Managing Editors News Editors Photo Editors Chief Photographers
Welcome to the INDIANA ASSOCIATED PRESS MANAGING EDITORS NEWSWRITING AND PHOTOJOURNALISM CONTEST
The 2012 IAPME Newswriting and Photojournalism Awards will be presented May 12, 2012, at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre.
The deadline for entry submissions is Feb. 17, 2012.
This year, entries will be submitted using a web-based program at http://www.betterbnc.com. (See Contest Instructions).
ELIGIBILITY: Stories originated by staff members of Indiana AP member newspapers and published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011.
Online elements, including videos, full pages and Flash designs may be considered as elements of entries in the following categories: Deadline News Reporting, Nondeadline News Reporting, Deadline Sports Reporting, Nondeadline Sports Reporting and First Amendment/Community Affairs. With each entry that includes online elements, submit links to the online elements.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: There is an entry fee of $15 PER ENTRY. News writing is limited to three entries per category and photography is limited to three entries per category.
Checks should be made payable to Indiana APME, and NOT to The Associated Press. They must be received no later than midnight, Feb. 17, 2012. They should be mailed to: IAPME CONTEST c/o THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 10 S Wacker Drive, .2500 Chicago, IL 60606
IAPME NEWSWRITING AND PHOTOJOURNALISM CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
Below are directions for preparing and submitting entries. If you have questions, please contact Susan Yount at (312) 781-0500, syountap.org.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure to use a recent version of Mozilla Firefox (3.0 or higher) or Internet Explorer, and that you have an updated Adobe Flash Player for the browser you will use to make entries.
PHOTOS should be uploaded by the member as digital images saved as JPG files, RGB, sized to no larger than 100 dpi, 8x10. Caption information is MANDATORY, and should be placed in the CAPTION BLOCK on the contest website. Submit only photos which were published in the newspaper AND NOT only posted on the paper's Website, unless otherwise indicated.
NEWSWRITING entries should be uploaded by the member as PDF, DOC, TXT.
1. Login: a. Go to http://www.betterbnc.com b. Under "Are you a contestant?", click Login Here. c. Select the appropriate Contest. d. Select the appropriate News Organization. e. Enter your temporary password: bnc (lower case), and click Login. When you first login, the system will prompt you to create a secure password (one per news organization). If you set the new password for your organization, please make sure to share it with others who may be making entries.
2. Submit Entries: a. On the Manage Entries page, click Submit Entry (left side). b. Select the appropriate Division (a larger grouping of categories). c. Select the appropriate Category. d. Read the corresponding Category Note (directly below the Category selection box), describing what is expected for the category's entry content. e. Complete the Headline/Title field. f. Based on the type of entry, add content: i. To upload digital file attachments (other than audio/video), click Browse, navigate to the desired file, select Open, and click Upload. Allowed file types are PDF, DOC, TXT, JPG, GIF, and PNG. If more than one attachment is desired for this entry, repeat these steps. If you reach a point where you cannot add any more attachments to an entry, you may have reached the attachments limit, set by your contest administrator. Please try to keep file sizes to 5mb or less, to aid judges in accessing entry content. For larger files (between 5-50mb), you may upload your file(s) to www.issuu.com, and copy and paste the URL into the Web URL field. ii. To add web/audio/video content, copy and paste the content's web address into the provided Web URL field. To host your content online, either upload it to a free streaming content website (e.g. YouTube) or talk to your IT person about adding it to your newspaper's website. Make sure the content will be accessible online throughout the contest and awards process. Here are some examples of free streaming content websites where you can upload audio and video content:
Audio: www.kiwi6.com, www.tindeck.com
Video: www.youtube.com, www.vimeo.com IMPORTANT: Please ensure that items are not behind a paywall or a password-protected area. If they are, you must provide username/password info in the Comments section of your entry. Judges may disqualify your entry if work samples are inaccessible.
