Ohio’s Best Journalism contest will begin accepting submissions for 2023 (for work performed in 2022) beginning today. We’re excited that we’re launching our contest early this year to give journalists, editors, producers, students, etc., more time to submit entries for the coming year. We can’t wait to celebrate the great work you continue to do.
Submit your entries by Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, and you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing for two free tickets to our contest celebration later in 2023.
Many thanks to all of you for continuing to support our contest – and Ohio journalism. We couldn’t make it happen without all of your submissions. Proceeds are used to support student journalism scholarship programs (high school and college) at the Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus pro SPJ chapters, as well as to help us provide programming for students and professional journalists throughout the state.
Our annual statewide contest is presented collaboratively by the Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland Pro Chapters of The Society of Professional Journalists and honors print, broadcast, digital, trade, freelance and college journalists in Ohio for their best work during 2022. An important distinction: Our contest is the only Ohio competition that honors journalists who fulfill the SPJ mission: defense of the First Amendment, support of literacy, resistance to censorship, advocacy for openness of public records and meetings, media self-criticism and community service.
In a recent email, we announced a new category we’re adding in 2023: the Emil Dansker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Journalism. This award will be the top honor our contest presents from this year going forward. It is being established in honor of Emil, one of the founders of the Cincinnati SPJ Chapter and a longtime journalist, professor and mentor to countless journalists and students. He was adviser to the BG News at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) for many years, and also taught at The University of Cincinnati, Central State and Xavier University.
The Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to one individual annually for their hard work, achievements, leadership and contributions to the journalism profession. Journalism professors, publishers, broadcast general managers and editors and reporters, as well as other journalism business professionals from all media segments, are invited to apply.
To be considered, please submit up to a 500-word description of the nominee’s outstanding service to journalism. The description should include specific details about the individual’s achievements, leadership and contributions to the journalism profession. Please include background information about the nominee (CV or resume), including full name, current title, address and email address.
Entries will be judged by panel of judges from the yet-to-be named SPJ chapter/contest participating in our 2023 judging swap and a committee of Ohio journalists. Click here to submit entries for the Outstanding Achievement Award.
Ready to submit to this year’s contest? If you already have submitted in the past, please use the same login information. A list of categories and other contest information (winners’ list from 2022, videos of some of our best of show winners and 2022 contest booklet) can be found on our competition website.
A reminder to the growing number of freelance journalists in our profession: Our contest features numerous freelance categories, which have been combined with Digital Media in 2023. Click here to view Digital Media/Freelance categories. View the “Rules” and “Help” tabs in the header of the contest home page for complete directions and explanations to help you submit entries.
The deadline for entries is midnight Monday, March 6, 2023.
As in previous years, journalists who work for newspaper, magazine, radio, television, trade, digital and college media in Ohio and adjacent states that have significant reach into Ohio are eligible to submit entries. Freelance journalists, who are Ohio residents, are eligible, regardless of where their work is published, broadcast or webcast. Newsletter and blog submissions are also welcome. Entrants need not be members of the Society of Professional Journalists. Submitted work must have been published or broadcast in 2022. All websites and links for digital submissions must remain active throughout 2023.
Please take note of the following when submitting entries: - If you submit an entry that requires a password-protected URL to be accessed, there is a specific field for you to submit the user name/password information for judges. Please remember to do this as it keeps the judging process moving along efficiently.
- There is a field asking whose name(s) should appear on any award, as well as the name of the media outlet, should your entry receive an award. Thank you for paying close attention to this field and entering the information correctly. This will help avoid any errors when awards are created.
- Please be sure to submit your entry in the correct category. Large print categories are reserved for publications with circulation of 60,000 and higher; small print categories are reserved for publications with circulation of less than 60,000.
FEES: A $30 entry fee must accompany each submission, except college entries. College students pay a $10 entry fee for writing of news, feature, sports and opinion. College newspapers may enter the best college newspaper category for free. There is a $5 discount per entry for work by SPJ members. You may submit any given article in as many relevant categories as you wish. Not an SPJ member? Join here and save. https://www.spj.org/join.asp
SPREAD THE WORD: Please forward this message to anyone you think would like to participate in Ohio’s Best Journalism contest! Our contest portal, OpenWater, makes it easy to share the contest site with your colleagues and friends. Look for the social media icons (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) on the left side of the contest site landing page. link here.
We’re always trying to increase submissions to our contest and add newcomers to our database for contest information and updates. If you want to add the contact information of your colleagues and friends, who want to be added to our elist, or if they want to add themselves, here is the link.
If you have any questions, please email our contest administrator, Sarah Mills Bacha, at contact@ohiospjawards.org or please visit our website – www.ohiospjawards.org
We look forward to receiving your entries soon!
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