Best in Texas (News & Broadcast)
CONTEST INFORMATION
The contest entry fees will be $3 per entry. Advisers MUST be TAJE members to enter. Profits from the contest benefit TAJE projects, including scholarship programs.
The contest will focus on the quality of concept, writing and design to give news, online news and broadcast staff members an opportunity to gain recognition for their individual journalistic accomplishments.
The entries must be received on or before Jan. 31, 2024 by 11:59 p.m.
IMPORTANT: No invoices will be issued until after the contest deadline.
Winning entries will be awarded certificates of superior, excellent or honorable mention by qualified scholastic journalism judges. Entries receiving superior ratings will be eligible for the Best of the Best award. One overall winner and runners-up will be selected from each contest group.
Entries must have been published between Jan. 31, 2023 and this year’s deadline. Do not enter pieces in both print news and online news. Entries should be submitted through the TAJE web site.
Print news (click here to submit): Upload appropriately named PDFs (for categories N2-N18 and N24-36) ) or JPGs (for categories N1, N19-N23). Multiple entries are permitted in all categories. The naming scheme is Categorynumber__school_studentname. If entering multiple submissions from the same student, please add numbers to the end of the name. Please pay close attention to this naming scheme – this is how we identify awards.
Online news (click here to submit): Download the entry spreadsheet, input the information, and upload to the entry form. Please make sure links will remain active. Multiple entries are permitted in all categories. Work posted on social media is eligible for consideration as long as it follows journalistic conventions, such as complete captions. Please note you must download the sheet; you will not be able to edit it without doing so.
Broadcast (click here to submit): Upload videos to YouTube or Vimeo. Download the entry spreadsheet, input the information, and upload to the entry form. Please make sure all links will remain active and links are not set to private. Multiple entries allowed in all categories. Work posted on social media is eligible for consideration as long as it follows journalistic conventions, such as using lower thirds to identify subjects. Please note you must download the sheet; you will not be able to edit it without doing so.
Invoices will be provided. E-mail contests@taje.org with any questions. Make checks payable to TAJE. Mail payments directly to TAJE. Entries may not be judged if payment or proof of payment request is not received by March 1.
Mail checks to:
TAJE
PO Box 176
Buda, TX 78610
All entries may be published in TAJE materials.
BROADCAST CATEGORIES
Coverage
B1. News Story: Coverage that focuses on the latest or most complete information.
B2. Feature Story: Personality profile or human interest coverage.
B3. Sports Story: News or feature coverage.
B4. Commercial/PSA: Promotional or other type of commercial
Talent
B5. Anchor: Two minutes of your anchor talent.
B6. On-Air: Two minutes of field talent.
Podcasts
Podcasts need to use four types of audio to help tell the story: interviews, voiceovers, natural and ambient sounds.
B7. Nonfiction Narrative
B8. Interview/conversational
B9. Hybrid with host and interview(s)
PRINT NEWS CATEGORIES
Portfolio
Please place these entries in a folder or in a single file.
N1. Photo Portfolio: Five photos by one student with captions (include captions in metadata)
N2. Story Portfolio: Five stories by one student
N3: Design Portfolio: Five designs by one student
Objective Writing (Include story & headline)
N4. News Story: Straight news story or spot news coverage
N5. News-Feature Story: News story with a feature angle
N6. Feature Story: Personality profile, human interest story, etc.
N7. In-Depth News/Feature Story: story that shows research, multiple sources, localization of a state or national topic, etc. Goes into more depth than a standard news story
N8. In-Depth Package: Multiple story treatments on related topic. Include all stories and headlines
N9. Sports Game Story: Preview or action story focusing on a single game
N10. Sports Feature Story: Human-interest story or personality profile focusing on a person or event
N11. Entertainment Feature: Feature story that covers any form of entertainment
N12. Headline Writing: Send five of your best headlines with stories
N13. Caption Writing: Send five best captions with related photos
Opinion Writing
N14. Staff Editorial: Opinion piece reflecting the viewpoint of the staff or editorial board
N15. Sports Column: Opinion/analysis of a sports topic
N16. Personal Column: Opinion piece reflecting the writer’s firsthand experiences
N17. Personal Opinion Column: Opinion piece reflecting the writer’s opinion on a local, state or national topic
N18. Entertainment Review: Review of movie, book, play, restaurant, concert, CD, etc.
Photography/Artwork
Captions must be included with photos. Captions should be submitted in metadata. Do not submit pages with multiple photos.
N19. News Photo: Emphasis on action; focused on event.
N20. Feature Photo: Strong emphasis on human interest.
N21. Sports Action Photo: Action-centered. Should be carefully cropped.
N22. Sports Feature Photo: Human-interest centered; what happens behind the scenes or between plays.
N23. Portrait : Informal/environmental or studio portrait.
N24. Editorial Cartoon: Include page with cartoon
N25. Original Artwork: Include page with art (can include art accompanying content or comic strips)
Design
(Each entry should be one page except N36)
N26. Infographic Presentation: Include entire page with infographic
N27. Alternative Copy: Include page with copy.
N28. News Magazine Cover Design
N29. Traditional Newspaper Page One Design
N30. News Page Design
N31. Editorial/Opinion Page Design
N32. Feature Page Design
N33. Sports Page Design
N34. Entertainment Page Design
N35. Photo Essay Page
N36. Double Truck Design
ONLINE NEWS CATEGORIES
Portfolios
O1. Photo Portfolio: Five photos by one student with captions
O2. Story Portfolio: Five stories by one student
O3: Design Portfolio: Five designs by one student, including, but not limited to, infographics and artwork
Packages
O4. Multimedia Presentation: A package about a single topic that combines different forms of storytelling (such as interactive elements, video, slideshow with audio and traditional copy)
O5. Photo Gallery: Minimum of five photos.
Objective Writing
O6. News Story: Straight news story or spot news coverage
O7. News-Feature Story: News story with a feature angle
O8. Feature Story: Personality profile, human interest story, etc.
O9. In-Depth News/Feature Story: story that shows research, multiple sources, localization of a state or national topic, etc. Goes into more depth than a standard news story
O10. In-Depth Package: Include all stories and headlines
O11. Sports Game Story: preview or action story focusing on a single game
O12. Sports Feature Story: Human-interest story or personality profile focusing on a person or event
O13. Entertainment Feature: Feature story that covers any form of entertainment
O14. Headline Writing: Send five of your best headlines with stories
O15. Caption Writing: Send five best captions with related photos
Opinion Writing
O16. Staff Editorial: Opinion piece reflecting the viewpoint of the staff or editorial board.
O17. Sports Column: Opinion/analysis of a sports-related topic
O18. Personal Column: Opinion piece reflecting the writer’s firsthand experiences
O19. Personal Opinion Column: Opinion piece reflecting the writer’s stance on a local, state or national topic
O20. Entertainment Review: Review of movie, book, play, restaurant, concert, CD, etc.
Photography/Artwork
Captions must be included with photos. If photos are part of a gallery, email contests@taje.org with information about which photo is entered.
O21. News Photo: Emphasis on action; focused on event.
O22. Feature Photo: Strong emphasis on human interest.
O23. Sports Action Photo: Action-centered. Should be carefully cropped.
O24. Sports Feature Photo: Human-interest centered; what happens behind the scenes or between plays.
O25. Portrait: Informal/environmental portrait or studio portrait.
O26. Editorial Cartoon: Include page with cartoon
O27. Original Artwork: Include page with art
Design
O28. Infographic Presentation: Include relevant piece(s) with infographic