IAPME NEWSWRITING AND PHOTOJOURNALISM CONTEST CATEGORIES:
1. DEADLINE NEWS REPORTING: For rewarding excellence in covering a breaking, single news event on your publication cycle. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main story.
2. NONDEADLINE NEWS REPORTING: For rewarding excellence in the reporting of news in a single story or series where deadlines were not a factor. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main story.
3. FEATURE WRITING: For rewarding excellence in the writing of a single feature story that deals with people or communities and their lifestyles and concerns. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main story.
4. FEATURE SERIES: For rewarding excellence in the writing of a series of articles dealing with a community, people or lifestyles and concerns. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main story.
5. DEADLINE SPORTS REPORTING: For rewarding excellence in covering a breaking, single sports event on your publication cycle. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main sports story.
6. NONDEADLINE SPORTS REPORTING: For rewarding excellence in the reporting of sports in a single story or series where deadlines were not a factor. Sidebars will be considered a part of the main story.
7. FIRST AMENDMENT/COMMUNITY AFFAIRS: For exposing a wrong and instigating corrective action, helping the community find solutions to its problems, and achieving a goal for the common good of the people the newspaper serves. Entry may exemplify the spirit and intent of the First Amendment. Entry should demonstrate the newspaper's ability to fulfill its public service role, determination to overcome obstacles in gathering information, initiative and enterprise and superior quality of writing. Sidebars will be considered part of the main story. Editors should submit a letter (a maximum of two pages in length) that explains the public interest and impact on their community. Letter should emphasize and explain First Amendment element, where applicable. An entry may consist of a single story or a maximum of five stories on the same issue.
8. PAGE ONE MAKE-UP: For rewarding excellence in the most effective presentation of page one news and graphics. An entry shall consist of three front pages.
9. HEADLINE WRITING: For rewarding excellence designed to recognize that headlines should tell a story and attract the readers' attention. An entry shall consist of three headlines.
10. EDITORIAL WRITING: For rewarding excellence in editorial writing on issues of statewide interest. Editorials must be written by a member of the entering newspaper's staff. An entry shall consist of three editorials, which may or may not pertain to the same subject.
11. COLUMN WRITING (GENERAL INTEREST): For demonstrating an exemplary grasp of subject and engaging writing ability. Columns should demonstrate the writer's ability to provoke thought, inform and, where appropriate, entertain the reader. Submit three columns per entry. The intent of this award is to recognize a columnist's body of work, not an individual column.
12. COLUMN WRITING (SPORTS): For demonstrating an exemplary grasp of subject and engaging writing ability. Columns should demonstrate the writer's ability to provoke thought, inform and, where appropriate, entertain the reader. Submit three columns per entry. The intent of this award is to recognize a columnist's body of work, not an individual column.
13. USE OF GRAPHICS: For rewarding excellence in the best use of graphics, self-generated and/or wire, to illustrate a news situation.
14. USE OF MULTIMEDIA: For combining the work of the printed publication and the newspaper's Web site. Package can be on a breaking news event or other subject. The award recognizes effective combination of print and online content to tell a story in more depth than allowed by the print format alone. Judges will look for innovative use of staff and/or syndicated content in various formats. Considerations include complementary content across media, reader interaction, ease of navigation and value to the reader. Emphasis will be placed on staff-generated material.
15. SPOT NEWS (print only): For rewarding excellence in spot news photography for a picture shot and published in the paper's news cycle.
16. SPORTS (print only): For rewarding excellence in sports photography. Can be spot or feature.
17. FEATURE (print only): For rewarding excellence in feature photography.
18. PHOTO PACKAGE (print or online): For rewarding excellence in a package of photos. Limit of 10 images.
19. VIDEO/SLIDE SHOW (online): For rewarding excellence in a video or slideshow production.
If you have questions, please contact:
Susan Yount at (312) 781-0500, syountap.org or Patrick McDowell (312) 920-3612, pmcdowellap.org.
The Associated Press 10 S Wacker Drive, .2500 Chicago, IL 60606
