NEWS
AWARDS CONTEST
Eligibility: The competition is open to all IBNA dues-paying members employed at any electronic media facility in Iowa and adjacent markets. An IBNA member not entering the maximum number of items in a given category may “share” his/her eligibility with non-members at the station. Example: The news director at a station is an IBNA member, but none of the rest of the staff are members. The news director wishes to submit two items in one category, but has no other entries. The member may fill the remainder of the category with the work of other staff members (with appropriate credit). Stations may submit additional written materials explaining their entries; for example, station resources, special circumstances to help put the entry in context, etc. All entries must have aired during calendar year 2009 and must be submitted as they aired, without later editing. Winners are announced at the annual IBNA convention on May 1, 2010 in Cedar Rapids. The IBNA Board has instructed judges to select first, second and third place award winners in each category, whenever possible.
Submission of Entries: A separate disc must be used for each entry, clearly labeled with: 1) station call letters, 2) title of the piece, 3) contest category. Entrants can include anchor lead-ins to stories and give the judges facts important to the story. This additional written material should be clearly identifiable. All stations must specify their market size (small, large, or student) on the entry form and on all discs. Entries will NOT be returned; all discs become the property of IBNA. Those who enter the 2009 IBNA News Awards Contest agree to allow IBNA to use excerpts from their work in an awards video to be shown at the annual convention, and later to be made available to members and educational institutions, and for promotion of IBNA. NOTE: Entries submitted without the name of a current dues-paying IBNA member on the entry form, or submitted without entry fees, are not eligible.
Radio (Professional): There are two radio divisions: small market and large market. Large markets are defined as Dubuque, Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Sioux City, and Omaha/Council Bluffs, as well as radio networks/news services. Any other city of license is considered a small market. Submit entries on CD only; one entry per CD. Fees: $10.00 per entry. Limit: Three entries per category, except Best Newscast, Best Sportscast, and Overall Excellence, which have a limit of one entry per station.
Television (Professional): There are two television divisions: small market and large market. Large markets are defined as Des Moines/Ames, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, and the Quad Cities. Any other city of license is considered a small market. Submit entries on DVD only; one entry per DVD. Fees: $20.00 per entry. Limit: Three entries per category, except Best Newscast, Best Sportscast, and Overall Excellence, which have a limit of one entry per station.
Student Entries: All student entries, regardless of college or university size, are in the same division. All other rules for professional radio and television entries apply; the student entry fees, however, are one-half that for professional entries.
