122nd Annual Conference images

2015 Communications Contest Now Open

    

On the web:  http://www.presswomenoftexas.org Email:  pwt@presswomenoftexas.org

PWT 2015 COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST

For Work Published in 2014

It’s time to find your best work from 2014 to enter in the annual 2015 Press Women of Texas Communications Contest.

Texas Entry Fees:  Members - $10 per entry, Students - $5 per entry, and All Non-Members - $15 per entry.  Multiple entries in a category/sub-category are permitted.

PWT Deadlines

February 2, 2015, is the postmark deadline for: Hard copies of Books and Creative Writing Categories.

February 9, 2015, is the deadline for all other entries. The online entry site will close and no late entries will be accepted.

General Rules for Entrants - Please Read Carefully

          All work must be submitted electronically except for categories 15A and 15B, Publications Regularly Edited by Entrant, and Creative Writing categories 56 through 59, 60B, 61B, and 64. These may be entered in hard-copy after securing the entry forms at the contest information at nfpw.org.  Note: If submitting a hard-copy entry in any of these categories, first create a word file including your name, 10 digit phone number, email address, entry title, publication and date, publisher and the phrase: My entry has been mailed to the judge (PWT contest director).  You will upload this file when you  fill out an online entry form and pay through the electronic contest site. Then, print 2 copies of one of these forms (fill in online and print OR print and fill out) to submit to the state contest director with the hard-copy entry.  

See Special Hard-copy note below.

          First-place winners who are also members of PWT/ NFPW will have their entries automatically entered into the national contest and PWT will pay the $20 national entry fee.

First-place winners who are not members of TPW/NFPW will have the option of joining TPW/NFPW ($91) in order to be eligible for their winning entries to compete in the national contest. They must pay the $20 national entry fee.

Purpose

            The contest provides an opportunity to compete in a wide range of categories and encourages and rewards excellence in communication. The purpose of the Press Women of Texas/National Federation of Press Women (PWT/NFPW) Communications Contest is to improve professional skills by recognizing excellence in communicating. The “message” is what is important. The “message”-- how well it communicates, how it is directed to its target audience, and how well it achieves the objectives-- is the judging standard. Entries are judged by leaders in their fields of expertise, and first-place winners are eligible to compete in the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest.

AWARDS

            Awards in any given category/subcategory shall be limited to first, second and third place and honorable mention. No ties are allowed for first place.

Sweepstakes winner is determined by a point system based on number of entries per category.

The contest committee may declare no contest in any category.

          Judges may decide the number of awards to give within these limits (awards are to be given only if the judge deems them merited). Judges decision shall be final.

          Texas winners are honored at the annual conference in June 2015.  National winners winners are featured at the NFPW 2015 Annual Communications Contest Awards Banquet during the national conference, Sept. 10 -12, in Anchorage, Alaska.

Eligibility

            Entrants may be professionals, students or retired PWT/NFPW members as well as nonmembers active in the field of communications.

          All 2015 contest entries must have been published, issued, broadcast or e-published between Jan. 1, and Dec. 31, 2014. All work must be submitted electronically by Monday, Feb. 9 with exceptions for a few categories where electronic entry may not be possible such as publications edited by entrant (for example, entire newspapers or magazines) and books. For work that must be submitted in hard-copy format, the entry deadline is Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.

          The governing date and requirements for verifying dates and authorship are detailed in each category/division.

How to Enter – Please Read and Follow All Steps

          To enter the 2015 contest, go to nfpw.org/CommunicationsContest.cfm. The web page nfpw.org  also provides links for easy navigation to information that makes entering easy.

Once on the contest Welcome (login) page, click the white REGISTER link in the upper-left corner of the contest site to get an entrant form that prompts you to select “member” or “nonmember” status and the name of the affiliate (Texas). These selections enter you into the Press Women of Texas affiliate contest.

Steps for Easy Entry into the PWT/NFPW Communications Contest

NOTE: All information about entering the PWT/NFPW contest is contained within the contest site. The LOGIN (Welcome) page and the HOME page you will access once you have a username and password are step-by-step guides to ensure that you can successfully register, enter, submit, and pay for your entries. There are steps to follow about submitting and paying for entries on the Entry Form and PAY NOW pages also.

                1. Click the contest link on the NFPW website to access the LOGIN (Welcome) page of the contest. 

                2. Read the information on the Welcome page BEFORE beginning the registration / entry process. 

                3. Click the white REGISTER link (top left corner of the page), enter your email address, click SUBMIT.

                4. Fill out the Entrant Form that will appear on your screen. Selection of membership status and state affiliate name will put you into the correct contest.  

                5. At the end of the Entrant Form, create a Username and Password. Keep them simple. They can be identical. Write that info down somewhere so that you will be able to access the contest at a later time to finish the entry process or to submit more entries. 

                6. Enter your work: Click ADD ENTRY on the navigation bar to get the entry form with all of your contact information already filled in. Follow the steps listed in red at the top of the Entry Form page. 

TIP: Before submitting your entries if you have more than one or two, create a 2015 CONTEST folder on your hard drive. Find all files needed for each category you plan to enter; rename them by putting category number/letter and name at the beginning of the filename (e.g.  03 NEWS Near-record year for rainfall.docx; 10 REVIEW The Wolf of Wall Street.pdf). Save each to the new folder. After uploading the first file from the CONTEST folder, you will get that folder each time you click the Browse button during the entry process. 

                7. Once you enter the title, choose the category, and click SAVE, you will see the unique entry ID number, the title of the entry, and the Category name above the five tabs. You must click each of the other tabs (except Hard-copy Entries, which pertains only to those entering entire books, magazines, and newspapers). 

