Ohio’s Best Journalism contest will begin accepting submissions for 2025 (for work performed in 2024) beginning today. We are excited to build upon the success the contest had last year. Many thanks to all of you for continuing to support our contest – and Ohio journalism. We couldn’t be the top statewide journalism contest in Ohio without you. We’re excited to hear from you and learn about the exciting work everyone produced in 2024.
The Ohio SPJ Contest is the only contest in the state that honors journalists who adhere to SPJ’s ethics code and 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 addition, our contest has continually evolved to accommodate changes in our profession, especially recognizing free-lance journalists with the flexibility to compete in their own free-lance category or against journalists in other categories. Last year we added newsletter and podcast categories in the Digital Media category in response to requests from media to acknowledge these growing forms of media.
Unlike many other contests nationwide, which only have one print category for both small and large publications, we offer two categories, one for large publications and one for small. We also have a separate category for trade publications. Our commitment to you is that we will continue to evolve with the profession.
If you are new to our contest, thanks for considering submitting entries to our contest and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions. If you have submitted to our contest in the past, thank you for your continued support.
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 2024.
Proceeds from your submissions 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.
Please remember to submit entries for the Emil Dansker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Journalism, which is the top honor our contest presents. It was created 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.
The Outstanding Achievement Award is 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. Click here to submit entries. Outstanding Achievement in Journalism Award.
Entries for all categories will be judged by panel of judges from our 2025 SPJ judging partner, the Green Eyeshades Award contest, which includes SPJ chapters from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. We look forward to working with Tim Dodson and his team again.
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 2024, videos of some of our best of show winners and 2024 contest booklet) can be found on our competition website.
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 3, 2025
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,
Entrants need not be members of the Society of Professional Journalists. Submitted work must have been published or broadcast in 2024. All websites and links for digital submissions must remain active throughout 2025.
Please take note of the following important information 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 50,000 and higher; small print categories are reserved for publications with circulation of less than 50,000.
FEES: Fees are the same as last year: $27 per submission for SPJ members and $32 for non-SPJ members. College students pay a $12 entry fee for writing of news, feature, sports and opinion entries. College newspapers may enter the best college newspaper category for free. There is a $5 discount per entry for work by SPJ members. Not an SPJ member? Join SPJ and save.
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.
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, 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! |
