A LEADING AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WITH INTERNATIONAL REACH

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1 A LEADING AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WITH INTERNATIONAL REACH Date: January 16, 2018 To: Re: High school newspaper, yearbook, broadcasting and other media advisers MARK OF EXCELLENCE CONTEST AT WKU High school journalists play an important role in their communities From developing important skills to tackling controversial issues, the annual Mark of Excellence Competition recognizes budding journalists for their talent and hard work The 2018 Kentucky Mark of Excellence Competition, sponsored by the Western Kentucky University Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, rewards the outstanding efforts of high school journalists throughout the region We urge high school newspaper, magazine, yearbook, website and broadcasting advisers to enter their staffers in one or more categories described in the enclosed material Winners will receive a certificate for their work Please plan to attend the awards ceremony at 8:30 am CDT Friday, March 2, in WKU s Mass Media & Technology Hall auditorium The ceremony will also include a keynote speaker If you plan to attend the ceremony, please RSVP at wwwwkuedu/khsmi Entries must be received by Friday, February 9, 2018 Please read the enclosed rules carefully; any entries not received by the deadline, or that do not meet the requirements will be disqualified without notice Fill out the application completely, and leave adequate time for your entries to make their way through the mail Entries must be received by February 9 Note that staffer of the year contest has three categories: Newspaper Staffer, Yearbook Staffer and Broadcasting Team Member I will let you know by when I have received your entries The correct shipping address is: Mark of Excellence Awards c/o WKU Student Publications 1906 College Heights Blvd #11084 Bowling Green, KY If you have any questions please contact me at samualoldenburg@wkuedu Additional application forms will be posted at wwwwkuedu/khsmi Good Luck! Sam Oldenburg Mark of Excellence Contest Coordinator samualoldenburg@wkuedu The Spirit Makes the Master School of Journalism and Broadcasting Western Kentucky University 1906 College Heights Blvd # Bowling Green, KY phone: fax: web: wwwwkuedu/journalism Equal Education and Employment Opportunities Printing paid from state funds, KRS 57375, 2006 Hearing Impaired Only:

2 The Society of Professional Journalists Western Kentucky University Chapter Presents: The Newspaper, Yearbook, Online and Broadcasting 2018 Kentucky High School Mark of Excellence Competition General Rules Entrants must be student members of a high school newspaper, magazine, website or broadcasting staff during the school year or the spring semester of 2017 All examples of the entrant s work must have been published or aired anytime during April 2017 February 2018 All entries from one school need to be sent in the same package and must be received no later than Friday, February 9, 2018 No materials will be returned, and the WKU chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists and the Kentucky High School Media Institute reserve the right to publish any and all materials for educational or public relations purposes WKU journalism faculty, scholastic journalism professionals and journalism students using scoring guides will judge entries Advisers will receive judging guides with comments after the awards ceremony or by mail Certificates and comments not picked up at the awards ceremony will be mailed to the winning schools within two weeks after the awards ceremony The enclosed applications must be completed, signed and returned with the package of entries from the school by the deadline date All decisions are final and entries that do not meet the requirements will be disqualified 2

3 2018 Categories Newspaper/Magazine* Broadcasting I I Best News Writer Best High School Broadcast/Newscast Best Feature Writer (includes sports feature) II Best Editorial Writer Best News Videography Best Review or Column Writer Best Music Video Best Sports Writer Best Narrative Film II Best News Story Best News/Feature Photographer Best Sports Story Best Sports Photographer Best Feature Story Best Editorial Cartoonist III Best Newspaper Page Designer Most Valuable Broadcast Team Member III Best Front Page Layout Design Best Newspaper Advertising Best High School Newspaper IV Most Valuable Newspaper Staffer *submissions may include content from both print and online publications as they first appeared to the reader or viewer Yearbook I Most Valuable Yearbook Staffer Online I Best Multimedia Production Best High School News Website Awards WKU School of Journalism & Broadcasting faculty and students will judge entries At least four entries must be received in each category for judging to take place, so there is a possibility that an entry will be rejected because there are not enough entries from other schools in a specific category All decisions are final, and entries that do not meet requirements will be disqualified First place will be awarded for Most Valuable Staff Members in Newspaper/Magazine, Yearbook and Broadcasting Honorable mention will be given at judges discretion 3

