YouTube 'Project: Report' Returns. Win $10,000

The Pulitzer Center is awarding five $10,000 grants to work on an international videojournalism project.

YouTube presents Project: Report 2010, a journalism contest for non-professional, aspiring journalists to tell the stories that might not otherwise be covered by the media, and to share those stories with the world.

This year, Project: Report will consist of two rounds of competition held over the next three months. In each round, contestants will be given a reporting assignment to complete. After the first round, 10 finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges at the Pulitzer Center. Each finalist will receive a Sony VAIO notebook and a Sony HD video camera and proceed to the second and final round, where they will compete for five $10,000 travel fellowships to work with the Pulitzer Center on an international reporting project.

All five winners will also receive invitations to Washington, D.C., for a public screening of their work and the chance to participate in a special workshop with Pulitzer Center journalists. Arturo Perez, Jr., the winner of the first edition of Project: Report, traveled to Jerusalem and worked with the Pulitzer Center to produce a story on dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis.

Here's the assignment for Round 1 of Project: Report 2010:

Document a single day in the life of a compelling person the world should meet and showcase how that person is making a positive impact in his or her community. All videos must be three minutes or less, and submitted in English, or with English subtitles. Submissions will be open through February 28, 2010.

Even if you do not participate in or advance past Round 1, you may still complete the assignment for Round 2, though you will not be eligible for the grand prize. YouTube and the Pulitzer Center hope to highlight and bring an audience to as many of your stories as possible.

Here are some tips, in the video below, regarding what kinds of stories and formats the Pulitzer Center is looking for. It's worth a look even if you're not planning to enter, since it sums up the essence of most high-quality videojournalism -- a narrative story about an engaging character whose circumstance emblemizes and illuminates a bigger problem or situation that impacts us all.



See which videos we selected for inclusion on KobreGuide's YouTube: Project Report Channel last year.