.

“The contribution of bloggers to journalism across the world is undeniable,” said PAJ President Dionne Jackson Miller. “We wanted to open up another avenue to recognise that.”

“Opinion journalism, for example, has exploded far beyond the traditional categories of radio, TV and print, and there is a lot of biting, incisive commentary being produced outside of the traditional media houses,” she said.

The Best Blog Award will highlight excellence in news, current affairs, sports and entertainment, categories already recognised by the PAJ. The Online Journalism Award has been re-named “Best News Website” to help bring greater clarity to the nature of the award, said the PAJ.

All entries will be judged on the principles of journalistic excellence — writing, research, originality, accuracy, incisive storytelling, analytical skills, the importance of the subject matter and the public interest. Electronic entries must show evidence of technical proficiency with use of sounds and or images, while photographs must demonstrate sharp, balanced composition and good technical quality.

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Submissions for the National Journalism Awards are now being accepted by the PAJ. Entries close on September 30.