2011 SUNSHINE STATE AWARDS

THE ENTRY DEADLINE FOR THIS COMPETITION HAS PASSED

SPJ’s South Florida Pro Chapter is pleased to announce the 17th annual Sunshine State Awards competition, open to all print, broadcast and online journalists in the state of Florida. The competition recognizes quality journalism in the best tradition of our profession. Out-of-state journalists will judge all entries and may award first-, second- and third-place honors in each category. Finalists will be notified in early May, and winners will be announced at the Sunshine State Awards ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, June 11, at the  Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

SPJ South Florida has also partnered with the Florida College Press Association to present the 2011 FCPA Awards. Florida college students may enter the categories listed under ‘Student Division” on the “Awards Categories” page.

General Guidelines

• All entries must have been published or broadcast in 2010. (Exception: Judges will evaluate online entries in real time.)
• The same item may be entered in multiple categories. (Each additional entry requires an additional fee.)
• Comments (up to 100 words) may accompany each entry. (Exception: James Batten Award, see details.)
• A complete list of divisions and categories appears on the Awards Categories page.

Submitting Your Entries

• All entries in the 2011 Sunshine State Awards and 2011 FCPA Awards will be submitted using a web-based program at www.betterbnc.com. No hard-copy entries will be accepted.
• Below are directions for preparing and submitting your entries. If you have questions, please contact Tim Dodson, contest administrator, at 305-562-5796 or tim@timdodson.com.
• IMPORTANT: Please make sure to use a recent version of Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer for entering your work.
• The entry deadline is Tuesday, March 29 at midnight.

1. Login:

1. Go to www.betterbnc.com.
2. In the top navigation bar click “contestant login.”
3. Select “2011 Sunshine State Awards & Florida College Press Association Awards” from the “Contest” drop-down menu.
4. Select your publication from the “News Organization” drop-down menu. If yours is not listed, contact Tim Dodson to set it up.
5. Enter the temporary password bnc (lowercase) and click “Login.” When you first login, the system will prompt you to create a secure password (one for each listed news organization). If you set the new password for your organization, please make sure to share it with others who may be making entries. If a password has already been assigned and you do not know it, contact Tim Dodson.

2. Submit Entries:

1. On the Manage Entries page, click “Submit Entry” (left side).
2. Select the appropriate “Division” (a larger grouping of categories).
3. Select the appropriate “Category.”
4. Read the corresponding “Category Note” (directly below the “Category” selection box), which describes what is expected for the category’s entry content.
5. Complete the “Headline/Title” field. (For entries with multiple components, create a descriptive title or use “Collection,” if appropriate.)
6. Based on the type of entry, add content:
   • To upload digital files (other than audio or video), click “Choose File,” navigate to the desired file, select “Open,” and click “Upload.” (Allowed file types are PDF, DOC, TXT, JPG, GIF and PNG. If more than one attachment is desired for this entry, repeat these steps.)
   • To add web/audio/video content, copy and paste the content’s web address into the provided “Web URL” field. To host your content online, either upload it to a free hosting website (e.g. YouTube) or talk to your IT person about adding it to your station’s website. Make sure the content will be accessible long enough to be viewed after the winners are announced in June.
7. Click “Next.”
8. Add “Credits” for those responsible for the entry content.
9. If you wish, add up to 100 words in the “Comments” field.
10. Click “Submit” to save and submit your entry.
11. PRINT YOUR OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM. You must submit a copy of your form(s) with payment.

3. Payment

• The Sunshine State Awards fee is $28 per entry. (First entry free for all SPJ South Florida members!) The FCPA Awards fee is $15 per entry for FCPA members schools and $25 per entry for non-member schools.
• All payments must be made by check or money order (sorry, we do not accept credit cards) made payable to:

SPJ South Florida Pro Chapter
c/o Tim Dodson
780 NE 69th Street #807
Miami, FL 33138

• Payment must be received by Monday, April 4.
• You must also enclose a copy of the Official Entry Form for every entry covered by your check. (If you are submitting one free entry as an SPJ South Florida member, you must mail in the Official Entry Form, noting “FREE ENTRY” and your personal SPJ membership number, available on your Quill magazine label or by contacting SPJ headquarters.

Page last updated: March 16, 2011