4 Newspaper Special Rules Each school may enter only one student or team in each category Category I entries: A notebook or simple folder containing three to five examples of the entrant s work must be submitted in each category Neatness can only help an entrant! Copy must be submitted as it appeared in publication, either cut out from the publication and mounted on typing paper or photocopied directly from the publication The entrant s name and school should appear on all pages and covers of entries Category II: Best News/Feature Photographer and Best Sports Photographer: Three to five prints must be submitted JPEGS or PDFs may also be submitted on CD Be sure they are clearly labeled Please include cutline/caption information so judges have a clear understanding of what is happening in the picture Tear sheets must be submitted and included--that is, pages of the actual newspaper--showing each of these prints as they were published Best Editorial Cartoonist: A simple scrapbook containing three to five examples of the entrant s work must be submitted Cartoons must be submitted as they appeared in the publication--cut out from the publication and mounted on scrapbook or typing paper Include related stories that accompanied each cartoon in the publication, or a short, typewritten explanation of the issue the cartoon addresses, should the entrant deem such an explanation necessary Best Newspaper Page Designer: A simple scrapbook containing three to five examples of the entrant s work must be submitted Variety in the types of page designs can only help an entrant Page designs must be submitted as they appeared in the publication--cut out from the newspaper and mounted on scrapbook or typing paper Category III: Best Front Page Layout Design THREE tear sheets of the front page of your choice must be submitted just as they were handed to the student body of the high school Best Newspaper Advertising: THREE tear sheets (three pages) must be submitted This will show judges the placement and presentation of the ads, and the pages can come from different issues of the publication Ads need to be designed by the students not submitted by the client Best High School Newspaper: THREE consecutive issues of the publication must be submitted just as they were handed to the student body of the high school Exceptions will be made for spring-only publications or publications that print less than three times a year Category IV: Most Valuable Newspaper Staffer Three to five examples of the entrant s work must be neatly packaged The entrant must be a 2018 graduating senior with a grade-point average in the top 20 percent of his or her graduating class Students working on either print, online-only, or hybrid newspapers are eligible to apply An application and nomination letter from the media adviser must accompany each submission for The Most Valuable Newspaper Staff Member 4

5 Broadcasting Special Rules Each school may enter only one student or team in each category Category I entries: Entries in this category will be judged on the overall work of a staff or team Best High School Television Broadcast/Newscast: Two broadcasts must be submitted just as they were aired to student body or public Provide airdate, method of telecast and audience Entries must be submitted on separate DVDs Label each DVD with category, title of show and school name A script or transcript is strongly recommended, but not required Newscasts will be judged on the following: o Lead story selection o Based on lead story, story flow to end of first block o Based on first story in B block, pace to the end of second block o Story Writing (including grammar and spelling) o Tease and Bump writing o Use of graphics (including written content; size) o Anchor positioning Category II entries: Label each DVD with category and school name Entries in these categories will be judged on the overall work of a staff or team Best News Story: Reports must have a hard news focus, regardless of subject Entries must be based on coverage of breaking or developing news stories related to campus, community, national or international issues, sports, business, investigative, science, weather or other current newsworthy matters Reports must have a hard news focus, regardless of subject Best Feature Story: Entries must be non-deadline news, non-deadline reporting of personalities, events or issues Best Sports Story: Submit a story about a sports topic Subjects may include, but are not limited to, breaking news or features Entry may not exceed a total of 4 minutes Play-by-Play of a sporting event is not eligible The original broadcast must not be altered Work must have been broadcast by a campus, public or commercial television station or franchised cable television system Work aired on an Internet TV station or by Podcast is also eligible Best News Videography News Videography will be judged on the following: o Lighting (dark, light, white balance) o Shot sequence (establisher, medium-close-up; 180-degree rule) o Shot steadiness (shaky; pans and zooms) o Video Editing, flash frames/jump-cuts; use of outsource video; edits in camera movement shots (editing while in pan or zoom mode) o Referencing in narrative (if applicable in a package); video matching reporter o Audio-NAT sound (clarity, good background use of music/sound-effects) o Use of sound-bites (if applicable for photo essay's or packages) o Overall impact; compelling/boring video has conclusion; precise/vague message Best Music Video The music video category will be judged on the following criteria: o Is the music original (if so, quality of the recording) o How well does the overall MV convey the intent of the music/lyrics o Concept originality o Production value: shooting, lighting, use of color (visual aesthetic, camera craft, effective composition) o Post Production: editing, special effects, integration of sound & picture (cutting to the music, or in a way that enhances the music) o Entertainment level for the viewer (storytelling? cohesive theme?) Best Short Narrative: Maximum length 5-minutes The Narrative Short Film category encompasses all works of scripted, fictitious cinema, and must be no longer than five minutes Unlike documentaries or news packages, narrative works are not a direct recording of genuine, unstaged events 5

