SYDNEY // Newzulu / AFP / AAP // — Newzulu Australia announced it has launched the first Australian citizen journalism awards, offering $5000 in cash prizes to citizen reporters submitting photos, videos and articles in the Breaking News, Celebrities, Entertainment and Sports categories. The Newzulu Australia Reporter of the Year will be awarded to the most outstanding contribution overall. In addition to publication on Newzulu.com.au and eligibility for cash prizes, submissions to the Newzulu Australia Reporter Awards will be distributed to domestic and global media outlets including television and radio broadcasters, newspaper and magazine publishers.

Newzulu is the world’s leading citizen journalism publishing platform and news wire service, having been established in partnership with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) as Citizenside.com in 2007. Newzulu is headquartered in Paris and operates through bureaus worldwide to distribute and publish photos, videos and articles contributed by over 150,000 citizen journalists in over 150 countries. Newzulu.com.au was launched to provide a publishing and distribution platform for Australian citizen journalists, who are able to submit local Australian news, photos and videos, for distribution to domestic and international media outlets. Citizen journalists can make contributions through the Newzulu.com.au website or by downloading the Newzulu mobile apps for iOS and Android. When Newzulu Australia sells a citizen journalists contribution to a publisher, the contributor is paid cash for their news contribution.

Citizen journalism is playing an increasingly prominent role in traditional media with smart phones capturing photos and videos of news events from the perspective of Australians who are at the scene at the time the news breaks. Citizen reporters are also able to offer their independent opinions on issues without being subject to the editorial constraints of traditional media outlets. Newzulu Australia provides a platform for citizen journalists to publish photos and videos they capture and to instantly distribute and sell them to media outlets in Australia and around the world. Newzulu Australia offers media outlets access to breaking news from the perspective of Australians who witness news events on an instantaneous basis.

“We are delighted to announce $5000 in prizes for the first ever citizen journalism awards in Australia, the 2013 Newzulu Australia Reporter Awards. Newzulu sees the growing importance of citizen journalism in the media landscape and we believe these Awards will surface outstanding news reporting from smartphones in the hands of ordinary Australians.” Said Alex Hartman, co-Founder of Newzulu Australia.

ABOUT Newzulu

Newzulu Limited is Australia’s leading citizen journalism publishing platform and news wire service. Newzulu was founded as Citizenside in partnership with Agence France-Presse in 2007 and has over 150,000 citizen journalist contributors in over 150 countries worldwide. Newzulu acts as an agency for the sale of photos, videos and editorial through its online sales platform Newzulu Wire and in partnership with local media sales partners around the world. Newzulu operates bureaus in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and Sydney, providing its citizen journalism platform to media outlets including television and radio broadcasters as well as newspaper and magazine publishers. Newzulu also operates the Adzulu brand-funded user-generated advertising platform.

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Press contacts:
Australia
Zoe Wane
zoe@newzulu.com