Best of the West print rules

2006 Newspaper contest rules

General rules & eligibility

Entries in the Best of the West contest must have been produced by a professional journalist based in the West or a journalist employed full-time by a newspaper in the West and must have been published in 2005 in a newspaper in the West or posted in 2005 on a newspaper Web site in the region. The West consists of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

All entries must be submitted exactly as they originally appeared. Rewriting and re-editing are grounds for disqualification.

Entries in languages other than English will be accepted if accompanied by an English transcript.

There are no limits on the number of entries a person may make.

General rules

Each entry must be accompanied by an entry blank (original or copy) and an entry fee of $10. Make checks payable to: Best of the West. A single check for multiple entries from the same journalist or newspaper is appreciated.

Entries must be postmarked no later than Feb. 15, 2006, and received no later than Feb. 17, 2006. No late entries will be accepted.

Send or deliver all entries to:

Best of the West
P.O. Box 13367
Phoenix, AZ 85002
or
John Leach
The Arizona Republic
200 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Entries will be judged by professional journalists from outside the West. A copy of the rules is provided to the judges, and the judges are asked to choose first-, second- and third-place winners and critique the winning entries. For contest results, check this Web site or sign up to receive e-mail alerts with contest results as they arrive from the judges at:

Judges' decisions are final, unless winning entries are found to violate contest rules. In that case, the entries will be disqualified and the prize awarded to the next-place winner. Disqualified entries will forfeit entry fees.

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 winning entry will receive a certificate.

Best of the West reserves the right to reproduce winning entries for publicity and promotional purposes.

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.

Questions?

Call John Leach, (602) 444-8746, or Mary Jo Pitzl, (602) 444-8963 during normal business hours. Or send an e-mail to bestwest@bestofthewestcontest.org with your questions.

Entry procedures

For all except photo categories, each entry must be packaged as neatly as possible in an 8-inch by 11-inch file folder, with an entry form stapled to the outside.

If more than one person contributed to an entry, each contributor should be listed on the entry form. However, entries with numerous contributors may be submitted as "Staff." Duplicate the entry form as needed. An electronic version is available at the Web site.

Letters of explanation are acceptable in all categories. However, supporting materials are not allowed.

A story or column may not be submitted in more than one reporting category, a photo may not be submitted in more than one photo category and an art work may not be submitted in more than one art category. However, stories, photos and art work submitted in other categories may also be submitted in the Words, Editing and Design category and in the online categories.

For reporting and writing categories, submit clippings, tear sheets, photocopies or complete printouts from archives or Web sites.

For graphics, illustrations and editorial cartoons, submit clippings, tear sheets or photocopies of the art work and, where appropriate, the accompanying article or articles.

For the Words, Editing and Design category, submit tear sheets or photocopies.

For the online categories, submit a sheet of paper with the URL.

For the photo categories, digital entries are required. The final image size should be about 8 by 10 inches at 200 DPI saved as a JPEG at quality 6 or better. No CMYK.

Each image must be named using the following format: Your first initial, your last name, the category number, a name for your entry and a three-digit number for your entry. Use hyphens to separate the four elements. Thus, Jim Smith's first entry in the news photography category (P17) would be JSMITH-P17-SHOOTING-001, and his second entry would be JSMITH-P17-FIGHT-002.

Save the images on a CD labeled with your name and organization. Submit all of your entries on a single CD, and 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.

Contest categories

Reporting and writing

P1. Growth and Development Reporting: Up to 10 stories on a growth or development 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. Environment and Natural Resources Reporting: Up to 10 stories on an environmental or natural resources issue in the West. Judged for depth of reporting, writing quality, completeness, balance, clarity and community importance.

P4. Spot News Reporting: A single day's reporting 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.

P5. 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.

P6. 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.

P7. 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.

P8. Investigative Reporting: Up to 10 stories that were the result of extensive research and original investigation. Judged for quality of investigation, timeliness, writing quality, clarity, balance and community importance.

P9. Feature Writing, Short Form: A story of up to 1,500 words. Judged for literary quality, creativity and flair.

P10. Feature Writing, Long Form: One or two stories on a single subject, published on the same day, that total more than 1,500 words. Judged for literary quality, originality, creativity and flair.

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: Three columns on topics of general interest. Judged for literary quality, originality, creativity and reader impact.

P14. Special Topic Column Writing: Three 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.

Photography

P17. News Photography: One breaking news photo. Judged for news value, alertness of response, visual interest and technical quality.

P18. Feature Photography: One feature photo. Judged for visual appeal, freshness and technical and aesthetic quality.

P19. Sports Photography: One photo of a sporting event. Judged for visual appeal, ability to capture dramatic moments or emotions and technical and aesthetic quality.

Art

P20. 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.

P21. Illustration: Any art or illustration, other than photographs, designed to augment a story. Judged for creativity, artistic merit and reader impact.

P22. Editorial Cartooning: Five editorial cartoons by a single artist. Judged for reader impact, community importance and artistic quality.

Print presentation

P23. Words, Editing and 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.

Online

O1. Online enterprise reporting: A package that uncovers news, explores an issue in depth or offers compelling and original analysis. Judged for overall presentation, clarity, completeness, balance, community importance and creative use of the medium.

O2. Online multimedia storytelling: A single multimedia report that demonstrates strong storytelling, using any of the following: audio, video, photos, graphics, animation and/or interactivity. Judged for overall presentation, reader interest, technical and aesthetic quality and creative use of the medium.

About the contest

The Best of the West contest rewards journalistic excellence and promotes freedom of information. It is administered by First Amendment Funding Inc., a nonprofit corporation.

Proceeds from the contest are used to help finance nonprofit media hotlines in the West that provide journalists with free, on-the-spot legal advice on public records and open meetings.

Nearly $200,000 in grants have been awarded to organizations in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

For information and grant application forms, write to: Grants, First Amendment Funding Inc., P.O. Box 13367, Phoenix, AZ 85002. The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2006. Grants will be made in February.