6 Broadcast Category III entries: Most Valuable Broadcast Team Member Submit one DVD containing three to five examples of the entrant s work The entrant must be a 2018 graduating senior with a grade-point average in the top 20 percent of his or her graduating class An application and nomination letter from the media adviser must accompany each submission for The Most Valuable Broadcasting Team Member Yearbook Special Rules Each school may enter only one student, team or publication in each category Category I: Most Valuable Yearbook Staffer Three to five examples of the entrant s work must be neatly packaged The entrant must be a 2018 graduating senior with a grade point average in the top 20 percent of his or her graduating class An application and nomination letter from the media adviser must accompany each submission for The Most Valuable Yearbook Staff Member Online Special Rules Each school may enter only one student, team or publication in each category Category I: Entries in this category will be judged on the overall work of a staff or team Best Multimedia Production: Multimedia refers to a combination of different content forms used to produce the piece A production that meets the judging criteria should include a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video and interactivity content forms Any video entries must be under 8 minutes Clearly print the URL to access the production on the entry form Best High School News Website: A news website refers to a website with the primary purpose of reporting news and events Please submit the website URL for judges to view Websites will be judged based on overall presentation and content 6

7 Application (circle one) Most Valuable Newspaper Staff Member Most Valuable Yearbook Staff Member Most Valuable Broadcast Team Member Name _ Grade Address School Name School Address Phone Phone Staff/Team Position(s) Responsibilities Grade point average Class Rank Number of students in graduating class Other High School Activities Attach letter of recommendation from adviser Additional letters from a principal or counselor are optional, as well as a resume Student s signature Please mail completed application and entries to: Mark of Excellence Awards c/o WKU Student Publications 1906 College Heights Blvd #11084 Bowling Green, Ky

8 Newspaper Contest Application Name of Newspaper Editor s Name School Address City State Zip Adviser School phone Adviser Address Home/ Cell phone Please check the categories that you are entering and write the name of the nominee next to the listing: Best News Writer Best Feature Writer Best Editorial Writer Best Column/Review Writer Best Sports Writer Best News/Feature Photographer Best Sports Photographer Best Editorial Cartoonist Best Newspaper Page Designer Best Front Page Layout Design Best Newspaper Advertising Best High School Newspaper Most Valuable Newspaper Staff Member Total number of entries: Adviser s Signature Please mail completed application and entries to: Mark of Excellence Awards c/o WKU Student Publications 1906 College Heights Blvd #11084 Bowling Green, Ky

9 Broadcasting Contest Application Name of Station School Address City State Zip Adviser School phone Adviser Address Home/ Cell phone Please check the categories that you are entering and write the name of the nominee next to the listing: Best High School Broadcast/Newscast Best News Videography _ Best Music Video Best Narrative Film Best News Story Best Sports Story Best Feature Story Most Valuable Broadcast Team Member _ Total number of entries: Adviser s Signature Please mail completed application and entries to: Mark of Excellence Awards c/o WKU Student Publications 1906 College Heights Blvd #11084 Bowling Green, Ky

10 Online Contest Application Name of Website Editor s Name School Address City State Zip Adviser Adviser Address School phone Home/ Cell phone Please check the categories that you are entering and write the name of the nominee next to the listing: Best Multimedia Production URL: Best High School News Website URL: Total number of entries: Adviser s Signature Please mail completed application and entries to: Mark of Excellence Awards c/o WKU Student Publications 1906 College Heights Blvd #11084 Bowling Green, Ky