ASNE moves awards contest online

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 11/29/2010 11:14:00
• In: Awards

No more scissors, paste and FedEx packages: The entry process for the 2011 ASNE Awards is now completely digital.

After a thorough review of existing systems, ASNE chose a widely used awards management platform.

“This should make it much easier for news organizations to enter the contest,” said Marty Kaiser, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and this year's Award Board chair. “As a result, we expect to significantly increase the number of entries we receive this year.”

The ASNE Awards honor the best in print, online and mobile content. Nominations may include work that has appeared in newspapers and/or on news websites or news smartphone apps.

There are no circulation categories. News organizations of all sizes compete head-to-head in the contest's nine categories. Prizes start at $1,000 and top out at $10,000 – the amount that will be awarded to the winner of the Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting.

Nominations are now being accepted. The entry deadline is Feb. 1, 2011.

To submit entries, each organization must have an assigned user name and password. (Login information has been e-mailed to more than 1,400 editors. If your organization is not on the list and you would like to participate in the contest, please contact ASNE.)

Other changes in this year's contest include a revision in the criteria for the Batten Medal, which rewards individual achievement in public-service journalism. The medal now covers a body of work published over a three-year period ending in the contest year. In addition, articles or photos submitted as part of the Batten Medal portfolio may now also be submitted in other categories. The Batten Medal celebrates the memory of revered reporter, editor and newspaper executive James K. Batten.

The criteria for the Freedom Forum/ASNE Award for Distinguished Writing on Diversity was also modified. Columns, editorials and blogs may now be entered in the category, and judges will consider how effectively the work “dealt with overcoming ignorance, misunderstandings, racism, hate, intolerance and false stereotypes.”

In the Online Storytelling category, digital components that can be submitted as part of an entry now explicitly include tweets, mobile content, and interactive databases.

In addition, entry fees were reduced for online-only news organizations as well as papers with circulation less than 100,000, from $50 to $25.

The winning entries will be announced following judging in mid-February, and the winners will be honored at the ASNE convention next April in San Diego.

You can find the rules for this year's competition on ASNE's awards pages. In addition, you'll find category descriptions, tips, frequently asked questions and a complete list of what's new in this year's contest.

• The ASNE Foundation provides funding for the $1,000 prizes that will be awarded to winners in six of the nine categories in the contest.
• The winner of the Deadline News Reporting category will receive a $10,000 prize generously funded by ASNE member David Laventhol in honor of his late father, the longtime Philadelphia newsman Jesse Laventhol.
• The Batten Medal and its $2,500 prize are awarded in the memory of revered reporter, editor and newspaper executive James K. Batten. The category rewards individual achievement in public-service journalism, and the competition is open to any reporter, columnist, editorial writer, photographer or graphic artist.
• The Diversity Writing prize of $2,500 is funded by a generous gift from The Freedom Forum.