Frequently Asked Questions
Things you will need before entering:
- Your SPJ member number (if applicable). Don’t know it? Contact Us.
- Have your credit card information available.
- Be sure your entry is in the correct format. Print stories and photographs should be submitted as PDFs. View our Uploading Help section for help with audio and video requirements.
- Have all the links you need for online submissions.
- For Mark of Excellence entries: students - have your adviser's contact information available
- For Sigma Delta Chi Award entries: if you are entering in radio or television categories, know your market size:
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Mark of Excellence Awards:
MOE Rules
Please also read the general/category specific contest rules.
Watch a video demo of the registration and MOE entry process
- What is the entry deadline for the Mark of Excellence Awards?
- Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.
- Who can enter?
- The contest is open to anyone enrolled in a college or university in the U.S. studying for an academic degree in 2009. The entrant must have been enrolled as a student at the time of publication or broadcast. Students who have had full-time, professional journalism experience, outside of internships, are not eligible. Entries must have been published or broadcast during 2009.
- Can graduate students enter the Mark of Excellence Awards?
- Yes, graduate students should enter the 4-Year College/University categories.
- Can advisers enter for their students?
Yes, advisers can enter submissions for their students. The awards site has been designed to make the process of entering multiple submissions simple.
- Contact information will self-populate for each entry (if you want to be the contact person for every award).
- Entries can be paid with one check - by selecting the check option for each entry and including a cover letter with the check listing the confirmation numbers of all the awards the check covers.
- A credit card profile can be securely created, so that you don't have to enter the card number for every entry. The security code is the only thing that will have to be repeatedly entered (for safety purposes).
- Can I enter work I did for a class or as an intern?
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Unpublished manuscripts, classroom exercises and unaired news broadcasts do not qualify. Any work found to be unpublished, unaired or a classroom exercise will be disqualified.
A classroom exercise is defined as work assigned for a grade or fulfillment of a course requirement and is not eligible for an MOE Award unless it was also published outside of class in the campus/local newspaper, campus/ local broadcast stations or Web site.
Work published or broadcast while working as a student intern is acceptable.
- Can I enter the same work in two different categories?
- Yes. Contestants may enter one story in as many categories as desired. However, they may submit no more than two entries per category.
- The entry was a team effort. How many names can be on the entry?
- Up to four individuals may be named on a team entry; otherwise, the entry must be submitted in the name of the newspaper, magazine, station or online news site.
- Can I mail my entry to SPJ?
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Only select categories can be mailed in. Categories with a mail-in option:
- Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
- Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
- Best Student Magazine (mail in only)
- Radio In-Depth Reporting
- Best All-Around Radio Newscast
- Television In-Depth Reporting
- Best All-Around Television Newscast
Entries must be postmarked by Jan. 27, 2010.
Mail confirmation form and entries to:
Mark of Excellence Awards
Society of Professional Journalists
3909 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Mail-in option applies to select categories only.
- What is the entry fee?
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- $9.00 per entry for members
- $18.00 per entry for nonmembers
- To claim the $9 member fee, you must supply your personal SPJ member number. You may not use another student’s membership number.
- When an entry by more than one person is submitted, a $9 fee will be acceptable if at least one person on the team is a member of SPJ. The member must be identified and supply their membership number. YOUR ADVISER’S MEMBERSHIP NUMBER MAY NOT BE USED.
- Entries submitted in the Best All-Around categories must be accompanied by an entry fee — $9 if the editor(s) is (are) a member of SPJ, $18 if the editor(s) is (are) not a member. To claim the $9 rate, you must supply the editor’s name and membership number.
- Make checks and money orders payable to: Society of Professional Journalists. Include the award confirmation number in the memo line.
- No refunds will be issued.
- When will I be notified if I win?/ How are winners recognized?
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Regional MOE winners will be notified in March of 2010. Each of SPJ's 12 regions holds a recognition ceremony for MOE winners at their spring conferences.
National MOE winners and finalists will be notified in May and recognized at the 2010 SPJ Convention and National Journalism Conference in Las Vegas, October 3-6.
- I am entering multiple submissions. Can I pay with one check?
Yes. Please include a cover letter with the check listing the award confirmation numbers for all the entries the check covers.
