The 2012 Citi Journalism Awards for Excellence are now open.

2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Citi and the 30th anniversary of the Citi Journalism Awards for Excellence.

It's quite an achievement and in 2012 we'll be taking the opportunity to reflect on where we've come from and where we're going. Citi's history traces back to 1812. As the City Bank of New York we started out with just 11 employees. Today we employ more than 260,000 people in over 160 countries, serving institutional and retail clients around the world.

Each year we reflect on the very best of Australian and New Zealand business journalism and so we invite you to once again submit entries for the Citi Journalism Awards for Excellence.

The Citi Journalism Awards for Excellence is a global program that recognises meritorious business reporting around the world. When the Awards where established by Citi 30 years ago, they were designed to provide journalists in developing markets with the opportunity to gain academic and business insight into the US financial system.

By 1993, when the awards were introduced into Australia they had evolved with the intent to encourage and recognise excellence in business and finance reporting, for which there is no other dedicated award in Australia and New Zealand.

Journalists from both Australia and New Zealand are invited to submit entries in five categories: - general business, the economy, personal finance, financial markets, and broadcast business media.

The prestigious prize which is chosen from the five category winners, is a 10-day study tour hosted by the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York. Many previous winners consider the study tour to be a career enhancing experience, having participated in sessions with leading Columbia University faculty members, engaged in discussions with senior academics and policy-makers, and visited key financial institutions and US Government Departments such as the New York Stock Exchange, the World Bank, the IMF, Bloomberg and the Federal Reserve Bank.

One of the key attributes of the Awards is the integrity and independence of the judging panel, which is designed to represent a wide range of Australian and New Zealand business, academic and economic sectors, as well as the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

To enter Download the Entry Form download the Entry Form and follow the entry criteria.

1. The award is open to print and broadcast journalists from Australian and New Zealand media outlets.
2. Articles and programs must have been published or aired during 2011.
3. Entries close 5pm Friday, 17 February 2012. (Late entries cannot be considered.)

Click here to read the winning articles from the 2011 Awards.

You can also follow us, and more on the Awards, online: