Welcome To The Florida Press Club

2010 Excellence In Journalism Contest

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2010 Online Entry Form

Official Rules and Eligibility

1. The Excellence in Journalism Competition is open only to members of the Florida Press Club. Membership is $20 per person/per year and must be submitted with contest entry. If you attended a club-sponsored seminar from January 2008 through May 2008, you do not have to pay the membership fee again.
2. Entries must have been published or produced in Florida or transmitted from Florida by a wire service between June 1, 2009, and May 31, 2010.
3. Fees are $15 per entry. The fee for the Lucy Morgan Award for In-depth Reporting is $25 per entry. Payment must be received with entries. Make checks payable to Florida Press Club or pay through the PayPal system through the Florida Press Club Web site.
4. No staff entries are allowed, except where applicable. Limit of four names per byline on staff entries. After four, enter entry as "Staff"�
5. The same item may be entered in multiple categories. Each additional entry requires an additional $15 fee.
6. Writing, photography and illustration categories call for up to three samples of your work per entry. Spanish entries accepted.
7. Improperly prepared entries or incomplete entry forms will be disqualified. Under no circumstances will entry fees will not be refunded.
8. Judges may award first, second and third place winners in each category. Decisions are final. No entries will be returned. Judges may elect to not award a category or the club may elect to combine class sizes within a category depending on number of entries.
9. The first-place winner of the Frances DeVore Award will receive a check for $1,000 at the awards banquet Oct. 30. Winners are required to attend to receive their prize. Entrant(s) must indicate on the entry form to whom the award check should be made payable.
10. Entries should be mailed to:
    Florida Press Club Contest c/o Jennifer Cason
    226 N. Nova Road, Ste. 127
    Ormond Beach, FL� 32174

ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED BY JULY 9, 2010.
ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BYTHE FLORIDA PRESS CLUB BY JULY 16, 2010.
PACKAGES MUST BE DELIVERED UPS, FED-EX OR DHL

Entry Categories
Writing:

• General News: Submit up to three stories about non-deadline events.
• Breaking News: Submit up to three news stories that show deadline coverage of a breaking news event.
• Public Safety Reporting: Submit up to three news stories about fire, police or criminal court events.
• Education News: Submit up to three stories from the education beat.
• Environmental writing: Submit up to three stories covering environmental issues
• Government News: Submit up to three stories about municipal, county, state or federal government. FOI stories are not to be entered in this category.
• Community News: Submit up to three stories zoned for a newspaper's community news section: i.e. Neighborhood Post, Hernando Times
• Minority News: Submit up to three stories about issues of special concern to a minority community.
• Serious Feature Writing: Submit up to three stories from different human-interest assignments of a serious nature.
• Light Feature Writing: Submit up to three stories from different human-interest assignments of a light nature.
• Environmental Writing: Submit up to three stories about environmental issues.
• Religion Writing: Submit up to three stories about religion.
• Health Writing: Submit up to three stories about health issues.
• Business Writing: Submit up to three stories about business news events, trends, people, new products and technology.
• Sports Writing: Submit up to three stories from different sports events.
• Sports Feature Writing: Submit up to three human-interest sports stories.
• Sports Column: Submit up to three sports columns.
• Opinion Writing: Submit up to three non-byline editorials about different Florida issues.
• Commentary Writing: Submit up to three columns, essays, think pieces or personal experience stories.
• Criticism Writing: Submit up to three critiques of art, architecture, film, books, theater or music. Coverage may be live or recorded performances.
• Blog Writing: Submit up to three blog postings with a brief description of why describes why the posting was timely or relevant to the news of the day or why the posting was a good example of feature reporting.
• Headline Writing: Submit up to three headlines.
• The Lucy Morgan Award for In-depth Reporting: This category is open to news, features, sports and editorial reporting. Submit a story package series of up to six clearly-related or set of continuous stories on one subject. Staff entries accepted.

Layout: (based on overall appearance of each page)

• Front Page Design: Submit up to three front pages.
• Local Page Design: Submit up to three local pages.
• Feature Page Design: Submit up to three fronts from the feature section.
• Business Page Design: Submit up to three business fronts.
• Sports Page Design: Submit up to three sports fronts.

Special Sections:

Submit fashion, leisure, bridal, hurricane or other special sections that appear on an irregular or annual basis. Staff entries accepted.

Photography:

• Spot News: Submit up to three pictures of unscheduled or breaking news events for which no advanced planning was possible.
• Features: Submit up to three pictures of a found situation or images created for a feature story with human interest. As a standalone, it's a fresh view of an everyday scene.
• General News: Submit up to three pictures of an organized event for which planning was possible.
• Sports Action: Submit up to three pictures showing action in a game or athletic event.
• Sports Feature: Submit up to three pictures showing non-action or a found situation with human interest at a game or athletic event.
• Portrait/Personality: Submit up to three pictures that capture an aspect of a subject's character.
• Pictorial: Submit up to three pictures of a general nature that explore the graphic, aesthetic qualities of the subject.
• Photo Illustration: Submit up to three pictures that creatively illustrate a preconceived concept or situation that would otherwise be difficult to show.
• News Photo Essay: Submit one package showing a complete news story. Staff entries accepted.
• Feature Photo Essay: Submit one package showing a complete feature story. Staff entries accepted.

