Recommended contest categories for middle school programs and programs new to MIPA contests
There are more than 100 categories in MIPA’s Individual Category Contest! It can be hard to know where to start for new programs and for programs with younger student journalists.
We’ve put together this list of the categories we think most media programs will be able to enter in the hopes that we can make the process a little easier – and more rewarding – for you and your students. And while this abbreviated list is a great place to start exploring our contests, we invite you to read through the entire list of categories to find others that apply to your work.
Follow the links below to read the category description in our official Individual Contest Categories & Rules guide.
FOR PRINT & ONLINE NEWSPAPERS
- NW-02. News Story
- NW-04. News Brief
- NW-06. Staff Editorial
- NW-07. Bylined Opinion Article
- NW-08. Review
- NW-10. Pro-Con Opinion Columns
- NW-15. Personality Profile
- NW-20. Sports Feature Story
- NW-22. Sports News Story
- PH-01. Sports Action Photo
- PH-02. Sports Feature Photo
- PH-03. News/Feature Photograph
- PH-04. Environmental Portrait
- ND-01. Information Graphic
- ND-12. Comic Strip
- ND-13. Illustration
FOR BROADCAST, FILM & VIDEO PRODUCTION PROGRAMS
- VJ-01. School-Related News Story/Package
- VJ-05. Personality Profile Feature
- VJ-07. Sports News Story/Package
- VJ-08. Sports Feature Story/Package
- VP-10. Humor
- VP-11. School Promo
- VT-01. Anchor
- VT-02. Field Reporter
FOR YEARBOOKS
- Y-08. Student Life Spread
- Y-09. Sports Spread
- Y-10. Academics Spread
- Y-11. Organization Spread
- Y-12. People Spread
- Y-13. Business Advertisement
- Y-14. Proud Parent Advertisements
- Y-15. Graphics
- Y-16. Sports Action Photo
- Y-17. Sports Feature Photo
- Y-18. Portrait or Personality Photo
- Y-19. Photo Illustration
- Y-20. Academics Photo
- Y-21. Organization, Club or Performance Photo
- Y-22. School Spirit Photo
- Y-24. Mod or Sidebar Coverage
- Y-27. Theme Development
- Y-28. Cover
- Y-29. Endsheet
- Y-30. Opening and Closing
- Y-31. Division Pages
- Y-32. Colophon