Updated January 24, 2011

Thanks to everyone who participated in last year’s Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest*! We received some great entries and our judges commented on the quality of work submitted. We’re excited about the upcoming contest.

This year we’ll be using the Better Newspaper Contest online contest entry and judging platform. To ensure that we are ready, we’re reducing our entry window to four weeks, beginning January 20, 2012.

For those who are already thinking about next year’s contest, honoring work produced or published in 2011, here is our contest time line:

Jan. 15, 2012 (date change): Entry forms and instructions posted. Entries can be submitted. All entries will be submitted electronically except General Excellence awards.

Feb. 20, 2012:  Entry deadline. All entries must be submitted by 5:00 pm.  (deadline is firm, no exceptions)

Mar. 1, 2012: Entries to be sent electronically to our out-of-state judges.  (All judging will be done online.)

Apr. 1, 2012: Entries to be returned from out-of-state judges.

May 1, 2012: Winners announced via email  (names and organizations only; no places or categories will be given)

May 19, 2012: Western Washington Pro and Oregon/SW Washington Pro Chapters host awards banquets for winners in their chapters. If you are not in either of these chapters, contact your chapter president for information about your awards.

Entry fees will be $20 for SPJ members for all entries but General Excellence. General Excellence entries will be $50 each.

Entry fees will be $25 for non-SPJ members for all entries but General Excellence. General Excellence entries will be $55 each.

Questions? Contact regional director Dana Neuts or contest coordinator Ruth Pettis via email.

*Note:  This contest is open to journalists in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana. The State of Oregon, however, does not participate in the nondaily newspaper portion of the contest. The Oregon/SW Washington Pro Chapter hosts its own contest for those entries.

The Northwest Science Writers are sponsoring an event titled Science by the Dozen. Here’s what you need to know:

“Science by the Dozen”
Thurs., Jan. 12, 2012
6 to 10 p.m.
Institute for Systems Biology

$20 for NSWA members
$25 for nonmembers

Buy tickets online

Come to our annual event, “Science by the Dozen,” on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the fascinating Institute for Systems Biology in South Lake Union. Short tours of their new building will be available at the beginning of the evening – the event is from 6-10 p.m.

Enjoy the company of authors, journalists, bloggers, writers, photographers, animators and others who care deeply about science. There will be food from Portage Bay Café, wine and beer, and very short introductions of our board of directors.

New members – we will mark your badges so the veterans introduce you around. Veterans, we are counting on you to welcome new folks who are interested in science literacy and improving their craft.

Tickets can be purchased with a credit card through our new “Members’ Zone” or by sending a check to David Ansley, NSWA Treasurer, at 13205 Madison Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Sponsored by NATAS Northwest

2012 Northwest Video Workshop
January 27-29, 2012
Seattle, Washington

John Larson
Don’t miss your chance to see and hear John Larson from Dateline NBC. Prior to joining Dateline NBC in 1994 John was a general assignment reporter for KOMO TV.

Tremendous educational opportunity!
This 3-day workshop will give you the tools you need to create your own compelling stories, from spot news and daily turns to in-depth features and investigations. When the workshop is over, you’ll be energized and eager to take your stories to the next level.

Very few seats are left! If you’re thinking about going to this event, sign up now or you’ll miss your chance.

See the Northwest Video Workshop for more details.

The speakers include:

• John Larson – Dateline NBC
• Scott Rensberger – One of the most awarded journalists in the business
• Boyd Huppert – Reporter, KARE-TV, Minneapolis
• Scott Jensen – Managing Editor of Special Projects, KTVA-TV, Anchorage, AK
• John Sharify – Reporter, KING-TV; General Manager of SCCtv and Seattle Community Media; and NATAS Northwest Past President
• Matt Mrozinski – Photojournalist, KING-TV, Seattle
• Jeff Christian – Photojournalist, KING-TV, Seattle

The speaker biographies are on the Faculty page.

Space is limited and will sell out early. Register now to reserve your spot.

Contributed by Victoria Lassen

The deadline for submissions for the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism is Jan. 11, 2012.

The annual award, sponsored by the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York and offered since 1990, seeks significant reporting on wide range of social justice issues, including discrimination based on race, class, gender or sexual or religious orientation; economic injustice; violations of civil liberties and free expression; environmental degradation and brutality to civilians in war. Injustices arising from national, ethnic and religious conflict, globalization and terrorism are also of interest.

The award is open to journalism appearing in profit and non-profit newspapers, magazines, newsletters and online publications.

Last year’s winners were Wayne Barrett for career achievement; Jane Mayer for “Covert Operations” in The New Yorker, Jan Goodwin, “Broken Promises” in the Ladies Home Journal and Village Voice Media staff for “Amongst U.S.”

Other journalists who have received the award over the past 21 years include Donald Barlett and James B Steele, Mike Davis, Les Payne, Bob Herbert, Molly Ivins, Paul Krugman and Juan Gonzalez.

Winners come to Hunter for an award ceremony in late March or early April.

The committee also makes the Grambs Aronson Award for “Cartooning with a Conscience.”

For entry form, fees, and further information visit brie.hunter.cuny.edu/aronson or contact Awards Coordinator Peter Parisi (pparisi.hunter.cuny.edu).

Pacific Lutheran University Students, faculty and administration are debating about the recent suspension of The Mooring Mast website on Fri., Dec. 2 in reaction to obscenities in a sports article headline. Rather than rehash the events leading up to and following the controversial incident, I’ll refer you to other media sources:

The Mooring Mast, home page of PLU’s student newspaper

The Mooring Mast:  PLU Temporarily Takes Down The Mooring Mast’s Website

The News Tribune:  PLU Temporarily Shuts Down Paper’s Site Over Profanity in Story, Headline

SeattlePI.com:  F-bomb in Headline at PLU Sparks Censorship, Apology