2008-2009 N.J. College
Newspaper Contest
Sponsored
by
Entry Deadline
for the 2008-2009 Contest is March 2, 2009
All New Jersey college
newspapers are encouraged to enter the New Jersey
College Newspaper Contest to honor their newspapers and
the journalistic writing, photography and artistic
illustrations prepared by their staff members.
The content of printed
and online college newspapers published between January
1, 2008, and February 28, 2009, may be submitted.
Click here for a list of the
contest categories.
Every New Jersey college newspaper
was sent E-mails in December and January with complete
contest-entry instructions. If your newspaper didn't
receive that E-mail, please call the New Jersey Press
Foundation at 609-406-0600, ext. 19.
The attachment to that
E-mail, titled "NJCollegeNewspaperContest," provides detailed
instructions on how newspapers can place each contest
entry into a digital folder on their computer and send
that entry, other entries AND and the "Newspaper Summary
Sheet" to NJPF by the March 2 contest
deadline.
Click here for entry instructions.
There are 12 categories
for individual staff members and two categories for the
newspaper itself, with a maximum of 38 entries for each
newspaper.
Newspapers may present three entries in each of the 12
categories for individual student work and one entry for
each of the two total-newspaper categories, for a total
of up to 38 entries. Each individual entry
may include two examples of a student’s work. The
total-newspaper categories (layout and general
excellence) also may include two examples.
There is a $7 fee per entry for 1-25 entries, with a maximum fee of
$180 per newspaper for 26-38 entries. The fee is for the number of entries
submitted, NOT the number of examples (two examples of a
student’s work are allowed for each entry).
Entries from four-year colleges and two-year colleges
will be judged separately.
For the two total-newspaper categories, separate awards
will be presented to daily/weekly/bi-weekly newspapers
and to newspapers published 12 or fewer times during the
academic year.
All individual entries must be submitted in digital form
as PDFs of the entire printed or online pages on which articles,
photographs and illustrations appeared. The
total-newspaper entries also must be submitted as PDFs.
For details, please refer to the
Contest Rules
by clicking on this link.
The top editor or the faculty adviser at the
newspaper must verify that each entry follows the rules
of the contest and is presented as it appeared in
newspapers delivered on campus.
All entry fees must be paid
before the contest is judged.
Awards will be announced
on this website in late March.
Award recipients will be
honored at a luncheon on April 18, 2009, at the Trenton
Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
Click here for details.
Description of Contest
Categories
Overview
Preference
in the judging will be given to entries
that cover local campus events and
college life. Indicators of quality
journalistic writing, photography, artistic
illustrations and
design will be the primary basis for
evaluating entries.
The quality of ledes,
handling of quotes, background and supporting
information for articles, and smooth transition of story
elements will be considered as part of a holistic
appraisal of each writing-category entry.
The
quality of the entire newspaper is
considered for the General Excellence
category. That will involve the judges'
holistic appraisal of the newspaper.
Judges will consider the overall
"look and feel" of the
newspaper and how it appeals to readers.
Please read the following descriptions of
the various categories for additional
criteria the judges will consider.
Individual
Awards
There’s a maximum of THREE entries in
each category per newspaper. A student is allowed only
one entry in each category. Articles written by two or
more staff members working as a team will be considered
as one entry. However, that doesn’t prohibit a team
member from submitting a second individual entry in that
category. An entry consists of only TWO writing samples,
photographs or illustrations by the same student or
team. A sidebar to a story may be submitted as the
second writing sample in an entry.
NEWS WRITING: Coverage of a college-related event,
situation or issue qualifies as hard news. To be judged
on fairness, thoroughness, local interest and style. Two
writing samples may be submitted with each entry.
DEADLINE REPORTING: News coverage of a breaking news
story (not sports and arts events or planned interviews
and features) that happened on or
near campus no more than 48 hours prior to publication.
To be judged on fairness, thoroughness, style and the
presentation of helpful information that kept the campus
community up to date. Two writing samples may be
submitted with each entry.
FEATURE WRITING: An article on a place, object or
situation that is college-related and/or of special
interest to students (includes sports features). While
the standards of good news writing apply, feature
writing is judged on originality and human interest. Two
writing samples may be submitted with each entry.
BIOGRAPHY / PESONALITY PROFILE: An article about a person
or small group of
special interest to students (includes sports
personalities). While the standards of good news writing
apply, feature writing is judged on originality and
human interest. Two writing samples may be submitted
with each entry.
