Tuesday, January 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPJ Announces 2009 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest, Contest is Now Online

Seattle, Washington, January 12, 2010 – Contest organizers in SPJ’s region 10 announced the launch of the 2009 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest today. The annual SPJ contest honors the best journalism work in daily newspapers, alternative newsweeklies, nondaily newspapers, magazines, online, radio and television. Each year thousands of entries are submitted, but only the very best receive the top awards.

Open to journalists in SPJ’s Region 10 (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana), this year’s contest offers some significant changes:

1.    Online submission:  Entries in most categories will be submitted via our new online contest system, rather than mailed in. See contest details for exceptions.

2.    Magazines:  The magazine contest is now open to all chapters in the five-state region. Previously, magazine entries were only permitted from the Western Washington Pro Chapter based in Seattle.

3.    Nondaily newspapers: The nondaily newspaper contest is now open to journalists in Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Previously, only Western Washington publications could enter. (Note: The Oregon-Southwest Washington chapter has its own nondaily newspaper contest and is not participating in the regionwide nondaily contest.)

“This year we’re making a lot of positive changes to the contest. These changes will make entering the SPJ contest easier than ever before while reducing administrative and mailing costs,” regional director Dana Neuts said.

“For the first time, we’re making online submissions possible, and we are expanding the magazine and nondaily newspaper contests to be open to others within the region,” Neuts added. “We’re excited to take the contest to the next level.”

Contest entries may be submitted online starting today through the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, the deadline for entry. Entry fees are $15 each and the contest is open to both SPJ members and nonmembers residing and working in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. For complete eligibility rules and instructions, please visit the SPJ website at http://spj-northwest.org.

As the largest journalism organization in the United States, the Society of Professional Journalists is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press, promoting the free flow of information, and providing information to the public in an accurate, comprehensive, timely and understandable manner. SPJ also offers continuing education, ethics and diversity training and relevant programs for journalists and the public it serves.

For more information, please contact:

Scott Maben, former regional director, Spokane, WA, (509) 459-5528
Ruth Pettis, contest coordinator, Seattle, WA, (206) 781-8097
Dana Neuts, regional director, Kent, WA, (360) 920-1737

Contact Aric Lane with questions.

The Future of News – Day-long Journalism Workshops

Only 12 days left to register! The Western Washington Pro Chapter of SPJ is co-sponsoring a conference on Saturday, October 10 on the Seattle University campus dedicated to the future of news. Buy your tickets online now!

Sessions include:

- The Future of Newspapers;
- Building Your Brand as an Independent Journalist;
- How is Technology Shaping the Newsroom of the 21st Century?;
- Introduction to Investigative Reporting;
- Online Content Management: Who’s Using What – and Why?;
- Building Independent Online News Sites;
- Career Transitions: Leaving Journalism Behind;
- Covering The Recovery: A Primer On Business Reporting;
- Online Options: CoPress and Stunt3;
- Freedom of the Press: From state sunshine laws to the federal shield law, what’s the status of legal issues impacting journalists in the Pacific Northwest?;
- Can Public Interest PR Help Fill the Information Gap?;
- The Blogging Life;
- Cool Tools;
- User Generated Content: Keeping it Legal, Keeping it Lively; and
- Fair Fight or Copy Right?

Registration is $50 per person; $15 for students and unemployed journalists.

For more information, visit www.thenewsconference.com.