We’re anxious to find out, too.

Judges are going through the entries right now, so expect a list of the finalists in the Excellence in Journalism Competition mid-October. More information will be posted when available.

Until then, take a quick glance at where our 60th banquet will be held: St. Augustine!

We will be at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center, which is right next door to the World Golf Hall of Fame and the Southeast’s Largest IMAX 3D Digital Screen. We really wanted this year’s banquet to be a destination event, so email fpcbanquet [at] gmail [dot] com if you or your colleagues are interested in any of the resort’s packages.

Take a look: http://www.worldgolfrenaissance.com/

Good luck, and feel free to reserve your space at the workshop and banquet by saying how many tickets ($45 per person) you want here.

Go to https://omnicontests4.com/default.aspx?comp_id=170 for the contest.

Since omniCONTESTS is a new contest platform for us, we’ve encountered a few glitches. For example, we’ve noticed uploading documents with the Safari browser can cause the user to be directed to try again. Deleting and then re-uploading a document can also cause problems. We’ve talked to the tech support staffers at omniCONTESTS, and they are working on a solution. Using either Internet Explorer or Firefox might be best for now.

If you need help in any capacity, please email Sherry Mims at fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com as soon as possible. Even if you want to enter the contest and are unfamiliar with how an online contest platform works, just send an email. We are here to help!

To pay for multiple entrants online, take the amount omniCONTESTS tells you and add $20 for each person you want to enter. (Remember that you’re automatically charged one membership fee through omniCONTESTS.) Pay the total at http://www.floridapressclub.org/CCpayment.html. You should see a Manual Payments option. Put that amount in the box and click return (enter) on your keyboard. Then email Sherry to have your entries submitted and finalized.

You may also pay by check. Email Megan Stokes at megan[dot]magrini[at]gmail.com for details. Then, like above, email Sherry to have entries submitted and finalized.

A sole entrant can pay through omniCONTESTS’ PayPal system (as well as check). Just click the PAY NOW option. You do not need a PayPal account to pay with a credit card or debit card.

When paying for multiple people either with PayPal or checks, please send names and email addresses of the people you wish to be members. If you feel some clarification is needed regarding submitted entries, feel free to send a Word document listing what the members entered.

All payments must be made by 11:59 p.m. Monday unless worked out in advance with Sherry and Megan.

Please encourage your colleagues and other interested parties to enter because the more entries we receive, the bigger and better things we can do for our members.

Thank you for supporting The Florida Press Club.

The website address is https://omnicontests4.com/Default.aspx?comp_id=170. Register in the upper left corner. Please read the RULES and the HELP pages before clicking the ADD ENTRY button. Please fill out and click save for all the tabs. If you are entering a jump as a second document, please label the first and second documents, PDFs, etc., as 1 and 2 at the end of the title. You may upload multiple documents by clicking the + option.

2. What about special sections?

Please email fpcpresident@gmail.com for details. You will still fill out all of the information, but you will mail your entry to Sherry instead.

3. Do we have to pay through PayPal?

Although PayPal is our preferred method of payment, we realize some news organizations can only pay by check. Please email Sherry Mims (fpcpresident@gmail.com) and Megan Stokes (megan.magrini@gmail.com) to let us know as soon as possible. Otherwise, omniCONTESTS will not let you finalize entries. We have to manually submit your entries for you, so our eyes will be the last ones to look at your entries. No changes will be allowed after entries are submitted.

You can also pay by debit card or credit card through PayPal without actually having PayPal. After clicking on PAY NOW, omniCONTESTS will take you to check out. Select the “Don’t Have a PayPal Account” option to pay this way. Paying online is preferred because you will be able to finalize entries. Remember to go back to VIEW ENTRIES afterward. If you see the incomplete after payment, click on incomplete, and your entry will be submitted (accepted).

4. Are the Serious and Light Feature Writing categories different?

Yes, despite the descriptions on the initial Call for Entries, Serious Feature Writing is the category for serious news features or in-depth profiles. The Light Feature Writing category is for lighter articles (holiday, travel). 5. If I am submitting entries for multiple people, what do I do?

If you are entering for two or more people, you can use your name as usual. On the second tab, it will ask you for Entry Information. Put names the way you would want them to appear on the certificate. (This option is required for everyone, not just for multiple entrants.) When you review the totals, you will notice you are only charged one $20 membership fee. This is incorrect if you are submitting entries for two or more people. There is a fee discount set up to allow lone entrants to pay $20 once. By all means, pay the total through PayPal (or see No. 3, above, about checks), but then send us an email telling us the names and email addresses of the people whose entries you are submitting. Again, please email this information to both Sherry and Megan, but you will only send payment to Megan. We will be going through entries, and we will disqualify any contest entries from people who did not pay the $20 membership fee. If there are multiple names on a byline, all people must be members in good standing. The $20 per person fee is good until the 2012 Excellence in Journalism Contest.

Because omniCONTESTS’ software is new to us, we recommend finalizing all entries BEFORE the AUGUST 15 deadline. We cannot fix entries if it is past the contest deadline, and we will not refund entrants for disqualified entries. This is to be fair to everyone who submitted on time.

As you have noticed, a few things are different this summer.

I volunteered for president last year after Jennifer Cason’s departure. I had previously been membership coordinator and vice president. This year, Trisha Cormeny fills in as vice president and scholarship coordinator.

Megan Stokes remains our treasurer.

The Florida Press Club is announcing our annual Excellence in Journalism Contest, too, although we pushed back our entry deadline to get the best deal on an online contest platform. We negotiated and found the best price in omniCONTESTS. The company does contests for the likes of Associated Press Managing Editors, Virginia Press Association, SPJ Region 10 and San Diego. However, we’re pleased to be the first Press Club.

