The Dalton Camp Award is an annual scholarship offered by Friends of Canadian Media, a not-for-profit advocacy group supporting Canadian media and storytelling.
Friends of Canadian Media has a long history, and in 2002, they launched the Dalton Camp Award, an annual prize celebrating the year's best essay on the topic of media and democracy.
Dana's winning essay for 2024, entitled "When Youth Don't See the News," can be read in its entirety on the Friends of Canadian Media website. It covers Bill C-18, the Online News Act, and how this legislation might affect young people who get most of their news from social media.
Learn more about Dalton Camp himself, and the awards program established in his name, via the video below:
Who is eligible to apply for a Dalton Camp Award?
There are two varieties of the Dalton Camp Award: the standard stream and the student stream.
Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident is eligible to apply under the standard stream. Yes, this award is open to students, as well as working professionals and everyday Canadians! For the student stream, applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents enrolled in college or university.
There's no entry fee, and submissions are welcomed from people of all ages, gender identities, abilities, sexual orientations, religions, and beliefs.
The Dalton Camp Award in 2025 and beyond
Starting in 2025, the Dalton Camp Award will undergo some changes! Details are sparse for now, but you can subscribe to the Friends of Canadian Media newsletter for updates as they come, and follow on social media:
Be sure to follow on social, and subscribe to the newsletter, so you're among the first to know when the new and revised 2025 Dalton Camp Awards open for submissions.
Share your thoughts on Canadian media and democracy, and you just might take home a prestigious scholarship from the Friends of Canadian Media!
Congrats once more to Dana Cramer, winner of the 2024 Dalton Camp Student Award. Be sure to read her winning essay, "When Youth Don't See the News".
Remember to subscribe to the Friends of Canadian Media newsletter to hear about the 2025 awards program.
Read Dana's award-winning essay "When Youth Don't See the News"