The deadline for entering the 2011 SPJ Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest is tomorrow evening, Feb. 22 at 8:59 p.m. PST. There will be no further extensions, and no exceptions to this rule. Here are a few common concerns that Ruth and I have heard over the last few days:

1)  SPJ Membership Discount – SPJ only offers individual memberships, so media organizations like The Seattle Times and KOMO TV cannot be members. SPJ members entering the contest may apply a $5/entry discount to each entry. Nonmembers, however, must pay the full fee of $25/entry for regular entries and $55/entry for General Excellence entries. There has been some confusion with the rule this year. However, this rule is not new.

2)  “Labels” – BNC will provide you with a “label,” or a receipt, for your entry. This is for your records only. You DO NOT need to mail it to us unless you are submitting a General Excellence entry. If you are, print off the label and mail it with your entry. Your entry must be postmarked by Feb. 22.

3)  Payments & Receipts – If you are paying online, PayPal will send you a receipt. We will not produce separate receipts for online payments. We will also not confirm receipt of payment with you individually, because of sheer volume. However, we will verify payments and completeness of entries one by one. If your entry is complete and paid for, you will not hear from us. If there is a problem, we will contact you via email to resolve the issue. Payments must be made online by 8:59 p.m. on Feb. 22 or mailed and postmarked by Feb. 22. No exceptions without my approval.

4)  Support – During the next two days, Ruth and I will field dozens – possibly hundreds – of emails and phone calls. We will answer queries in the order received. Please help us make the best use of our time. When emailing, copy us both on your email. The first one available will respond to your request. If you are phoning us, only call one of us. Otherwise, Ruth and I could both be fielding the same question when one of us could be helping another entrant.

I apologize if these rules seem harsh, but with close to 250 entrants and 2,500 anticipated entries, the volume of work is huge. Ruth is a part-time, paid assistant for the contest, and I am working as a volunteer. These rules help us to manage the process. Thanks for your understanding and your patience!

Dana Neuts
Regional Director

Planning for the 2012 spring conference is underway and details are starting to come together. As we have more details to share, we’ll update the conference page. Here are a few highlights:

- SPJ President John Ensslin will be joining us for the conference.

- Journalist Josh Wolf will be the keynote speaker at the Mark of Excellence luncheon.

- We will host an evening reception on Fri., Mar. 30 at the Garfield Bookstore. SPJ members will be invited to meet speaker Candace Dempsey (Murder in Italy). Following Dempsey’s portion of the program, the event will be opened to all conference participants.

- We will host several media tours on Friday afternoon for those traveling to the area early.

- Programs will include a panel on the Occupy Movement, that state of the Shield Law, Student-to-Pro Journalist and more.

- Once we finalize catering details for the Friday evening function and Saturday luncheon, we will be able to price the conference and open registration. This should be complete by March 1 at the latest, hopefully much sooner.

Join the Inland Northwest chapter of SPJ this Wed., Feb. 15 to meet the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office’s new spokesperson Deputy Craig Chamberlin. Spokane PD’s spokesperson Officef Jennifer DeRuwe will be on hand as well. Stop by to get a list of scanner codes from Chamberlin!

Casual Meet ‘n Greet
Wed., Feb. 15, 7 p.m.
O’Doherty’s, 525 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane
Free Admission, No Host Bar

Whether you are a new reporter or a Spokane area veteran journalist, you’ll want this opportunity to connect with the local PIOs. Hope to see you there!

Questions? Email Pia Hallenberg of The Spokesman Review.

Journalists, join the Montana SPJ Chapter for a casual “press club” gathering in Helena.

Thurs., Feb. 23, 6 to 8 p.m.
Lewis & Clark Taproom (1517 Dodge Ave., Helena, MT)
Upstairs Conference Room

Organizer Ian Marquand says this is likely just a casual get-together, but there *may* be a special guest.

RSVP to Ian Marquand

Thanks to everyone who has contacted Ruth Pettis or me to ask about the 2011 SPJ NW Excellence in Journalism Contest. We’re glad that you are excited about entering.

Because the contest deadline is just two weeks away, we are getting dozens of inquiries every day, and this number will grow as we get closer to the Feb. 20 deadline. To help us serve you more efficiently, please:

- Be very specific with your inquiry including what circulation group (daily newspaper, magazine, online, etc.) you are in and the specific categories you have questions about.

- Allow one business day for our reply. Most inquiries will be addressed the same day, but may not always be possible.

- We will answer inquiries during traditional business hours only, so please do not wait until the last minute with your entries or questions. There are only two of us managing 300+ entrants and 2,500+ entries.  [You wouldn't want US to call YOU during dinner to tell you we'd gotten your payment, would you?]

Thank you and good luck!

Ruth Pettis and I are getting LOTS of inquiries from contestants who can’t login to the BetterNewspaperContest.com website.

The most common question is that folks don’t know the password to log in. For every entrant and every media organization, “bnc” (all lowercase, no quotation marks) is the password to use the FIRST time you enter the system. You will immediately be asked to change that password. This is true even if you’ve entered the contest before.

For step-by-step instructions on how to enter the contest, click here. [This includes the password info. noted above.]

For additional contest FAQs, click here.

If you still need help, please contact Ruth or me and we’re happy to assist you.

Thank you,

Dana Neuts
Regional Director

National SPJ is giving away three scholarships to high school students:  $300, $500 and $1,000

Enter to win the National SPJ High School Essay Contest by March 8 , 2012.

Click here for details.