Contests & Awards - DPA Communications Contest

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DPA COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST RULES and GUIDELINES

2013 Contest Deadline: January 21, 2013

Welcome to an exciting new format for the Delaware Press Association Communications Contest! This year, as the kick-off to what we hope will be an easier way to both enter and administer a big contest like this one, we are offering an all-electronic contest. We know there will be questions and concerns along the way, but we believe that once we are all used to this new format, it will be a simpler, less time-consuming process for all concerned. We ask that you bear with us and reserve judgement until we’ve gone through the shake-down year.

As always, the annual DPA Communications Contest encourages and rewards excellence in communication and is open to all professional communicators in Delaware. Judged by out-of-state communications professionals to ensure impartiality, the contest provides an opportunity to compete in various print or electronic broadcasting fields. All DPA contest winners are honored at the DPA Annual Meeting and Contest Awards Banquet each spring. First place winners who are members of the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) may enter the national competition.

• Call for Entries

• Eligibility

• Membership Forms

• Contest Categories

• Contest Deadline

• Contest Fees

• Preparing Your Entries

• Entering the Contest

• Awards

• Sweepstakes Cash Prizes

• Past Contest Winners

Call for Entries

Delaware Press Association (DPA), an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), is calling for entries in our annual statewide communications contest.

Select your best work published or broadcast between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012. The governing date is the date the broadcast was aired, the date printed on the publication, or the date e-published. If the entry is a series, use publication date of the final article as entry date, which allows beginning article to have been published in previous contest year.

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Eligibility

The annual DPA Communications Contest is open to all professional communicators in the state of Delaware. Winners will be notified in February.

First-place award winners in the DPA Communications Contest are eligible to enter the National Federation of Press Women annual competition only if member dues of $96 ($76 national, $20 local) are received at NFPW Headquarters by March 4, 2013 (February 18 for Book and Creative Writing categories).

Membership Forms

To join or to renew your membership, please fill out and submit a membership application as directed on the form you select below.

• Make DPA Membership Payment Online with CREDIT CARD

• Get DPA Membership Form to Join or Renew and Pay by CHECK

• Get NFPW and DPA Dual Membership Form

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Contest Categories

The annual DPA Communications Contest provides an opportunity to compete in a broad range of categories.

Get the complete list of the divisions and description of categories and sub-categories in each division.

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Contest Deadline

All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., January 21, 2013.

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Contest Fees

Because there are some limitations to the contest platform at this time, we are making concessions and adaptations on a one-year-only basis. This year, because we are restricted to charging the same amount for any kind of entry — rather than using the traditional tiered structure for members and non-members and for those making joint entries — we ask that you accept the following fee structure, which we believe is fair and will enable both members and non-members to submit their first three entries at exactly the same cost as last year with slight variations for current members for more or fewer than three entries:

• Members: $15 for each entry (last year: $25 for the 1st entry; $10 for subsequent entries) = $45 either way for 3 entries.
   

• Non-members: $20 for DPA dues for 1 year; $15 for each entry (last year: $35 for the 1st entry; $15 for subsequent entries) = same cost as last year all down the line regardless of the number of entries.
   

• Joint entries: Non-members must first make a $20 dues payment if this is their only entry and then will share the cost of $15 for each joint entry. Members will share the cost of $15 per entry (last year: $40 for joint entries, regardless of the number of joint entries or the number of entrants per joint entry) = less than last year for members and non-members. Joint entrants must agree among themselves who will submit the entry.
   

• Students: $15 per entry in the Collegiate Division - Categories 52A – 54 (8 categories)
   

• When you have accessed the contest and have submitted an entry, you will pay by credit card through PayPal.
  
  Note: All DPA members who are paid through the end of 2012, or for 2013, recently were given a new username and password for the online DPA membership directory. Unless you received that information, you currently are not a member. If, however, you are uncertain, contact delawarepress@aol.com.

Please go to Membership Forms to join or to renew your membership with DPA or with both DPA and NFPW.

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Preparing Your Entries

To facilitate the entry process, please consider the following steps:

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Entering the Contest

You are ready to enter the contest when you have decided on the divisions and categories you plan to enter, have read all of the division and category information on the DPA website that pertains to those categories, have gathered the files for all of your entries and labeled them appropriately, and have placed the files in a folder as outlined in “Preparing Your Entries.”

Please read the directions below before you begin. Follow any special instructions at the beginning of each division as well as in the category descriptor for each separate category as detailed on the DPA Contest Categories page.

