Call for Nominations: Sebrae Journalism Award (Brazil)

In this 12th edition, the PSJ innovates with the creation of the thematic tribute “Journalist Partner of the Entrepreneur – Small Businesses and COP-30”, to be awarded to the press professional who stands out in the approach to entrepreneurship related to the environmental agenda reinforced by the global event that will take place in Brazil this year.

Themes

• Bioeconomy, Small Businesses and COP-30: On projects, actions, entrepreneurs and communities inserted in economic models that generate business from the sustainable use of natural resources, with innovation in inputs, products, services or processes, dialoguing with the agenda related to COP-30 in Brazil.
• Innovation and Startups: Addresses innovation practices or proposals that encourage innovation among small businesses, as well as the development and strengthening of the startup ecosystem in the country, its advances and challenges, as well as developed solutions.
• Productivity and Competitiveness: On companies, initiatives, projects and services that leverage productivity and competitiveness among micro and small businesses.
• Productive Inclusion and Territorial Development: On actions, projects and businesses that encourage the generation of income and employment in communities or among vulnerable populations, as well as on initiatives that articulate local potential to transform realities through entrepreneurship.
• Digital Transformation: On the digitalization of businesses, transformation in the way of meeting customer needs, actions to promote digital transformation or innovative businesses anchored in this theme.
• Female Entrepreneurship: About the peculiarities of entrepreneurship carried out by women, its advances and challenges, overview of the current scenario, as well as actions, projects and businesses related to the topic.
• Public Policies and Legislation: Addresses public actions from all spheres of government and specific legislation with an impact on the world of small businesses, such as tax reforms or other simplification measures and their consequences, changes to the MEI (Individual Microentrepreneur), among other initiatives.
• Access to Credit and Financial Management: On financial management of small businesses, credit panorama in Brazil, role of loans in the maintenance and growth of companies, advances and challenges of credit policy for small businesses, provision of services in relation to taking out loans in Brazil.
• Social entrepreneurship: On actions and businesses based on social entrepreneurship, with innovative products and services that seek to solve or minimize social problems, generating a positive impact for communities or groups.

Categories

• Main Categories:
  • Sebrae Text Journalism Award – awarded to the best article published in printed media, newspapers or magazines, based in Brazil, or portals, news sites and digital journalistic projects in general, which include the production of their own content and are not just reproductions of content already published on another platform.
  • Sebrae Audio Journalism Award – for the best content broadcast on radio stations based in Brazil or for the best podcast broadcast on streaming platforms, in Portuguese, lasting up to 40 minutes.
  • Sebrae Video Journalism Award – for the best content broadcast on television channels or for videos published on journalism channels on digital platforms, in Portuguese, lasting up to 60 minutes.
  • Sebrae Photojournalism Award – for the best photo published in printed media, newspapers or magazines, based in Brazil, or on the websites of news companies.
• Special Category:
  • University Journalism – for the best journalistic content (in the Text, Audio, Video or Photojournalism modalities) that addresses themes related to the universe of entrepreneurship in Brazil and has been developed by university students during an undergraduate course in Social Communication, with a qualification in Journalism, Radio and TV, Radio Broadcasting and related fields, and published in laboratory vehicles. A special prize will also be awarded, namely:
    • Sebrae Journalism Grand Prize – for the best content among all the winners in the main categories of Text, Audio, Video and Photojournalism.
    • Entrepreneur Partner Journalist – Small Businesses and COP-30 – tribute from Sebrae Nacional to a journalist who stands out in the coverage of the environmental agenda related to the global event, which will be held in Brazil, with a focus on small businesses.

Conditions of Participation

• In the main categories (Text, Audio, Video and Photojournalism):
  • Reports published between June 3, 2024 and June 8, 2025 in print and web journalism media outlets, radio and television stations based in Brazil, as well as other digital platforms, may compete for the Sebrae Journalism Award (PSJ). The articles/reports must be edited in Portuguese.
  • In the main categories, each professional may compete with a maximum of 3 (three) works, regardless of the category. However, there is no limit on entries per vehicle.
  • The same article may not be entered in more than one category. The exception is works published in newspapers, magazines or web media, in which the photographs that illustrate the articles may be entered in the “Photojournalism” category, even if the articles are also entered in the “Text Journalism” category.
  • In the Audio and Video categories, for the registration of series, the total time must be up to 40 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively, considering the sum of all episodes. A series is considered a single work and must be registered in its entirety.
  • Works from national media outlets, but which were produced by local outlets, may be registered in the local outlet or by the state where the outlet is headquartered. The professional, however, may only register for a single Federative Unit, regardless of the category.
  • Only works published in the press may be submitted. Reports from institutional/corporate media outlets that predominantly focus on publicizing the institution will not be accepted, such as agencies of city halls and state governments and portals of non-journalistic organizations, such as unions and associations. The exceptions are portals and public radio and TV stations that provide varied journalistic coverage, with plurality and without a predominant bias towards publicizing the institution and/or its actions.
  • Entries for articles produced by press offices will not be accepted, even if they have been published in a press outlet.
  • Journalistic content published only on personal blogs, social media pages or channels that are not associated with a press outlet cannot compete in the main categories (Text, Audio, Video and Photojournalism).
• In the special category of University Journalism:
  • Reports published in university laboratory media (in the Text, Audio, Video or Photojournalism modalities) that were broadcast from June 3, 2024 to June 8, 2025 may compete for the University Journalism special category. The articles/reports must necessarily be edited in Portuguese.
  • Only undergraduates who are enrolled in a Social Communications degree course in 2025, with a specialization in Journalism, Radio and TV, Broadcasting and related fields, at public and private universities throughout Brazil recognized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) may compete for the award. Or who completed their undergraduate degree between 2024 and 2025, but were students at the time of the production of the work entered for the award.
  • Each university student may submit a maximum of 3 (three) papers. However, there is no limit on the number of entries per educational institution.

For more information, visit Sebrae.