Entries open for the 2012 New York Press Club Awards for Journalism on Monday, January 30th, 2012 and close on Monday, April 9th. Winners will be announced in early May. Presentations will be made in early June at our annual Journalism Awards Dinner.

SOME AWARD CATEGORIES HAVE CHANGED FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. Click the Downloads tab above to view and/or download details and entry materials for the 2012 competition.

When entries open, submissions must be made in digital form as described in "Tech Specs." Entries must be submitted from this Web page.

An enduring tradition in New York media, the annual New York Press Club Awards For Journalism honor excellence in the craft by writers, reporters, editors, producers, shooters and multimediographers.

Entries are considered in more than 20 categories of reporting from material submitted by New York metropolitan area news organizations and individual journalists.

Judging is by prominent working journalists, former journalists and academics who are selected for their expertise in each category.

Awards unique to the New York Press Club competition are the Gold Keyboard Award, honoring excellence in investigative journalism; Nellie Bly Cub Reporter, honoring the best journalistic effort by an individual new to the profession and The Rev. Mychal Judge Heart of New York Award for reporting that is most complimentary of New York City.

1. The competition is open to individuals and news organizations based or operating in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and to individuals working elsewhere on behalf of New York metro-area news organizations.

2. All entries must have been published or broadcast during the 2011 calendar year.

3. Entries must be submitted in digital form and uploaded to our awards server from this Web site. Information about submission formats and requirements can be found in the "Tech Specs" section.

4. An entry may not be submitted in more than one category except when entered separately by different talents on the creation team. For example, in television, an entry may be submitted by a reporter for one of the editorial awards. The same entry may also be entered by the shooter for one of the videography awards.

5. There is no limit to the number of entries an individual or organization may make in a particular category as long as each entry is singular. For example, Reporter A may enter as many pieces into the Consumer Reporting category as desired, as long as each piece is on a different topic. Organization B may enter as many pieces by as many reporters as desired into a particular category as long as each entry is on a different topic.

6. Multi-part or series entries must be limited to “the heart” of the material:
For print entries, five-parts maximum or 5,000 total words, moreorless. For broadcast entries, 30 minutes total running-time. (30-minute limit does not apply to entries in the “Regularly Scheduled” TV category or to long-form, non-hard-news pieces that otherwise fit an Awards category).

7. An entry submitted in an incorrect category will be disqualified. The judges are not able to re-classify incorrectly classified entries.

8. Entry fees must accompany all entries. Fees may be submitted by credit card from the New York Press Club Website OR by check to arrive at the Press Club no later than one week following upload: The New York Press Club, 1636 Third Avenue (Box 188), New York NY, 10128. Entries for which no entry fees have been received will not be submitted to the judges.

Q Any changes from previous years?

A Yes. Mostly because of the ways in which the Web has impacted reporting we have made several changes to our annual awards:

Eliminated:
Anticipated News and Outstanding Web Coverage.

New Award:
Special Event Reporting.

Reconfigured:
We have removed the four photo and video awards out of media-specific categories. The photo awards are no longer available only to print media and the video awards are no longer available only to TV. Websites and wire services may now sumbit entries in those categories.

The criteria for the Spot News award has been amended to make clear that entry components may now include material developed for a range of platforms.

Please review the downloadable entry material for specifics about the changes.

Q If my category choice is incorrect, do the judges have the option of moving my entry to a different category?

A NO. You must decide which is the most appropriate category for your material. The judges will not move an entry to a different category. Some material might be appropriate in more than one category however it is up to you to decide which category to enter. (Entries entered into categories that are inappropriate are subject to disqualification).


Q Please clarify category limitations for individual and multiple entries.

A The only limitation is that a particular piece can be entered into only one category*. There is no limit on the number of different pieces that can be entered into a single category.

For example, a reporter wishing to enter Story "A" may enter that story into only one category. But that reporter may also enter stories "B", "C", and "D" into the same category. Once entered, none of the stories may be entered into any other category.

* An exception exists for entries made by different talents on the creation team. For example, in TV, an entry may be submitted by a reporter for one of the editorial awards. The same entry may also be entered by the shooter for one of the videography awards.


Q Please clarify length-limits for entries.

A Length limits are in place to assure that the judges see "the heart" of the material entered.

A 5,000 word entry applies to each individual print or Web entry. For series or multi-part entries, a 5-piece, 5,000 word limit applies.

For example, let's say a newspaper ran a 10-piece series in daily installments. To enter the series, editors would select up to five installments from the 10 in the series (the "heart" of the material) and the combined word count for all five installments would have to come in at not much more than 5,000 words. Sidebars do not count as installments but they do contribute to word count.


Q I'd like to enter a piece that is co-bylined with a colleague who lives on the West Coast, not in the New York metro area. Permissible?

A YES. We often receive entries that are reported by teams. Sometimes very large teams whose members are situated around the world. If just one of the team members works or resides in the New York area, or the publisher operates in metro New York, the entry qualifies for submission. When team entries win, each contributor is considered to be a winner of the award. It's up to the team to designate who is the lead but that is not an award requirement. (Only one plaque is presented, though extra plaques can be ordered).

Entries must be made in digital form, uploaded to this Web site.

Upload address: (Available January 30th).

Acceptable Formats:

Print: PDF optimized for Web viewing. Max size: 8.5 x 14 inches.

Photos: PDF or JPEG at Web resolution. (Up to 150 ppi).

Audio: MP3.

TV: Compress video files for progressive streaming.
Codecs: FLV (Flash Video) or H.264/MP4.
SD video only sized at 4:3 (e.g., 360x240).
Motion: 29.97fps with Web-appropriate audio and video bit rates.
Video of any resolution may also be submitted as a URL if hosted by entrant and unencumbered by passwords or commercials.

Web: Complete a separate entry form for each individual entry and include URL(s). 10 URL fields are provided on each form for multi-page/part entries.

Cover Letters: Ideally, cover letters should be made part of print and photo entries as the first PDF page. Otherwise, a cover letter may be uploaded as a PDF document via the entry form field provided.

Upload Notes:

1. Complete and submit a separate entry form for each entry.
2. Maximum individual file size: 2GB. (Larger files will not transfer).
3. Only files with the following file-extensions will transfer (files MUST have an extension): PDF, JPEG, FLV, MP4, MP3.
4. Name upload files consistently and if entering more than one, include an incrementing value (e.g., "MyName1.pdf", "MyName2.pdf", "NewsOrg1.flv", "NewsOrg2.flv", etc.)
5. Likewise, if not included in the actual entry file, upload cover letters that are consistently named (e.g., "MyName1CoverLetter.pdf", "NewsOrg1CoverLetter.pdf", etc.)

Entry fees by credit card from this site.
If mailing entry fees:
New York Press Club
1636 Third Avenue (Box 188)
New York NY 10128.