Best of the West
Journalism contest and grants program
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2010 newspaper and online contest rules
General rules & eligibility
The contest is open to the original work of journalists published in 2009 in a newspaper in the West, or on a news or opinion Web site or an area of a Web site that primarily serves the West.The journalists must be based in the West or employed by a media outlet based in the West, which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyoming.
The main purpose of the newspaper or Web site must be to inform the public, rather than sell products or promote a business, government, nonprofit organization or ideology.
There is no limit on the number of entries that may be submitted by an individual or publication. However, no single piece of work may be submitted in more than one category within each division (for example, a photo may not be submitted in more than one photo category). Stories, photos and art work submitted in other categories may also be submitted in the Page Design category and in the multimedia categories. Photos submitted in the other categories may also be entered in the slideshow and multimedia categories.
All entries must be submitted exactly as they originally appeared. Rewriting and re-editing are not allowed.
Letters of explanation are acceptable in all categories. Other supporting materials are not allowed.
Entries in languages other than English will be accepted if accompanied by an English transcript.
Any entry found to violate contest rules will be disqualified and will forfeit entry fees.
Although all reasonable care will be taken in the handling and processing of entries, Best of the West is not responsible for lost, mislaid or damaged entries.
Contest categories
Reporting and WritingP1. Growth and Environment Reporting: Up to 10 stories on a growth and development or environmental issue in the West. Judged for depth of reporting, writing quality, completeness, balance, clarity and community importance.
P2. Immigration and Minority Affairs Reporting: Up to 10 stories on an immigration or minority affairs issue in the West. Judged for depth of reporting, writing quality, completeness, balance, clarity and community importance.
P3. Breaking News Reporting: A single day's reporting in print and online of one or more pieces of spot news, written under deadline pressure. Judged for quality of reporting and concise and comprehensive assembly and presentation of facts. A letter describing how the reporting was done on deadline for print and online is encouraged.
P4. General Reporting: A single story and up to two sidebars, published on the same day, of general news and analysis. Judged for reporting quality, writing quality, clarity, completeness and balance.
P5. Explanatory Reporting: Up to 10 stories that examine a significant and complex subject in depth, enabling readers to put news concerning it into a more meaningful context. Judged for depth and breadth of reporting, writing quality, timeliness, clarity, completeness, balance and community importance.
P6. Project Reporting: Up to 10 stories on a single subject. Judged for depth and breadth of reporting, writing quality, clarity, completeness, balance and community importance.
P7. Investigative Reporting: Up to 10 stories on a single subject that were the result of extensive research and original investigation. Judged for quality of investigation, timeliness, writing quality, clarity, balance and community importance.
P8. Feature Writing, Short Form: A story of up to 1,500 words. Judged for literary quality, creativity and flair.
P9. Feature Writing, Long Form: One or two stories on a single subject that total more than 1,500 words. Judged for literary quality, originality, creativity and flair.
P10. Arts and Entertainment Writing: A single story and up to two sidebars, published on the same day, on performing arts, visual arts, entertainment (movies, music), artist profiles/interviews or reviews. Judged for reporting quality, writing quality, clarity, completeness and balance.
P11. Business and Financial Reporting: A single story and up to two sidebars, published on the same day, on a business or financial issue. Judged for reporting quality, writing quality, clarity, completeness and balance.
P12. Sports Reporting: A single story and up to two sidebars, published on the same day, on any sports event, person or situation. Judged for reporting quality, writing quality, clarity, completeness and balance.
P13. General Interest Column Writing: Five columns on topics of general interest. Judged for literary quality, originality, creativity and reader impact.
P14. Special Topic Column Writing: Five columns on a single subject, such as politics, sports, food, television or business. Judged for descriptive power, originality, reader impact and expertise in the subject.
P15. Headline Writing: Five headlines by one writer. Headlines over captions qualify. Include the stories and/or captions in the entry. Judged for clarity, accuracy, reader impact, imagination and difficulty of the head order.
P16. Editorial Writing: A single piece that expresses the views of a publication and advocates a position or urges action. Judged for soundness of reasoning, persuasiveness, worthiness of purpose, clarity and reader impact.
P17. Blog Writing: Five posts from a single blog on news, features, sports or opinion. Judged for originality, immediacy, aesthetic quality and creative use of the online medium.