If you are paying for multiple entries by credit card and only want one credit card charge, please email awards@spj.org.
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Sigma Delta Chi Awards
SDX Rules
Watch a video demo of the registration and SDX entry process
- What is the entry deadline for the Sigma Delta Chi Awards?
- Friday, February 12, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.
- Who can enter?
- The contest is open to any work published or broadcasted by a U.S. media outlet. Freelance work is eligible. Entries must have been published or broadcast during 2009.
- Do I have to submit a cover letter? / What should be in the cover letter?
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Yes. All Sigma Delta Chi entries require a cover letter. Entries without cover letters will be disqualified.
Let your cover letter speak for you. Explain why you believe your entry is the finest example of journalism in its category.
It should include the following information (if applicable):
- A summary of the story or stories.
- A discussion of major findings and subsequent results.
- A review of the process followed to get the story, including information about the circumstances that prompted the story; the length of time taken to report, write, and edit; and sources and references used.
- An account of the difficulty or uniqueness of effort in obtaining the story.
- Can I enter the same work in two different categories?
- No. Each entry may be submitted in only one category.
- The entry was a team effort. How many names can be on the entry?
- Up to four individuals may be named on a team entry; otherwise, the entry must be submitted in the name of the staff of the newspaper, magazine, station or online news site.
- Can I mail my entry to SPJ?
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Only select categories can be mailed in. Categories with a mail in option:
- Radio Documentaries
- Public Service in Radio Journalism
- Television Documentaries
- Public Service in Television Journalism
- Research about Journalism
Entries must be postmarked by Feb. 12, 2010.
Mail confirmation form and entries to:
Sigma Delta Chi Awards
Society of Professional Journalists
3909 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Mail in option applies to select categories only.
- What is the entry fee?
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- $60 per entry for SPJ members
- $100 for per entry for nonmembers
To claim the $60 member fee, you must supply your personal SPJ member number. If it is a team entry, claim the $60 fee if at least one member of the team is a member of SPJ. You must provide the member's name and SPJ member number. Make checks payable to Society of Professional Journalists. Include the award confirmation number in the memo line.
No refunds issued.
- When will I be notified if I win?/ How are winners recognized?
- Winners will be notified in the spring of 2010. The Sigma Delta Chi Awards Reception will be held during the 2010 SPJ Convention and National Journalism Conference in Las Vegas, October 3-6.
- Do entries have to be in English?
- Yes. All entries must have been published/broadcast in English.
- I am entering multiple submissions. Can I pay with one check?
Yes. Please include a cover letter with the check listing the award confirmation numbers for all the entries the check covers.
If you are paying for multiple entries by credit card and only want one credit card charge, please email awards@spj.org.
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Uploading Help
- I am mailing my entry. What do I do on the uploading page?
For Sigma Delta Chi Award entries – upload your cover letter. The cover letter must be submitted online, even if you are mailing in an entry, for it to be complete. Printing out another copy of the cover letter to submit with the mailed entry is optional.
For Mark of Excellence Award entries – you do not have to upload anything. Click the "Continue" button at the bottom of the page.
NOTE: Only select categories have a mail-in option. See the above question "Can I mail my entry to SPJ?" (Mark of Excellence | Sigma Delta Chi) for the list of categories.
General Tips to Keep in Mind:
- If you are uploading videos, do NOT use a dial-up connection. Use at least a Cable modem or a Corporate connection where possible.
- Name files as simply as possible with no special characters or spaces.
- Keep file sizes to less than 50 MB, if that is not possible, host your file on a third party website and link it to your entry.
Audio Requirements:
All audio files must be .mp3 (preferred), .wav, .aiff. Audio in other formats will not be accepted.
Video Requirements:
All video files must be one of the following formats: .flv (preferred), .wmv, .avi, .mov, .mpeg or .mpg.
Need to convert your video to .flv? Try one of these free converters:
Linking Files:
If your entry file is larger than the 50 MB upload limit, we suggest that you host it on a 3rd party website and use the Entry File Link area on the upload page to submit the link to download your file.
For your convenience, we recommend (but make no guarantee for) free file sharing sites such as:
Still need help?
If you still need help uploading your entry files, please contact us on our awards specific contact form.
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