Entry Information

NAHJ Journalism Awards Criteria

The contest is open to NAHJ members who can demonstrate journalistic excellence in their selected medium or members and non-members who bring awareness and report on the Latino community.

Judging will be based on the work samples submitted online and/or the original work samples mailed in. All work and information must be submitted online unless otherwise indicated.

Entries will be pre-screened.

All entries must include a summary of each piece between 50 and 100 words.

A journalist can submit more than one entry in each category. Each category requires a separate entry form and fee.

Judges have the right to disqualify entries that do not meet entry guidelines or that do not meet the deadline.

All entries become property of NAHJ and will not be returned. Entrants are requested to keep copies of their entries.  

If entries do not follow the criteria, they will be disqualified. Entrants will NOT be notified of the disqualification or refunded their fee.

Eligibility

Entries must have been published or aired between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. You do NOT have to be a member of NAHJ to enter the competition or win an award.

Submissions in English and Spanish will be accepted.

Winners are individuals, not news organizations.

 Entry Deadline

 Online entry forms must be completed by Friday, May 23, 2008 to be considered for the awards. NAHJ will not acknowledge receipt of entries.

Submission of Entries and Fees

 The contest fee is $90.00 for non-members and $50.00 for members.

Payment for fees may be made by credit card or check. If paying by check, please print a copy of the entry page and submit with payment.

A single check may be submitted for multiple entries, but the corresponding entry forms must be sent with the check. A summary sheet listing the entries and indicating specific categories should be included.

Payments by check, original work samples (4 tearsheets) for the Print-Design category, and four copies of the VHS or DVD work samples that could not be uploaded with the online application for the Television and Videography categories should be sent to:

NAHJ Journalism Awards
1000 National Press Building
529 14 th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20045-2001

Categories

Awards are given in the following categories:

• Breaking News -- Small-Market Station: 60+ market, Large-Market Station: 1-60 market
• Feature -- Small-Market Station: 60+ market, Large-Market Station: 1-60 market

Judging of Entries

Entries are judged by a panel of diverse journalism professionals representing media outlets from across the country. An award will be given in each category unless, in the opinion of the judges, no award is deserved. The decision of the judges is final.

Notification

 NAHJ Journalism Award winners will be announced in June. Winners will be notified prior to the public announcement. Awards will be presented during Hispanic Heritage month at the 23rd Annual Noche de Triunfos Journalism Awards Gala, in Washington, D.C., on September 12, 2008.

Entry Guidelines

Print Breaking News is defined as a combination of stories -- no more than three -- that are part of coverage of a breaking event and are published within the first 48 hours immediately after the event. Entries may include a primary story and all directly related stories, including second-day follow stories but each entry must have been published within the first 48 hours following the event.

Print Feature is defined as coverage of general news and non-breaking news, which also includes other aspects of specialty reporting – including, but not limited to beat reporting in arts, environment, education, financial, religion, sports, health, fashion, food and travel.

Print Commentary entries must include three different columns/editorials to exhibit an accurate representation of the columnist’s work.

Print-Investigative News entries can consist of a series of multiple stories. No more than 12 stories may be submitted.

Print-Design original tearsheets (4 copies of work samples) must be mailed in. Labels generated through the only form must be used to mail in entries.

Television
All television entries must include an air check of the actual broadcast. Entries should be uploaded through the online application process. To upload: export your clip to your computer using the web settings. Make sure you save your video as a Quicktime .MOV, or .MPG file. Once on your hard drive, upload like a regular file.

For those who cannot convert to this format, three copies of the piece on VHS or DVD should be mailed in. Each copy should be labeled with the title of the piece, the category entered and the entrant’s name and affiliation. A copy of the completed online entry form must be attached.

Television Breaking News entries must consist of one story and not exceed five minutes. Television Investigative News and Documentary entries must be no more than five parts, with the total airtime not exceeding one hour. Documentary entries should consist of a complete, creative study of a subject or issue in which the treatment follows a predetermined direction.

TV Breaking News and TV Feature categories are broken down by market sizes. Please be sure to submit your entry in the appropriate market category.

Radio
All audio files should include an air check of the actual broadcast. Radio entries must be a story or series. Entries should have no more than five parts, with a total length of 30 minutes. Radio samples should be saved as an MP3 file.

Photo
Photo entries must be uploaded with the online application. NAHJ will adhere to the National Press Photographers Association’s Code of Ethics as it applies to photo manipulation, http://www.nppa.org/about_us/governance/bylaws.htmlEach photographer will be limited to 20 entries.

Photographers can submit up to five entries for one entry fee for the Photo- News, Feature, Sports category only. Each Photo-story entry can consist of a maximum of 12 images. Each Photo-Story entry will have an entry fee. All entries must have been taken or initially published between January 1, and December 31, 2007.

The Photo-News, Feature, Sports category entries will be considered for their creativity and/or timing at organized events such as general meetings, promotional and sporting events and staged coverage, or the creativity, enterprise and/or initiative demonstrated in the feature photography submitted.

In the Photo-Story category, the entry should be a series of news pictures that represents one news story or theme. There is a maximum of twelve images submitted for this category.

All images must be uploaded. Samples should be saved as a JPEG, file. The photo resolution should be at 72 dpi.

Winners and finalists must provide an 11x14 inch mounted color print of the image if requested by NAHJ or its judges.

Videography
All videography entries must include an air check of the actual broadcast. Photo entries must be uploaded with the online application. NAHJ will adhere to the National Press Photographers Association’s Code of Ethics as it applies to photo manipulation, http://www.nppa.org/about_us/governance/bylaws.html

There is to be no re-editing of any piece. Entrants should follow the television guidelines in regards to submission of each entry. In all individual entries 90% of the video must have been shot by one photographer.

Entries in the Videography-General News category are defined as a story that covers a planned or unplanned news event or a subject of general interest and timely importance. The stories must have been shot, edited and broadcast within 24 hours. The maximum length of the entry is five minutes.

Entries in the Videography-Feature category must consist of entries that are a planned story where the photojournalist puts considerable time and effort into the production of the story. Pieces will be judged for a high level of creativity and imagination. The maximum length of the entry is 10 minutes.

To upload: export your clip to your computer using the web settings. Make sure you save your video as a Quicktime .MOV, or .MPG file. Once on your hard drive, upload like a regular file. For those who cannot convert to this format cour copies of the piece on DVD should be mailed in. Each copy should be labeled with the title of the piece, the category entered and the entrant's name and affiliation. A copy of the completed online entry form must be attached.

Online
This category honors exemplary journalistic work on the Internet. It may be awarded for coverage of a breaking news event, or creative coverage in specialty fields such as entertainment, music, sports, health, personal finance or lifestyles. Online commentary, including blogging and community journalism, is also eligible.

Excellence of editorial content is the primary factor but interactivity and incorporation of multimedia (audio, video and photography); along with integration of community tools and clarity of navigation will also be taken into account.

An entry may consist of one to three related URLs; all must be related to the same content package. Three entries may be submitted per category. Submissions may be a live, public URL.

For those websites requiring registration or subscriptions, a user name and password must be provided. All winning online entries must remain live and viewable for a period of one year from the date of the announcement.

Guillermo Martínez-Márquez Award for Latin American Reporting
The award offers a cash prize for excellence in reporting from Latin America or outstanding reports about Latin America that create awareness about the region. Individuals can submit no more than three work samples in this category and the work submitted can be in print, television, radio or online. The submission guidelines for this award are the same as the criteria for print, radio, television and online entries in other categories.