ENTER THE 2013 CONTEST HERE

CLICK THE DIVISION YOU WANT TO ENTER

(Contest begins at 12 a.m. January 4, 2013, and ends at 11:59 p.m. January 21, 2013)

• Writing (Categories 1 – 12)

• Editing and Page Design (Print Publications) (Categories 13 – 16)

• Photography and Graphics (Categories 17 – 20)

• Radio and Television (Categories 21 – 26)

• Web and Social Media (Categories 27 – 32)

• Advertising (Categories 33 – 36)

• Public Relations/Promotion/Publicity (For this division, click one of the 3 sub-divisions)

  • Communications Programs and Campaigns (Categories 37 – 40)

  • PR Materials (Categories 41-47)

  • Information for the Media (Categories 48-50)

• Speeches (Category 51)

• Collegiate (Categories 52 – 55)

• Books and Creative Writing (Categories 56 – 64)

Directions

• Your first step is to choose and write down the username and password you will use to login to the contest. You will use the same username and password for each division of the contest. Do not lose them. If you are entering your work and have to stop before completing all entries, you will need that information to log back in to your contest site. If you begin entering a category and must leave part way through, you will log out knowing what you have entered in that category only will be lost and you will have to begin that category again (all other submitted work will be safe).
  
  A Tip: If you are entering a category and realize you don’t understand the instructions or that you may not have the right documents, call or write for help. If not convenient to get help right then, log out and get help later. It’s better to lose a few minutes’ work than to risk disqualification by entering in the wrong category or failing to submit the right documents. As long as you have your username and password, you can log in again when you’re ready.
  
  Note: No entry may be submitted in more than one category. CLARIFICATION: Stories may be entered in writing categories, while the page, supplement, publication or website that bears that story also may be entered in editing categories. It is not the intent to prevent a writer and an editor from entering their individual work when work by both contestants appears in the same publication or broadcast.
  
  

• Begin the entry submission process by clicking the name of the division in the list above that contains the categories you will be entering.

  • Select Register to Enter and fill in the registration form. Submit the username and password you have chosen, and write your name as it should appear in print.

  • At the bottom of the page, click Save.
     

• At the top of the next page, enter your username and password, then click Login. When you log in successfully, you will see a list of all categories in that division under the heading Step 1: Select Award Category.
   

• Check the box beside the title of the category you are entering, and then click Submit Entry for Selected Category at the bottom of the page.
   

• On the next page, under the heading Step 2: Submit Details:

  • Enter the required document(s) for that category. Choose the box(es) that will accommodate your file(s). You will browse and upload Word, PDF and JPG files and will paste in any URLs. Check to be sure you have entered everything that is required.

  • Check yes or no to indicate whether it is a Joint Entry. If you are the one designated to submit work on behalf of a team, check yes to get a box in which to write the names of the entrants. List each name as it should appear in print and describe each entrant’s role in any required one-page statement.
    
    

• Go to Make Payment at the bottom of the page and click the PayPal button to pay for that entry. If you have another entry, sign back in with the same username and password. Repeat this process until you have entered and paid for all of your entries in that division.

Note: If you will be entering exactly the same category more than once, enter that category last. When you have entered that category for the first time, log out and then log back in with a different username (write it down) but the same password. Yes, you will have to fill out the form again (sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about that this year). Repeat that process if you have yet another entry for that same category.



• If you also will be entering work in categories that come under another division, click the name of the next division, reregister, login with your username and password and enter your work there.

• When you have submitted and paid for all entries, click Logout.

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Awards

All contest awards, except sweepstakes awards, shall be honorary. To ensure impartiality, the contest is judged by out-of-state communications professionals.

DPA contest winners are announced and receive award certificates at the DPA Annual Meeting and Contest Awards Banquet each spring. Award-winning work is displayed by category.

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Sweepstakes

Cash prizes are awarded to those who receive the greatest number of points in the contest sweepstakes competition. Each winning entry receives a certain number of points (e.g., 1st place = 4, 2nd place = 3, 3rd place = 2, HM = 1), with additional points given when the number of entries in the category exceeds five or an increment of five. The entrant accumulating the greatest number of points will receive the 1st prize of $250; 2nd prize $150; 3rd prize, $100.

The 2013 sweepstakes winners
1sr prize, Teresa Messmore: Communications Specialist, UD Marine Public Education Office
2nd prize, Jeff Mordock: reporter, Delaware Law Weekly and Delaware Business Court Insider
3rd prize, Allan Loudell: host, Delaware News at Noon/afternoon anchor, WDEL 1150-AM radio

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Communications Contest Award Winners

DPA Contest Winners

Check out the winners of the statewide DPA communications contest:

• 2013 DPA Winners

• 2012 DPA Winners

• 2011 DPA Winners

• 2010 DPA Winners

• 2009 DPA Winners

• 2008 DPA Winners

• 2007 DPA Winners

• 2006 DPA Winners

NFPW Contest Winners

DPA members who received national awards in the NFPW Communications Contest:

• 2013 NFPW Winners

• 2012 NFPW Winners

• 2011 NFPW Winners

• 2010 NFPW Winners

• 2009 NFPW Winners

• 2008 NFPW Winners

• 2007 NFPW Winners

• 2006 NFPW Winners

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