Photography
P18. News Photography: One breaking news photo. Judged for news value, alertness of response, visual interest and technical quality.
P19. Feature Photography: One feature photo. Judged for visual appeal, freshness and technical and aesthetic quality.
P20. Sports Photography: One photo of a sporting event. Judged for visual appeal, ability to capture dramatic moments or emotions and technical and aesthetic quality.
P21. Slideshow: One slideshow with up to 30 photos on a single subject, without audio. Note: This category is for slideshows without audio; slideshows with audio (such as Soundslides) should be entered in the Multimedia Storytelling category. Judged for storytelling ability, visual appeal, continuity and technical and aesthetic quality.
Art
P22. Informational Graphic: An informational graphic, such as a map, diagram, chart, graph or table. Judged for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, clarity of presentation and artistic quality.
P23. Editorial Cartooning: Five editorial cartoons by a single artist. Judged for reader impact, community importance and artistic quality.
Print presentation
P24. Page Design: A single page or a double truck (plus jumps) that best reflects the integration of stories, photos, art, editing, headlines and design. Judged for effectiveness, clarity and visual appeal of the presentation.
Multimedia
P25. Video storytelling: A single news, feature or sports video of up to 10 minutes in length. The video must be original content produced for the Web. Judged for storytelling ability, overall presentation, reader interest, technical and aesthetic quality and creative use of the medium.
P26. Multimedia storytelling: A single multimedia report that demonstrates strong storytelling, using any of the following: text, audio, video, photos, graphics, animation and/or interactivity. Judged for storytelling ability, overall presentation, ease of navigation, technical and aesthetic quality and creative use of the medium.
Entry fee & deadline
An entry fee of $10 must accompany each entry. A single check for multiple entries from the same journalist or newspaper is appreciated. Make checks payable to: Best of the West.Entries must be postmarked no later than Feb. 18, 2010, and received by Best of the West no later than Feb. 22, 2010. No late entries will be accepted. Send or deliver all entries to:
Mary Jo Pitzl
c/o The Arizona Republic
200 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Entry procedures
Entry formTwo completed copies of the entry form must be submitted with each entry except for entries in the photo category, which require just a single copy of the entry form. For all except photo categories, each entry must be packaged as neatly as possible in an 8-inch by 11-inch file folder. One entry form should be stapled to the outside of the folder and the other form placed inside the folder with the entry. Entrants are responsible for clearly marking tear sheets or clips so that judges can easily tell which story is being submitted.
If more than one person contributed to an entry, each contributor should be listed on the entry form. However, entries with a large number of contributors may be submitted as "Staff."
Reporting and writing categories: Submit clippings, tear sheets, photocopies or complete printouts from archives or Web sites (printout must show date or other evidence of publication). Graphics, illustrations and editorial cartoons: submit clippings, tear sheets or photocopies of the art work and, where appropriate, the accompanying article or articles.
Page Design: Submit tear sheets or photocopies.
Slideshow, blog, video and multimedia categories: For each entry, e-mail the URL or URLs to info@bestofthewestcontest.org, with the category number and title of the entry in the e-mail's subject line. Print out a copy of the e-mail and submit it along with an entry form and a check as part of the package mailed to Best of the West.
Photo categories: Digital entries are required. The final image size should be about 8 by 10 inches at 200 CPI saved as a JPEG at quality 6 or better. No CMYK. Name each image in the following format: Category number, your first initial, your last name, a name for your entry and the three-digit number for your entry. (For example: Jim Smith's first entry in the news photography category (P19) would be P19-JSMITH-SHOOTING-001. His second entry would be P19-JSMITH-FIGHT-002.) Save the images on a CD. Newspapers are encouraged to submit all photographers' entries on a single CD for ease of handling. Enclose an entry form with the CD for each photo entry, and write the image name at the bottom of the form. Submit a photocopy of each photo as it ran in the newspaper or on the paper's Web site as proof of publication.
Judging & prizes
Entries will be judged by professional journalists from outside of the region. Judges' decisions are final unless a winning entry is found to violate contest rules, in which case the entry will be disqualified and the prize awarded to the next-place winner.The first place prize is a medallion. If up to three people contribute to a first-place winner, each will receive a medallion. If there are four or more contributors, the medallion will be presented to the paper. Each contributor to a winner will get a certificate.
For contest results, return to this Web site in May.