Photography:

• Spot News: Submit up to three pictures of unscheduled or breaking news events for which no advanced planning was possible.
• Features: Submit up to three pictures of a found situation or images created for a feature story with human interest. As a standalone, it’s a fresh view of an everyday scene. General News: Submit up to three pictures of an organized event for which planning was possible.
• Sports Action: Submit up to three pictures showing action in a game or athletic event. Sports Feature: Submit up to three pictures showing non-action or a found situation with human interest at a game or athletic event.
• Portrait/Personality: Submit up to three pictures that capture an aspect of a subject’s character.
• Pictorial: Submit up to three pictures of a general nature that explore the graphic, aesthetic qualities of the subject.
• Photo Illustration: Submit up to three pictures that creatively illustrate a preconceived concept or situation that would otherwise be difficult to show.
• News Photo Essay: Submit one package showing a complete news story. Staff entries accepted.
• Feature Photo Essay: Submit one package showing a complete feature story. Staff entries accepted.
• Photo Gallery or Slideshow: Submit the Web address of a single gallery or slideshow.

Illustration:

• Info-Graphic Presentation: Submit up to three samples of informational-graphics.
• Artist Illustration: Submit up to three examples of artwork that illustrate an idea, scene or story. These can be drawings, photos, clip art, etc.
• Editorial Cartooning: Submit up to three editorial/political cartoons about different
  Florida subjects.

Special Awards:

• Freedom of Information Award: This award goes to the newspaper that has done the
  most to defend or extend Florida's public record and Sunshine laws in the last year. Submit any combination of stories, editorials, columns, cartoons or photographs, along with a letter outlining the effort your paper made to defend or extend these laws, as well as the outcome. Staff entries accepted.
• Best Online Publication: Submit your newspaper's Web address. Judging will be based on a site's overall style, ease of use, relevance and timeliness of news content.
• Frances DeVore Award for Public Service: This is the club's most prestigious award. It recognizes an outstanding contribution to the public good and celebrates journalism that makes a difference. Entries can include any package or series that reported conditions harmful to the public and resulted in action to alleviate those conditions. Entries must also include documentation showing that action was taken. That can include follow-up stories, written statements from officials or government reports. Judges will consider photographs, originally produced artwork and graphics, as well as editorials and cartoons. A written introduction is advised to tell judges what happened and why it is important. It should outline the reporting process and any hurdles overcome to get the story, such as a public records battle. A $1,000 prize will be awarded to first-place winners in each circulation class. Staff entries accepted.
  

Circulation Classes:

• Class A: Daily newspapers with more than 90,001 circulation, plus all wire services and alternative newspapers.
• Class B: Daily newspapers with 40,001 to 90,000 circulation.
• Class C: Daily newspapers with less than 40,000 circulation.
• Class D: Non-daily newspapers, community, tribal and college newspapers. Newspaper supplements are included in this class.

Entry Format:

1. To enter the Florida Press Club competition, go to www.floridapressclub.org. Click on "Entry Form"� Enter information and print two copies.
2. Submit tearsheets or clippings for writing and layout entries. Date of publication must be included with entry (handwritten dates are acceptable.) Photocopies and printed PDFs are acceptable. Printouts of online archive stories may be submitted, provided that they are identical to the printed version.
3. Entries must be submitted in a regular-size file folder with the Call for Entries form taped or glued to the front of the folder. Submit TWO copies of the call for entries coupon for each entry. Tape or glue one to the front of the folder and place the other inside the folder. It is strongly advised that entrants keep a copy of their entry form and submissions for personal records.
4. Photo entries must be submitted in .jpg format at 200 dpi, with the longest edge measuring 10 inches, on 1 CD. Each photographer will create a folder for each category, labeling the folder with the category name. The cutline, photographer, newspaper and date of publication must be entered in the file info in any program that can edit EXIF data (ex: Photoshop, Breezebrowser). Only 1 CD per photographer will be accepted and should have the photographer's name and newspaper printed on the CD cover. Tearsheets must accompany the CD to verify publication date and photograph context. No Kodak Picture CD's will be accepted.
5. Entries incorrectly marked or not submitted according to the guidelines will be disqualified. No entry fees will be refunded and no materials will be returned.
6. The Florida Press Club assumes no rights to any material submitted other than the right to send to judges, use for educational purposes and display at the banquet.

Awards:

Each winner will receive an engraved plaque at the club's award banquet Oct. 30.

Award winners will be posted on the club's Web site in September. Those who do not attend the banquet will receive their plaque at our earliest convenience with a $10 shipping fee.

Tax ID Number and Questions:

Contest coordinators and entrants may request the club's tax identification number from treasurer Megan Shannon. Contact fpcmoney@gmail.com.
For more information or question, contact president Jennifer Cason at fpcpresident@gmail.com.