Articles which qualify are solely news articles. Editorials, commentary, op-eds, and any forms of opinion writing or comments, while important, will not be considered. Judges will consider the entries which best meet the spirit of Adolph Ochs phrase “to give the news impartially, without fear or favor.” The award in each of the four categories will go to the best examples of impartial, objective, and fair reporting. Entiries can be a breaking news story, a multipart series, investigative reporting, or any other type of news reporting as long as a reasonable, independent reader would likely consider it fair, impartial, and objective.

Print

This refers to any publication in a weekly or daily newspaper within the United States. Newspaper that are all digital, or published only in a digital format, and not in a print format, should be entered in the digital category, not the print category.

Broadcast

This refers to shows broadcast by national television networks which are available to be carried on local television stations. It also includes stories originated and aired on local television stations. It also covers radio broadcasts, both national and local similar to television above. Podcast do not qualify for broadcast, but should be included in digital entries.

Cable television

This refers to new stories which originate on cable television national networks, including but not limited to historic brands like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, but not limited to those. If another cable network is available for viewing on satellite or cable television systems, it would qualify. It would also include news reporting originated on a local cable television system.

Digital

This refers to news reporting posted on a website, a blog, or a podcast. News reporting which is available only in a digital format originated by daily or weekly newspapers, broadcast networks or stations, cable television or satellite networks or local cable systems should be entered in the digital category.

These awards are for news reporting within the United States, not outside the United States, but foreign journalists reporting U.S. news within the United States are eligible.

March 1, 2024

There is no entry fee required.

Entries can be submitted clicking the “Submit” button on this page or by using this link: https://go.unc.edu/2024Awards.

You should submit a PDF of the article for print or digital. You may also inlcude a url of the online version of the article. For Broadcast and Cable Television, you should include a url of the reporting including all videos.

This is an award for news reporting. While recognizing the contribution of editors, researchers, and others, the monetary awards go to the bylined or credited reporters in these four categories. If multiple bylines, the award will be divided equally.

For news reporting, a single entry or multiple entries on the same news event or subject are accepted. Or a single event, such as a series, there is a limit of 10 entries. For ongoing stories which continue to evolve with new developments and events, there is no limit on the number of entries.

All judging will be done by the Newspaper Managers Association, the national organization of the state press associations in the U.S. This organization supervises all state journalism awards in each state.

Awards will be presented at a recognition lunch or dinner later this spring with a date and location yet to be determined.