Contest Categories and Rules
2023 Awards General Rules
All professional and student journalists can enter the contest or have their news organization
submit an entry on their behalf.
You do not have to be a member of SPJ Las Vegas to enter the contest.
Other rules:
● Work must be from the calendar year 2022. (Jan. 1, 2022 thru Dec. 31, 2022).
● No opinion pieces, advertisements or paid content will be accepted as entries.
● Articles/Broadcasts must be written/produced by a Nevada-based reporter or for a Nevada publication.
● Entry packages will be judged on news value, quality of writing/broadcast and relevance to Nevada audiences.
● Newsrooms can enter the same work in multiple categories, but they must pay a new entry fee for each category.
○ There is no limit on the number of categories a publication or individual may enter.
○ There is a 3-entry limit by any individual or publication within any one category.
(Work submitted directly by a publication’s freelance reporters and/or former
reporters will not count toward that publication’s 3-entry limit.)
● There are no “divisions” of entries. All news organizations will compete against each other — regardless of circulation size or medium of publication — except in a limited number of categories that do specify a medium for entries (Example: Written Journalism vs. Video Photography).
● Entrants must provide log-in information to their news website if the website has a paywall that may prevent judges from accessing content.
● Publications can submit only their work. Freelancers and former reporters can enter any category, but can only submit their work.
● Article/Broadcast submissions for single-reporter awards may include multiple bylines, so long as the applicant reporter has a byline on each piece submitted.
● SPJ Las Vegas board members cannot enter the awards competition. However, another entrant may submit articles/broadcasts carrying the board member’s byline, if those articles/broadcasts carry multiple reporter bylines.
● Judging will be conducted by out-of-state volunteers selected by the Los Angeles Press Club.
All submissions of entries and payment must be made by June 16, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Entries can be submitted here. Submissions can be edited until the contest entry deadline; please email SPJ Las Vegas at battlebornjournalism@gmail.com to edit a submission.
Have questions? Contact us or email battlebornjournalism@gmail.com.
Fees
Professional entries: $15 each
Student entries: $10 each
Submission fees are non-refundable. You can pay here.
Contest Categories
Education Reporting:
This award recognizes a single reporter’s coverage of education and school issues in Nevada.
Entry may be no more than three articles on a single topic. Examples of subjects include, but
are not limited to, school funding, teacher staffing levels, or innovation in the classroom.
The spirit of this award is to recognize reporting that offers an in-depth portrait of an important topic in Nevada education.
Environmental Justice Reporting:
This award recognizes a news organization’s coverage of environmental issues and how they
shape and affect communities.
Entry may be no more than three articles on a single topic. Examples of subjects include, but
are not limited to, nuclear waste storage, water rights, tribal land issues or endangered plants or animals.
The spirit of this award is to recognize reporting that captures how environmental issues have impacted people living in Nevada.
Human Rights Reporting:
This award recognizes a single reporter’s coverage of underserved and marginalized
communities.
Entry may be no more than three articles on a single topic or a mixture of coverage about
underserved communities and human rights issues. Examples can include, but aren’t limited to, reporting on homelessness, communities of color, the foster care system and social services.
The spirit of this award is to highlight a reporter dedicated to humanizing issues affecting
vulnerable and disenfranchised people and communities, not just top-level policy articles.
Election 2022 Reporting:
This award recognizes a news organization’s coverage of topics surrounding the 2022 election
in Nevada.
The entry may be no more than three articles about the 2022 election. Entries can focus on a
particular race, a campaign issue or overall election coverage.
The spirit of this award is to recognize articles that best informed the public about the election itself or election-related issues.
Entries may comprise multiple reporters’ work from a single outlet.
Feature Reporting – Written Journalism:
This award recognizes an article that goes beyond typical news reporting on an issue, event or a topic and uses the pillars of good storytelling to inform and intrigue the reader.
Entry may be no more than one article.
The spirit of this award is to recognize subject matter and prose that transport readers into the written world.
Feature Reporting – Still Photography:
This award recognizes a series of still photographs that goes beyond typical news photography on an issue, event or a topic. The photos can be part of a news/feature article or a standalone photo display published by a news organization. Limit is 10 photos from the same article/display.
The spirit of this award is to recognize photo presentations that both inform and intrigue the
viewer on subject matters that are not tied to a breaking news event.
Feature Reporting – Video Photography:
This award recognizes a news organization’s single video feature that goes beyond typical news reporting on an issue, event or a topic related to the Nevada broadcast market.
Video must be submitted as aired with no additional edits. Entry time limit is 10 minutes. This
category is not limited to broadcast journalists, but all video journalists.
The spirit of this award is to recognize stories that utilize personal, emotional, and/or creative
connections to both inform and intrigue the viewer.
Reporting Using Public Records:
This award recognizes a news organization for publishing important articles that would only
have happened with public records.
Entry may be no more than three articles on a single topic.
The spirit of this award is to recognize articles that otherwise would not have been known to the public without the release of public records. Entries will be judged on the content of the article that is produced, not on how difficult it was to obtain the records.
Spot News Reporting – Written Journalism:
This award recognizes a news organization’s coverage of unfolding events in Nevada.
Entry may be no more than three articles about a single event, published within 24 hours of the event’s occurrence. Examples of subjects include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, law-enforcement investigations, or the sudden resignation of a public official.
The spirit of this award is to recognize deadline reporting that offers the most in-depth, accurate account of unexpected events, with a sense of urgency that informs and engages the audience.
Spot News Reporting – Still Photography
This award recognizes a news organization’s coverage of unfolding events in Nevada.
Entry may be no more than three photos documenting a single event, published within 24 hours of the event’s occurrence. Examples of subjects include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, law-enforcement investigations, or the sudden resignation of a public official.
The spirit of this award is to recognize deadline reporting that offers the most in-depth, accurate account of unexpected events, with a sense of urgency that informs and engages the audience.
Spot News Reporting – Video Photography
This award recognizes a news organization’s coverage of unfolding events in Nevada.
Entry may be no more than three video pieces documenting a single event, published or
broadcasted within 24 hours of the event’s occurrence. Examples of subjects include, but are
not limited to, natural disasters, law-enforcement investigations, or the sudden resignation of a public official.
Video must be submitted as aired with no additional edits. Entry time limit is 15 minutes total (in other words, length of all videos combined must not exceed 15 minutes).
The spirit of this award is to recognize deadline reporting that offers the most in-depth, accurate account of unexpected events, with a sense of urgency that informs and engages the audience.
2022 Topical Storytelling, Economic Recovery:
This award recognizes a single reporter’s coverage of Nevada’s economic recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Entry may be no more than three articles on a single topic.
The spirit of the award is to recognize a reporter who provided comprehensive coverage of the state’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and whose stories best informed the community. Examples of subjects include, but are not limited to, jobs recovery, affordable housing issues, or rebounding industries like tourism.
Web Presentation:
This award recognizes a news organization for outstanding presentation of a single news article or series online.
Entry may be no more than three digital articles, and links must be submitted.
The spirit of this award is to recognize article content, web design, interactive graphics and
functionality.
Student Journalism:
This award recognizes a single student journalist’s outstanding work.
Entry may be no more than three articles from the student’s body of work. Can include articles published at a student media organization.
The spirit of this award is to recognize a student journalist whose published works demonstrate sound journalistic principles and the ambition to tell captivating stories.
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