EDITORIAL WRITING: Editorial entries should be
on issues of special interest to the college or to
students. Judging will be based on writing quality,
depth of thought, courage, public service and persuasive
ability. Two writing samples may be submitted with each
entry.
COLUMN / OPINION WRITING: A column or opinion article on
an issue of special interest to the college or to
students (includes sports columns, but does NOT include
arts and entertainment/critical writing). To be judged
on quality of writing, depth of thought, courage, public
service and persuasive ability. Does not include
editorial writing, which are articles that represent the
opinion of the newspaper rather than the individual
writer. Two writing samples may be submitted with each
entry.
SPORTS WRITING: A sports news story based on
college-related sports activities. Sports columns must
be entered in the Opinion Writing category. Sports
features must be entered in the Feature Writing
category. Judged on quality of writing, originality,
local appeal and lack of sports clichés. Two writing
samples may be submitted with each entry.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT / CRITICAL WRITING: An article
that recognizes opinion writing in such areas as art,
theater, movie, book and restaurant reviews. Judging
will be based on technical knowledge, writing quality
and local appeal to college students. Two writing
samples may be submitted with each entry.
ENTERPRISE / INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: An investigative
article or in-depth report that uncovers a newsworthy
happening or series of newsworthy happenings on campus.
The judges will consider enterprise, initiative and
resourcefulness of the writer or team of writers. Two
writing samples may be submitted with each entry.
GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Any photo or photo series (picture
story) of college or student activities. Entries will be
evaluated primarily on composition, content and local
appeal. Photographs of competitive sporting events and
individuals participating in competitive sporting events
must be entered in the Sports Photography category. Two
photo samples may be submitted with each entry.
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY: Any photo or photo series of
competitive college sports. Entries will be evaluated
primarily on composition, content and local appeal. Two
photo samples may be submitted in each entry.
EDITORIAL CARTOON/ARTISTIC STORY ILLUSTRATION:
Entries will be judged on newsworthiness, originality
and artistry. If the entry relates to other content on
the page it will be evaluated on how well it illustrates
that content. Two artistic samples may be submitted in
each entry.
Total-Newspaper
Awards
Indicate the frequency of publication on the entry form.
For the two total-newspaper categories, separate awards
will be presented to daily/weekly/bi-weekly newspapers
and to newspapers published 12 or fewer times during the
academic year.
LAYOUT AND DESIGN: The layout and design of
specific pages or center-page spreads will be considered
in this category. Major judging factors include overall
attractiveness, excellence of makeup, headlines,
typography, special visual and verbal aids to the reader
and use of photos, illustrations and graphics. This
category can be entered by submitting TWO PDF
“tearsheets” of pages or center spreads (that counts as
ONE entry for the $7 fee).
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: An overall look at the
coverage, writing quality, copy editing, style use and
layout in the newspaper. Judging will take local appeal,
effectiveness and readability into account. This
category can be entered by submitting PDFs of TWO
different and complete issues of the newspaper published
between January 1, 2008, and February 28, 2009. (that
counts as ONE entry for the $7 fee).
PLEASE NOTE … All entries become the property of the
New Jersey Press Foundation.
The contest will be judged by active or
retired professional editors and senior reporters,
photographers and graphic artists at New Jersey
newspapers.
The decision of the judges is final.
Awards
Presentation
Awards for the 2008-2009 N.J. College
Newspaper Contest will be presented at a conference of
the New Jersey Collegiate Press Association to be held
Saturday, April 18, 2009, at the Trenton Marriott Hotel
and Conference Center. Details about the conference and
workshops prior to the awards luncheon will be announced
later on this website.
First-place winners will receive plaques at the awards
luncheon and all other award recipients will be honored
with certificates. Separate awards will be presented to
students attending two-year colleges and four-year
colleges. Also, separate awards will be presented in the
two total-newspaper categories, based on the frequency
of publication.
A "Sweepstakes Award" will be presented to the four-year
college newspaper and to the two-year college newspaper
that accumulates the highest number of points based on
the awards received in the 12 individual contest
categories and the layout-and-design category. Three
points will be given for each first place, two points
for each second place and one point for each third place
awarded.
The awards luncheon will precede two conference programs
and there will be a keynote speaker at the luncheon. The
keynote speaker is Frank LaMonte, executive director of
the Student Press Law Center.
The
conference and luncheon will be designed to help New
Jersey college newspapers and their staffs as they
strive to excel. The theme for the day be "College
Newspaper Websites as a Destination for Students and the
Campus Community."
All who attend the event, including award recipients, will be charged $20. The New
Jersey Press Foundation will subsidize the conference in
order to keep students’ fees as low as possible.
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