MNSPJ’s 2023 Page One Awards now open for submissions. Click here for guidelines, categories and the contest link

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Contest opened on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The link for submissions and payment can be found at the bottom of this post.
The fee is $22 per entry.
Entries and payments must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
All work published or broadcast during the 2022 calendar year is eligible.
Journalists (including freelancers and contract employees) working for all print/online, broadcast and radio news outlets in Minnesota (or news outlets in neighboring states that cover Minnesota) are eligible to enter.
An individual may enter works of journalism in the print/online tier above their news outlet’s division (circulation/reach), but may not also submit that same work for judging in their division, too. In other words, a smaller news organization may compete against larger news organizations if it so chooses, but a larger news organization cannot compete against smaller news organizations.
Entries will be judged by journalism professionals outside Minnesota.
Judges and/or contest organizers may move an entry from one category to another if needed.
Up to three winners may be chosen for each category. Judges may choose not to name a winner in any category.
Entries will not be returned.
Entrants are responsible for providing contest organizers with instructions so that judges can call up submissions that are housed behind website paywalls.
Winners will be announced in the spring/summer of 2023 and recognized at the annual Page One Awards banquet.
New for 2023: Newspapers and online news organizations now compete in the same entry tier known as “Print/Online.”
New for 2023: Television now has one entry tier regardless of organization size. This decision was made due to low participation among smaller organizations.
New for 2023: New award categories include honoring the best of politics/government reporting in Minnesota.
New for 2023: Special awards will honor a first place winner followed by as many as two honorable mentions.

Entry Tiers

Print/Online [50,000+ circulation or organizations with statewide reach or focus.]
Print/Online [Less than 50,000 circulation or organizations with local or community focus.]
Television/Video
Radio [Podcasts are in the radio entry tier, but it’s open to any news organizations.]
Photography/Graphics
Special Awards

1. PRINT/ONLINE (INCLUDES NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND ONLINE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS)

a. Breaking News Reporting (Up to three stories showing excellence in coverage of a single news event that’s breaking/was not expected.)

b. Feature Reporting (Up to three stories showing one feature writer’s ability to command attention through rich scenes and/or unexpected angles.)

c. Profile Reporting (Up to three stories showing the reporter’s ability to write a personality profile on an individual or group.)

d. Enterprise/In-Depth Reporter (Up to three stories that reflects a journalist’s or team of journalists’ ingenuity, use of sources and/or special research to dig deeper and/or capture more complexity than a typical news story.)

e. Investigative Reporting (Up to three stories on a single topic or news event containing information not readily available to the news media or public and obtained through reporter initiative.)

f. Business News Reporting (Up to three distinct stories, or a series of up to three stories, that’s focused on business-related news.)

g. Business Feature Reporting (Up to three distinct feature stories, or a series of up to three stories, focused on a business or businesses.)

h. Politics/Government Reporting (Up to three stories about the people and organizations that influence state laws, policy and elections – may include profiles, investigations and continuing coverage.)

i. Columns (Up to three columns by one writer written for any section, but not the op-ed page.)

j. Editorials (Up to three single editorials and/or commentary pieces or columns published on the op-ed page.)

k. Headlines (A collection of up to three headlines, submitted along with the accompanying stories.)

l. Arts & Entertainment Reporting (Up to three distinct stories, or a series of up to three stories focusing on arts & entertainment-related news.)

m. A&E/Culture/Criticism/Reviews (Up to three stories that illustrate a journalist’s competence in criticizing or reviewing performance, musical groups, restaurants or other similar entities/events.)

n. Sports News Reporting (Up to three distinct stories, or a series of up to three stories, on sports-related news)

o. Sports Feature Reporting (Up to three stories showing one feature writer’s ability to command attention to subjects in professional and amateur sports through profiles or trend pieces with unique characters, rich scenes and/or unexpected angles.)

p. Best Magazine Cover (A single magazine cover.)

q. Best Website (Best use of a website for providing news to an online audience. Judges will look at areas such as ease of navigation, creative design concepts, good organization and degree to which online resources enhance reporting.)

r. Best Social Media Account – Individual (For a social media account on any platform run by one journalist that best demonstrates an understanding of audience, an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of the platform, while showing a commitment to innovation and an adherence to SPJ’s Code of Ethics.)

s. Newsletter (Submit up to three examples of a daily newsletter that excels in useful curation and/or distinctive voice.)

2. TELEVISION/VIDEO

a. Breaking News Reporting (Coverage of an unscheduled event broadcast within 24 hours; may be a single story or compilation of coverage on a single event.)

b. Feature Reporting (Up to three stories done for some other factor than timeliness – human interest or trend stories, for example.)

c. Enterprise/In-Depth Reporting (A single report or series of reports going in-depth on a particular subject, helping the viewer understand a situation beyond information in a typical news story.)

d. Investigative Reporting (One or more stories containing information not readily available to the news media or public and obtained through reporter initiative.)

e. Sports News Reporting (Up to three distinct stories, or a series of up to three stories, that are focused on sports-related news.)

f. Politics/Government Reporting (Up to three stories about the people and organizations that influence state laws, policy and elections – may include profiles, investigations and continuing coverage.)

3. RADIO

a. Breaking News Reporting (Coverage of an unscheduled event broadcast within 24 hours; may be a single story or compilation of coverage on a single event.)

b. Feature Reporting (Up to three stories done for some other factor than timeliness–may include profile, human interest, or trend stories.)

c. Enterprise/In-Depth Reporting (A single report or series of reports going in-depth on a particular subject, helping the viewer understand a situation beyond information in a typical news story.)

d. Investigative Reporting (One or more stories containing information not readily available to the news media or public and obtained through reporter initiative.)

e. Podcast (Awarded to the best series or episodic podcast; submit up to 3 episodes.)

4. PHOTOGRAPHY/GRAPHICS

a. News Photography (Best use of photography in news stories. Submit a collection of up to three news photos from the same photographer.)

b. Feature Photography (Best use of photography in feature stories. Submit a collection of up to three feature photos from the same photographer.)

c. Portrait Photography (Best use of portrait photography. Submit a collection of up to three portrait photos from the same photographer.)

d. Sports Photography (Best use of photography in sports stories. Submit a collection of up to three sports photos from the same photographer.)

e. Infographic/Data Visualization (Best organized combination of visual elements – including original artwork, photography, graphs, diagrams, and maps – that illustrate and inform, either as part of a story package or as a stand-alone element.)

f. Illustration (Best original artwork, up to three examples may be submitted, that illustrates a story.)

g. Page Design (Best single page design: Taking into account layout and page composition, use of headlines and the arrangement of visual elements.)

5. SPECIAL AWARDS

a. Journalist of the Year (Award given to an outstanding journalist in any medium with 10 or more years of experience; submit three examples of work and letter of nomination.)

b. Young Journalist of the Year (Award given to outstanding journalist in any medium with less than 10 years experience; submit three examples of work and letter of nomination.)

c. Best Beat Reporting (Award recognizing an enterprising reporter in any medium who follows a single subject or topic throughout the year. Entries should include three examples of reporting and a narrative letter explaining any other relevant facts a judge may use to determine the state’s top beat reporter.)

d. Story of the Year (Award for general excellence in any medium, covering a single story or news event; submit up to three examples of work and letter of nomination.)

e. Best Use of Public Records (Award for excellence in any medium covering a story or news event where use of public records played a role in getting and telling the story; submit up three examples of work and a narrative letter explaining work and its use of public records.)

CLICK HER E to access the contest submission form