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THE 2019 COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED - FINALISTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MAY

CONTEST OVERVIEW

The Society of Professional Journalists' Florida Pro Chapter is pleased to announce the 2019 Sunshine State Awards competition, recognizing oustanding journalism from calendar year 2018. The contest, now in its 25th year, is open to all professional print, broadcast and online journalists in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Spanish-language division is presented in partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The contest also offers a Student division for students at Florida colleges and universities.

Professional journalists and journalism educators from outside the Florida market will judge all entries and may award first-, second- and third-place honors in each category. The finalist list will be emailed to all entrants in May. Winners will be announced at the annual Sunshine State Awards ceremony this summer.

ENTRY FEES & DEADLINES
(Fees are per entry)

►   Early Bird Rate (enter by Feb. 3): Professionals $29, Students $20

►   Standard Rate (enter Feb. 4-25): Professionals $35, Sudents $25

►   Late Rate (enter Feb. 26-March 4): Professionals $40, Students $25

►   FINAL DEADLINE EXTENSION TO MARCH 11 (enter March 5-11): Professionals $45, Students $25

Final Entry Deadline: Monday, March 11, at 11:59 p.m.

ENTRY GUIDELINES

All entries must be submitted online; no hard-copy entries are accepted. Read the category descriptions and follow all instructions carefully.

SPJ & NAHJ MEMBER BENEFIT: get one entry FREE with your first paid entry. Submit your paid entry first, then submit a single free entry. Any remaining entries must be paid in full at the prevailing rate. The free entry must list a current, dues-paying individual SPJ or NAHJ member as one of the entrants. If you have questions about individual membership status of your organization's entrants, contact SPJ or NAHJ membership staff at their respective headquarters.

Direct all contest questions to Contest Administrator Tim Dodson, tim@timdodson.com or 305-756-6763.

2019 CATEGORIES

Following is a list of contest categories. Download the complete list of 2019 categories and descriptions.

Special Categories

A01       James Batten Award for Public Service
A02       Gene Miller Award for Investigative Reporting
A03       Diversity Award
A04       First Amendment Foundation Freedom of Information Award
A05       Journalist of the Year
A06       Anchor of the Year
A07       Photojournalist of the Year
A08       Excellence in Disaster Reporting
A09       Outstanding New Journalist
A10       Editor of the Year

Newspapers
(See the Special Categories and Digital divisions for additional categories open to print journalists.)

B01       Breaking News Reporting
B02       Non-Deadline News Reporting (Large Papers)
B03       Non-Deadline News Reporting (Small Papers)
B04       Feature Reporting (Large Papers)
B05       Feature Reporting (Small Papers)
B06       Series
B07       Commentary & Criticism - General
B08       Commentary & Criticism - Arts
B09       Profile Reporting
B10       State and Local Election Reporting
B11       Federal Election Reporting
B12       Data Reporting
B13       Editorial Writing
B14       Editorial Cartoon
B15       Headline Writing
B16       Beat Reporting - Arts
B17       Beat Reporting - Business
B18       Beat Reporting - Community
B19       Beat Reporting - Consumer Issues
B20       Beat Reporting - Crime & Courts
B21       Beat Reporting - Education
B22       Beat Reporting - Environment, Health & Science
B23       Beat Reporting - Food & Travel
B24       Beat Reporting - Government & Politics
B25       Beat Reporting - Hardship Issues
B26       Beat Reporting - Minority Issues
B27       Beat Reporting - Faith & Values
B28       Beat Reporting - Sports
B29       Special Publication or Section

Photography & Design
(See the Special Categories division for additional categories open to photographers.)

C01       Breaking News Photography
C02       Feature Photography
C03       Drone Photographty
C04       Photography Story
C05       Art/Photo Illustration
C06       Infographic
C07       Front Page Design (Large Papers)
C08       Front Page Design (Small Papers)

Magazines
(See the Special Categories and Digital divisions for additional categories open to print journalists.)

D01       Public Service Reporting
D02       Investigative Reporting
D03       Feature Story
D04       Profile Story
D05       Commentary & Criticism
D06       Food and Travel Writing
D07       Trade or Special Interest Publication
D08       Cover Design
D09       Inside Design
D10       Best Single Issue

Television
(See the Special Categories and Digital divisions for additional categories open to broadcast journalists.)

E01       Best Newscast
E02       Investigative Reporting - Single Report
E03       Investigative Reporting - Series
E04       Spot News Reporting
E05       Breaking News
E06       General Assignment Report
E07       Special Reporting
E08       Political Reporting
E09       Light Feature Reporting
E10       Serious Feature Reporting
E11       Sports Reporting
E12       Weather Reporting
E13       Best Non-Newscast Program

Radio
(See the Special Categories and Digital divisions for additional writing categories open to broadcast journalists.)

F01       Best Newscast
F02       General Coverage
F03       Investigative Reporting
F04       Government & Politics Reporting
F05       Feature Reporting
F06       Public Affairs

Digital
(See the Special Categories and Newspaper divisions for additional categories open to digital journalists.)

G01       Blog
G02       News Web Site
G03       Online Breaking News
G04       Multimedia Feature
G05       Package
G06       Infographics and Data Visualization
G07       Online Video - up to three minutes
G08       Online Video - three minutes or longer
G09       Podcast
G10       Blog Writing
G11       Social Media Package

Spanish Language

H01       Mejor trabajo de investigación en televisión/radio
H02       Mejor trabajo de investigación en prensa escrita/digital
H03       Mejor reportaje especial (features) en televisión/radio/podcast
H04       Mejor reportaje especial en prensa escrita/medio digital
H05       Mejor cobertura de noticias de última hora (breaking news) en televisión/radio/digital
H06       Periodista del año en televisión/radio/digital
H07       Periodista del año en prensa escrita/digital
H08       Mejor infografía y/o visualización de dato del año
H09       Mejor cobertura de desastres naturales en televisión/radio
H10       Mejor cobertura de desastres naturales en prensa escrita/digital
H11       Mejor trabajo estudiantil (todo tipo de medios)

Students

J01       College Journalist of the Year
J02       Best Student Publication
J03       Best Website
J04       Best News Story
J05       Best News Photo
J06       Best Feature Story
J07       Best Profile
J08       Best Review
J09       Best Sports Story
J10       Best Sports Photo
J11       Best Opinion Column
J12       Best Page Design
J13       Best Video
J14       Best Multimedia Feature
J15       Best Coverage of LGBT Issues
J16       Best Coverage of Race and Minorities
J17       Best Disaster Reporting

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