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Call for Entries: 2014-15 MIPA Individual Category Student Media Contest

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  • Due to a large number of weather-related school closings across the state, MIPA is extending the deadline for all contests to Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. This includes the individual category contest; Spartan newspaper, video and website critiques; Student Journalist Staff; Golden Pen; John Field Award; and Administrator of the Year.
    • All material published or broadcast by Feb. 24 will be eligible for the individual category contest.
    • The contest submission system will close at 11:59 p.m. Feb. 24. Entries that require materials to be mailed to the MIPA office must be postmarked by Feb. 24. Payment should be submitted by this date so that all contest entries can be processed by judging day.
    • The late deadline to submit for a Spartan critique for newspapers, news websites and video productions remains March 20. Material published/broadcast between Feb. 24 and March 20 may be submitted for the late Spartan deadline.

To: MIPA Student Media Advisers
From: Jeremy Steele, MIPA director
Subject:  2014-15 MIPA Contests
Read the Call for Entries for 2014 MIPA yearbook contests here

  • NEW FOR 2014! Almost all of our contest categories are moving to our web-based contest submission system. Paper submissions in these categories will not be accepted for any reason. Please pay special attention to the directions in each category you enter. The submission system will open for all categories on Dec. 15.
  • NEW FOR 2014! Portfolios and nominations for Student Journalist Staff, Golden Pen Award, Administrator of the Year and John Field Award must exist in a digital form on the Web and should be submitted via MIPA’s contest system.
  • NEW FOR 2014! Spartan Critique applications for Website and Video will be submitted via the contest submission system. Video entry material for the Spartan should be posted on your website or to the video file sharing service of your choice. You will submit URLs to that work.
  • NEW FOR 2014! Student media free of prior review may receive their award in the Spartan Critique competition “with Distinction.” This does not affect a student media outlet’s overall Spartan score or rating.
  • Please go to the MIPA website to get all contest information. You can find all contest information by clicking on the Contests & Awards menu at the top of the page.
  • All awards will be presented at the MIPA Spring Awards & On-Site Contests event on April 20, 2015, at the Lansing Center. If you are unable to attend, you may pay an added postage fee to have awards mailed to you.
  • It’s important to carefully read category descriptions and contest rules. Failure to follow contest directions may result in your entries being disqualified.
  • IF YOU HAVE NOT JOINED MIPA BY JAN. 31, 2015, YOUR STUDENT MEDIA OUTLET WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE CONTESTS. Membership information, including a member list that is updated weekly, is available at http://mipamsu.org/membership.
  • All entries must be submitted by the deadline to be eligible for awards. Entries submitted by mail must be postmarked by the deadline. Entries submitted electronically must be uploaded to MIPA using the contest submission system by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline day. Payment is due by the same deadline.
  • All entries should be uploaded to MIPA’s contest submission system via the adviser’s Submittable account. That’s how we connect those entries with your school. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW YOUR STUDENTS TO CREATE THEIR OWN ACCOUNTS TO UPLOAD INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY CONTEST ENTRIES TO THE ONLINE CONTEST SUBMISSION SYSTEM!
  • DO NOT RELY ON YOUR CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE TO MAIL YOUR CONTEST MATERIALS! It’s best to go to the post office yourself and mail the package! It is too important to you and to your students to risk letting it go through school mail. And to be even more sure (especially if you are mailing it on the deadline day), ask to see the postmark on the package and then get a receipt. We also recommend you get a tracking number.
  • Please keep a copy of each of the forms that you send for your records. Also, please don’t hesitate to contact the MIPA office if you have questions at 517-353-6761 or mipa@msu.edu.
  • A Cut Above, MIPA’s annual publication of newspaper and yearbook contest winners, is available at our website. This publication features a selection of first-place winners from the 2014 contest to help you get an idea of what judges are looking for. Digital media and video winners from last year’s contest can be seen here.

*It is possible to send in Newspaper, Web or Video Spartan contest entries up to one month late (postmarked by March 20, 2015) for an additional $40 fee. Note that results may not be available from late entries for the Spring Awards & On-Site Contests event. Spartan submissions postmarked after the late deadline may receive a critique, but will not be eligible to receive an award ranking. Late entries will not be accepted for the Individual Category Contests.
If combining multiple contest fees into a single payment, please provide an itemized statement detailing the contest fees you are paying. You may pay on our contest website via credit card.

Find these materials at mipamsu.org

These are the items you will find at the MIPA website on the contest page. Look for the Contests & Awards menu at the top of the page:

Spartan Critique

Individual Category Contests

Special Honors