                8. Submit your entries through the Uploads tab (read directions on the tab). There are 2 types of entry fields. 

                a. Upload: click Browse, find your CONTEST folder, upload files for that entry from the folder. 

                b. URL: type or paste URLs into these fields (one URL to a field).

                9. Click ADD ENTRY to get a new Entry Form for each new entry.

                10. Click VIEW ENTRIES at any time to see, to review, to make changes to, or to “submit” any of your entries. Click the title of entry you wish to examine and you will be back on the Entry Form page and can make any needed changes. With your username and password you can reenter the contest at any time until the deadline to check over your entries, add more entries, and make payment. 

                11.  When you have finished submitting your work, “submit” it. Go to VIEW ENTRIES, find “click here to submit” in the Status column (to the right of Titles column). Click and follow directions about requirements not met. Click the link again and click the “submit now” button. When you see “Submitted” or “Accepted” in the Status column, your entry is “official” and will be sent along for judging when that phase of the contest begins. 

                12. When finished (or done for the time being), you may either log out or go to PAY NOW to pay with a credit card or  click Pay Offline to pay by check (to be sent to address of the person in your state, named below the Pay Offline check box, who is taking payments). Entries are not official until they have been “submitted” and paid for. Note: Once they are submitted, entries no longer can be changed.

                13. It is important to read all instructions and to SAVE at each stage (i.e., before leaving a page). You will get an onscreen prompt if you try to leave a page where information will be lost if you don’t SAVE or if you haven’t filled out a required field.

                14. Go to CONTACT US or FAQ Tabs if you have a question or run into a problem.

                15. Have fun!

You may also visit . http://presswomenoftexas.org, PWT’s website, or call or write Kay Casey, pwt@presswomenoftexas.org, phone 903-647-8072.

Entry regulations details

          Entries must conform to PWT/NFPW contest categories. Those submitted in the wrong category or subcategory, not properly labeled or failing to have all required written statements will be disqualified. Judges may NOT change an entry to another category. More than one entry may be submitted in one category or subcategory in the contest structure, as long as each additional entry is accompanied with the proper entry fee.

          CLARIFICATION: Stories may be entered in writing categories, while the page, supplement, publication or Web site that bears that story 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.

          Entries in all categories except editing, producing, or public relations and advertising brochures must be entirely the work of the member.

          EXPLANATION: The entrant is not required to have done all the work on any page or publication. Also, few persons in advertising or PR are totally responsible for any item, ad, brochure, or direct mail campaign. The team principle usually applies. Therefore, the entrant should be the creative planner, responsible for seeing “the message” through, the content director, or the writer of the copy.

          Members who collaborate on material may enter together, but each must have paid PWT/NFPW dues for the entry to advance to NFPW competition. Duplicate certificates will be awarded to those winners.

          The contestant’s entry form should list all roles in creating the entry. Example: creative coordinator and copywriter; or copywriter and layout, etc.

          Please note the general instructions printed for entries in each Division with specific details printed for some of the categories. If these instructions call for a written statement to accompany the entry, the lack of that statement will automatically disqualify the entry.

         

Special Note for Hard Copy Entries

Entries in categories 15A and 15B, Publications Regularly Edited by Entrant, and Creative Writing categories 56 through 59, 60B, 61B, and 64 may be entered in hard-copy after securing the entry forms at the contest information at nfpw.org. 

 Note: If submitting a hard-copy entry in any of these categories, first create a word file including your name, 10 digit phone number, email address, entry title, publication and date, publisher and the phrase: My entry has been mailed to the judge (PWT contest director).  You will upload this file when you  fill out an online entry form and pay through the electronic contest site. Then, print 2 copies of one of these forms (fill in online and print OR print and fill out) to submit to the state contest director with the hard-copy entry. 

Each entry MUST be placed in a separate 9- by 12-inch open-end manila envelope. If entry is too large to slip easily in and out of a 9- by 12-inch envelope, please use the next larger size that will accommodate the entry. The entries must be taken out of the envelope at least six times during the processing, so do not use anything smaller than a 9- by 12-inch envelope, and do not use envelopes that open on the side, as the entries are stored and handled vertically.

          Prepare the envelope properly. When looking at the FRONT or “address side of a 9- by 12-inch envelope, hold the envelope vertically with the open end up and clearly write the entrant’s name, affiliate state, category number and subcategory letter, and name of category on the top right-hand corner  of the envelope. Do NOT write on back of the envelope (side where the fastener and flap are located) or on the flap. Fold flap in and behind the entry. DO NOT FASTEN OR SEAL THE ENVELOPE.

No return of entries

            Books and all other entries are considered a donation to PWT/NFPW and will not be returned. Do not enter irreplaceable items in the contest. The risk of loss through multiple shipments from office to judges and back again and on to the conference site is great.

          Entrants NEVER should send a “one and only” entry. Duplicate all slides, audiovisuals, audiotapes, Zip disks, CDs, DVDs, etc. for your own use.

The package must be postmarked NO LATER THAN February 2, 2015.

No late entries will be accepted.

Tracking receipts are a must.

Send entries, entry fees, and compilation sheets via UPS, FedEx, or Express Mail with a tracking receipt. Even though it costs a little more, please send only packages that can be tracked.

Please send entries to Kay Casey, 653 Arthur Road, Denison, TX 75021, or if using USPS to Kay Casey, P O Box 173, Denison, TX 75021.

Address all questions and requests to the above address or by telephone, (903-647-8072) or by e-mail to ckaycasey@att.net or pwt@presswomenoftexas.org.