Ohio SPJ Awards – 2022 Contest Information

Ohio SPJ Awards – Honoring Ohio’s Best Journalism
Ohio SPJ Awards are presented annually and collaboratively by the Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland Pro Chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. It is the only Ohio competition that honors journalists who fulfill the SPJ mission: defense of the First Amendment, support of literacy, resistance to censorship, advocacy for openness of public records and meetings, media self-criticism and community service. This program also recognizes the best college daily and weekly newspapers, and awards student winners in news, feature, opinion and sports reporting. To submit entries and see the categories, visit our site: www.ohiospjawards.org

2022 Deadline: April 4

Eligibility:

Journalists are eligible who work for newspaper, magazine, radio, television, trade, digital and college media in Ohio and adjacent states that have significant reach into Ohio. Freelance journalists, who are Ohio residents, are eligible, regardless of where their work is published, broadcast or webcast. Last year, we added numerous freelance categories in response to the growing number of freelance journalists. Click here for Freelance categories. Newsletter and blog submissions also are welcome. Entrants need not be members of the Society of Professional Journalists. Submitted work must have been published or broadcast in 2021.

Fees:

A $30 entry fee must accompany each submission, except college entries. College students pay a $10 entry fee for writing of news, feature, sports and opinion. College newspapers may enter the best college daily and non-daily newspaper categories for free. There is a $5 discount per entry for work by SPJ members. You may submit any given article in as many relevant categories as you wish.

SPJ member discount: Become a member and save $5 per entry.  To qualify for the SPJ Member Discount, you will have to provide the SPJ Member Number of the person who did the work.  In the event of a team project, at least one member of the team must be an SPJ member to qualify for the SPJ Member Discount.

VERIFY YOUR SPJ MEMBER NUMBER: 

To look up your SPJ Member Number, go to https://www.spj.org/members_edit.asp,

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Ohio SPJ Awards, please visit our website – ohiospjawards.org – or contact contest coordinator Sarah Mills Bacha at 614-563-1066 or [email protected].