Along with “going green” and saving on postage, the online contest will streamline the process of submitting entries. It also will allow us to receive more help from journalists around the country for judging. Please let us know how you, our members, find these changes.

To allow ample time for submissions, we are keeping the contest open from July 15 to Aug. 15. As long as you do not submit your entries, all will be open to changes during the month. PayPal is our preferred method of payment.

The years of 2008-2011 have been hard on all of us, but we are looking forward to new and fortuitous changes. It is our hope that this new contest platform will allow more journalists, editors, copy editors, page designers, artists and photographers to submit entries. We have done away with low-impact categories, added new descriptions for important but forgotten ones (Freedom of Information Award) and added a division for our online media outlets.

Please forward this 2011 Call for Entries to everyone, including freelancers who might not know of us, so we can promote and keep improving the Florida Press Club.

Thank you, and I look forward to serving you.

Sincerely,

Sherry Mims

Contest Rules
Contest Submission

Contest Winners

Hello Members!

The Florida Press Club has relaunched its college speaker bureau, intended to broach the divide between professional journalists and aspiring ones. The Florida Press Club is asking its members to speak to journalism classes at colleges throughout the state. This is a fantastic way to reach out to your future colleagues and also a wonderful way to share your expertise.

We will need to know what type of class you would be interested in speaking to: reporting, editing, design, photography, research, etc. Also, if you have a particular beat that you think you might want to speak about, pop that in the note too. In addition, tell me which college(s) you would be willing to visit. Please e-mail us your full name, e-mail address and phone number, and a good time to reach you.

College Speakers Bureau

Call for nominations for courts/legal reporting workshop

The 21st Annual Florida Bar Reporters’ Workshop will be held Sept. 20-21 in Tallahassee. This intensive two-day event is designed for 24 print, TV and radio journalists new to the courts and legal beats, or new to Florida. The workshop is presented by The Florida Bar Media and Communications Law Committee and will be held at the Florida Supreme Court Building. Workshop scholarships, provided by a grant from The Florida Bar Foundation, cover two nights’ hotel accommodations and workshop meals. Travel expenses and any incidentals are the responsibility of the participant or the participant’s employer. Reporters attending will learn about legal reporting and covering the state courts from lawyers, judges and other experienced journalists. Topics will include: covering high-profile cases, public records and Florida’s open government laws, the foreclosure crisis, libel law and defamation, legal issues of reporting via social media, lawyer regulation and legal resources on the Internet. Additionally there will be luncheon speakers on timely topics, a tour of the Florida Supreme Court and an evening reception and dinner on the 22nd floor of the Capitol with the Supreme Court Justices. Nominations must be made by editors, publishers or news directors and include information on the journalist’s background, current assignments and contact information. Please send nominations for receipt by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, to Dorohn A. Frazier at The Florida Bar by e-mail dfrazier@flabar.org , fax (850-561-5733) or mail to 651 E. Jefferson St., Tallahassee, FL 32399. The selection process will be completed by mid-August and those selected for participation will be notified by e-mail.

American Association of Sunday and Features Editors national conference

TThe American Association of Sunday and Features Editors invites newspaper and freelance writers and editors to its national conference at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 6-9, 2010. This promises to be an innovative conference – one focused on giving you the best journalistic training available at the nation’s premier school for professional journalists. The registration deadline is Aug. 30. Whether you’re an editor looking for leadership ideas, a senior reporter looking for storytelling tools, or a cutting-edge journalist searching for multimedia and social media training, AASFE and Poynter will have the programming for you. Poynter faculty members will teach several sessions, as well as lead small group coaching sessions. Think of it as getting two-and-a-half days of Poynter training at the AASFE registration rate. Here are some of the Poynter faculty-led sessions in the works: * Roy Peter Clark (Vice President and Senior Scholar) on writing * Jill Geisler (Leadership and Management Group Leader) on leadership * Al Tompkins (Broadcast/Online Group Leader) on online tools * Kenny Irby (Visual Journalism Group Leader) and Regina McCombs (Multimedia and Mobile Faculty) on multimedia storytelling * Kelly McBride (Ethics Group Leader) on online ethics * Ellyn Angelotti (Interactivity Editor) on social media strategies * Guest lecturer: Lane DeGregory, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter of the St. Petersburg Times * Guest lecturer: Hank Stuever, legendary feature writer and TV critic of The Washington Post We’ll also have the classics from AASFE’s conferences, including Show & Steal and presentations of our Best Feature Writing, Section and Online contest winners. REGISTRATION DEADLINES: Aug. 30 (regular) Members: $300 regular (by Aug. 30) $325 late (after Aug. 30) Non members: $475 regular (by Aug. 30) $500 (after Aug. 30) REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN AT:www.aasfe.org or AASFE Registration We’ll be staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown St. Petersburg, right in the middle of the city’s nightlife and a short walk from the Pier and waterfront. The rate is a very reasonable $94 (plus tax) per night. TO RESERVE YOUR ROOM: Call 727-892-9900 or click on this reservation link: Reservtion for Hamton Inn and Suites

degree in English from an credited university

understand MLA format

Be able to use Microsoft office products

Fast typer

Good attitude

Neat appearence

Must be able to fly

Interested applicants please leave a comment with your education, experience, name and contact information.

This is only a test please dont apply

If interested please Email me at: Jason.spamhere@gmail.com

This is a TEST entry do not attempt to apply.