Arizona Press Club Contest Rules

The 2006 Arizona Press Club contest rules for the Best Journalism in the State are here!

Greetings Arizona Journalists!

The Arizona Press Club is proud to announce its annual contest to honor of the best of Arizona print journalism for 2006. We’ve had quite a year for news, from murder sprees that rocked the Phoenix area this summer to an election season that saw Democrats gain significant ground in Goldwater country, from the capture of fugitive and religious leader Warren Jeffs to impact of the Iraq war and of illegal immigration on communities across the state. These issues and many other topics have filled your pages throughout the year, and now comes your opportunity to earn some significant recognition for all of your hard work.

We at the Arizona Press Club are again sponsoring the most prestigious contest in the state that will feature national prize-winning journalists as our judges. You can check out the rules and print off entry forms right now, see below. Some key changes you will want to note this year include:

n We have added several new categories that focus specifically on glossy magazines. We have watched the number of entries from magazines climb in recent years, and the board of directors has decided its time to carve out some areas specific to what they do so our judges can compare apples with apples. Of course, magazine journalists and other smaller publications are always free to enter the “C – Any publication” categories, if you want see how your work matches up with the largest publications in the state.

n M9-Magazine Portrait Photography : A single person or persons revealing the essence of a subject's character and M10- Magazine Illustration Photography : A single photo based illustration displaying outstanding execution, with digital or other means, for and idea the raises the bar on creativity for any situation such as fashion, food, portrait or cover illustration.
(Magazines are bound and typically on glossy and/or color-coated paper with the publishing date on the cover. They can publish weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly or quarterly.)

n The transition toward eliminating award prize money for most categories is complete this year. Responding to comments from many club members, the board has been working to switch the use of entry fees from funding small prizes to sponsoring more college scholarships and journalist training. Those of you who were able to join us for our free October workshop in Flagstaff, perhaps our best ever, already have enjoyed some of the benefits of this change. And there’s a lot more to come!

n We have added several more categories for Spanish-language publications this year, and we also are inviting Spanish-language journalists to also enter their work in any other category appropriate to their circulation, as long as the writing has been translated into English.

n We have brought back a category for short-form writing, to provide additional recognition for those among us who focus on great daily news coverage instead of long-form investigative, in-depth or feature writing. Please note that this category requires an accurate word count be provided on the entry form, or the entry will be disqualified.

n Finally, the awards banquet will be at a new location, on May 12, 2007. More details will be available soon!

We are looking forward to seeing your outstanding work from the past year. So start preparing those clips now. Entries must be received at our post office box in Phoenix by Jan. 31, unless special arrangements are made before that date with contest chairwoman Jill Jorden Spitz at jspitz@azstarnet.com or (520) 573-4177. Jill can also answer questions about a specific rule or category description. Or feel free to contact any of the other press club officers. Links to their email addresses are listed here.

Good luck and here’s to a great 2007!
Le Templar
President
Arizona Press Club

2006 Best of Writing & Reporting contest rules
2006 Best of Design contest rules
2006 Best of Photojournalism contest rules

Have multiple entries? Download the entry forms only, here
2006 Writing/Reporting and Design contest entry form only

The contest rules are in .pdf, or Portable Document Format files, which requires Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to view/print, if you don't have Reader on your computer- g et it here free.
If you have trouble with the .PDF, e-mail the Webmaster

Click here to get the contest rules in a Word document.

Save the date! 2006 contest winners will be announced at the 83rd annual awards banquet May 12, 2007!

Any contest questions, e-mail Contest Chair Jill Jorden Spitz, or call her at (520) 573-4177.

Award winner lists prior to 1998 are not available online at this time.

Are you on the Press Club e-mail bulletin list> If so, you will receive emails from bulletin@azpressclub.org.
If not, e-mail bulletin@azpressclub.org to get on the list and stay informed!

LAST UPDATE: March 19, 2007