The Best of Photojournalism 2010: Web Site Rules
The goal of this contest is to recognize the best visual journalism being produced online.
Rules and Limits
- The Best of Photojournalism, Best of the Web contest will judge entries from their live URL submitted at the time of entry. If the URL isn't given, or the link is not functioning properly at the time of judging, the entry will be disqualified.
- Each category allows a limited number of entries per organization. Consult with your colleagues at your news organization and pick the best pieces from your web site based on the category descriptions below. Any entries over the number allowed will be disqualified.
All entries will be judged on the quality of their:
- Content (photography, audio, video)
- Story-telling and narrative
- Usability, interactive design and technical execution
- Visual design and presentation
Good luck to all!
Entrant Classification
Within each category, contest entries will be divided into three groups based on the size of the site (and thus, implicitly, the resources available to the journalist).
Entrants must indicate their site's classification when they enter.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| OVER |
Web sites of mainstream media organizations (newspapers, magazines, and television or radio stations) with more than 2.5 million unique page views/month. |
| UNDER |
Web sites of mainstream media organizations (see above) with less than 2.5 million unique page views/month. |
| INDE |
Sites published without direct support from a mainstream media organization. |
If you are unsure which category your site belongs in, check your view counts with Nielsen//NetRatings or your preferred web stats package.
Or, if you work for a newspaper, you can check the October Top 30 list that appeared in Editor and Publisher.
Changes to the 2010 contest
The Olympics and Road to Office topical categories have been eliminated. Political stories should be entered in either News or Feature, as appropriate.
Audio Slideshows
Audio-enhanced collections of still photographs presented in a gallery or slideshow format, that tell a clear story. Animation can be used only to advance from one photograph to another.
This category is for still photography combined with audio only. There is no video allowed in this category.
An entry is defined as a single gallery or slideshow; not a group or collection of slideshows. Web packages that include multiple slideshows should be entered as Multimedia Packages.
The emphasis here is on presenting great News, Sports and Feature photographs with the additional level of detail that audio can provide.
- News Audio Slideshow (3 entries per organization)
- Feature Audio Slideshow (3 entries per organization)
- Sports Audio Slideshow (3 entries per organization)
- Natural Disaster Audio Slideshow (3 entries per organization)
Multimedia Package
Highlights the use of audio, video and animation in the presentation of web-based stories. Judges will pay special attention to the use of available technology to complement and enhance the art of visual storytelling.
Entries may include single galleries, slideshows or video, as well as packages that include multiple elements that were grouped and published together as a single story or theme.
Content, usability, and interactivity are key to this celebration of cutting-edge storytelling.
1 entries per category per organization.
- News or Feature Multimedia Package
- Natural Disaster Multimedia Package
Web Video Photography
This category mirrors a portion of the Video News Photography Contest, emphasizing video produced for the web.
Note that the category definitions and judging focus in the two divisions are different. Please read the rules in both and decide where your entry fits best.
News Video
A story that covers a planned or unplanned news event or a subject of general interest and importance. It can be spot news or a follow up or side bar to spot news. The event should be timely. The entry should contain no music, except where it's part of the natural sound of the story.
Stories must have been shot, edited, and posted on the web within 48 hours.
Maximum viewing time for judging: 10 minutes.
2 entries per organization.
Feature Video
A feature or human interest story, or series of stories.
Maximum viewing time for judging: 20 minutes.
2 entries per organization.
Sports Video
A planned story or series of stories about the preparation for, analysis of, or audience reaction to a sport, or coverage of a sporting event. Greater weight will be given to stories that have sports action video and focus on the competition.
Maximum viewing time for judging: 20 minutes.
2 entries per organization.
Documentary Video
A planned story or series of stories about a subject of general interest and importance, where the photojournalist has put considerable time and effort into the production of the entry. Documentaries must show imagination and creativity in story choice, execution and editing.
Maximum viewing time for judging: 30 minutes.
2 entries per organization.
Natural Disaster Video
A feature or human interest story, news story, or series of stories related to coverage of the natural disasters in 2008.
Maximum viewing time for judging: 20 minutes.
2 entries per organization.
Special Awards
Once the judging for the Audio Slideshow, Web Video, and Multimedia categories is complete, the winners will go head-to-head to determine the absolute best of web photojournalism.
- Best Audio Slideshow
- Best Web Video
- Best Use of Multimedia
- Best Use of the Web
The winner will demonstrate a mastery of photographic and visual storytelling in an online environment. Content, interface design, navigation, and interactivity will all be evaluated to find the site or multimedia team that best furthers the evolution of online visual journalism.
How to Submit Entries
All entrants must fill out the online Contest Registration Form to get their Contest ID Code. The Contest ID Code is used to identify your entries in the contest judging database.
Website entrants must submit a working URL for each entry. Entries must be submitted via the online entry form, which will be available once the contest opens in January.
URLs that are not active during the judging will be disqualified.
Your entry will be viewable as soon as you submit the form. The appearance of the entry in your entry list is your confirmation. If you do not see your entry appear in the list, please email NPPA or call 919-383-7246 ext. 16.
Copyright 2002-2010 NPPA.org
For more information, email the Contest Coordinator.