December 2015
To: MIPA Student Media Advisers
From: Jeremy Steele, MIPA director
Subject: 2015-16 MIPA Contests
- 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 21, 2016, 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, YOUR STUDENT MEDIA OUTLET WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER 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 showcase of first-place contest winners, is available online at http://acutabove.mipamsu.org. This website features first-place winners in each division of the 2015 contest to help you get an idea of what judges are looking for.
*It is possible to send in Newspaper, Web or Video Spartan contest entries up to one month late (see deadlines above) 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
- Spartan Newspaper Critique Application
- Spartan Website Critique Application (via contest submission system)
- Spartan Video Journalism Critique Application (via contest submission system)
- Spartan Yearbook Journalism Critique Application (this deadline has passed for 2014 books)
- Spartan Critque Seal of Distinction Form
Individual Category Contests
- Call for Judges for Judging Day on March 5, 2016
- A Cut Above & last year’s contest winners
- MIPA Copyright and Plagiarism Policy
- Individual Category Student Media Contest information for newspapers, video productions and news websites
- Individual Category Yearbook Contest information
Special Honors
- Student Journalist Staff, including All-MIPA and JEA Student Journalist of the Year-Michigan Representative
- Golden Pen Award
- Administrator of the Year Award
- John V. Field Award