ACP News & Notes

Story of the Year
Photo Excellence
Design of the Year
Reporter of the Year
Cartooning Awards
Advertising Awards

Later in the fall, at the above pages, there will be links to images of the winning entries and comments from the judges. Winners of all of these contests will be announced at the ACP/CMA convention in Kansas City.

Here is a press release for the individual awards finalists:

The Associated Collegiate Press is pleased to announce the 2008 Individual Awards finalists in the Story of the Year, Photo Excellence, Reporter of the Year, Design of the Year, Cartooning and Advertising contests.

The Story of the Year contest recognizes initiative and original reporting of a situation, problem or issue affecting students. Students entered stories in the categories of news, feature, sports, editorial, diversity and online package. Judges selected finalists based on the following criteria: Impact of story on the audience, quality of reporting and quotes, writing and editing, credibility and sensitivity. Out of the 715 total entries, judges from the Minnesota News Council chose 28 finalists.

The Photo Excellence contest honors student photographers in the categories of general news, spot news, feature, sports, environmental portrait and picture story. Judges selected finalists based on technical quality, artistic value and journalistic content. Out of the 774 entries, judges from the National Press Photographers Association and the Evansville Courier & Press selected 29 finalists.

The Reporter of the Year contest recognizes individual achievement in student journalism. Entries consist of a reporter’s three best single news or feature stories published in a college newspaper during the competition year. The four-year college entries were judged by MCT campus and the two-year college entries were judged by Herald & Review. Out of the 122 entries, the judges chose seven finalists.

The Design of the Year contest honors visual excellence in the college press and is co-sponsored by Adobe Systems. Judges from Adobe selected the finalists based on the following criteria: Contemporary appeal, trends, effective use of photos, color, art, graphics, typography and suitability for the respective audiences. Out of the 494 entries, 29 finalists were selected.

The Cartooning awards are co-sponsored by Universal Press Syndicate and the contest is divided in the categories of editorial cartoon and comic strip or panel. Entries were judged based on reader impact, community importance, artistic quality, originality and clarity of message. Out of the 196 entries, judges from Universal Press Syndicate chose eight finalists.

The Advertising awards honor excellence in the categories of display ad, in-house promotional ad, ad campaign, ad or editorial supplement and brochure or rate card. Judges from Swift Communications selected finalists based on contemporary appeal, trends, effective use of photos, color, art, graphics, typography and suitability for the respective audiences. Out of the 277 entries, judges selected 21 finalists.

The winners will be honored at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention awards ceremony in Kansas City on Nov. 1. Registration for the convention is now available online at www.studentpress.org/acp.

ACP encourages properly cited use of this information for individual press releases. Please contact Kathy Huting, contest and critique coordinator, for further information.

ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association, a non-profit education organization which strives to educate and recognize the work of student journalists, to improve the quality of student media and to foster careers in media.

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Filed under: contests