2018 categories
UPDATE (1:41 p.m.): The onsite website is currently not functioning. We are doing our best to update the material below with deadlines and submission details. Please see an onsite proctor for specific information if it is not given below.
UPDATE: Please direct all specified onsite submissions to kramirez@harding.edu
Category 1: News Writing:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Reynolds Center Room 202
Materials Provided: None
Materials Prohibited: None
Assignment: Participants will be given two hours to develop a based on a news conference in Reynolds Center Room 202 on the Harding University campus. Our presenter will speak to media about the current progress on the restoration and beautification project in downtown Searcy. Contestants will write a 400-500 word news story based on the conference and Q&A to follow.
The news conference begins promptly at 10 a.m. and will be held in Reynolds Center Room 202. The news conference and Q&A will end by 10:50 a.m.
Submission: Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 2 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu.
The article should include the contestant’s assigned number at the top of the page, NOT the contestant’s name or university. The subject line of the contestant entry should include the contest title and contestant number. Only entries received by the assigned deadline will qualify for judging.
Judging criteria: Quality of lead; overall clarity; quality of writing; reporting; quality of quotes; reader appeal; organization; punctuation, spelling and grammar; AP style; editing for typos; word drops or similar mistakes.
Category 2: Feature Writing:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 2 p.m. Heritage Auditorium
Materials Provided: None
Materials Prohibited: None
Competitors will cover the “More than Words-Telling the Story through Photojournalism” at 2 p.m. in the Heritage Auditorium. Contestants will write a 500-600 word feature story based on the panel and question/answer session.
Submission: Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 5 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu. The article must contain the competitor’s number.
The article should include the contestant’s assigned number at the top of the page, NOT the contestant’s name or university. The subject line of the contestant entry should include the contest title and contestant number. Only entries received by the assigned deadline will qualify for judging.
Category 3: Sports Writing:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 12:15 p.m.–5 p.m. Ted Lloyd Track
Materials Provided: None
Materials Prohibited: None
Competitors will write a 500-600 word sports story based on the conference and question/answer session.
Submission: Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 5 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu. The article must contain the competitor’s number.
The article should include the contestant’s assigned number at the top of the page, NOT the contestant’s name or university. The subject line of the contestant entry should include the contest title and contestant number. Only entries received by the assigned deadline will qualify for judging.
Example: Sports Writing – competitor #124
Judging criteria: Quality of lead; overall clarity; quality of writing; reporting; quality of quotes; reader appeal; organization; punctuation, spelling and grammar; AP style; editing for typos; word drops or similar mistakes.
Category 5: Op-Ed Writing:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Reynolds 220
Materials Provided: None
Materials Prohibited: None
Submission: Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 1:30 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu. The article must contain the competitor’s number.
The article should include the contestant’s assigned number at the top of the page, NOT the contestant’s name or university. The subject line of the contestant entry should include the contest title and contestant number. Only entries received by the assigned deadline will qualify for judging.
Judging criteria: Lead; grammar, spelling, punctuation and typos; AP style; organization; logic; clarity; attribution; accuracy; opposing viewpoint; sources; and overall quality.
Category 7: Design/Page Layout:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 12:30 p.m.–2 p.m. Reynolds C158 Student Publications Office
Materials Provided: Computer
Materials Prohibited: None
Competitors will be given 90 minutes to complete two pages of a newspaper (with a jump to a complete second page). The following may be included: flag, headlines, photos, cutlines, rules, dates, refers, mugshots, bylines.
Submission: All students must submit finals pages as a PDF. Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 2 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu. The email subject line must contain the competitor’s number.
Judging criteria: Overall eye appeal; effective use of art/graphic elements; artistic ability/creativity; story/photo arrangements; accuracy of headlines; quality of headlines; quality of retouching; quality of cutlines; adherance to deadline; overall quality.
Category 9: Sports Photography:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: 12:30–4 p.m. Ted Lloyd Track
Materials Provided:
Materials Prohibited: None
Competitors will cover a Harding University men’s and women’s track meet.
Submission: Students must email the final copy of their story no later than 4 p.m. to kramirez@harding.edu. Students must submit no more than 3 photographs. Captions with each photo should be 1-2 sentences and should describe who/what/when/where of the image. Captions should be written in AP style. Photo and caption submissions should contain competitor number followed by a hyphen and the number of their photograph (example 124-1, 124-2, 124-3).
The submission should include the contestant’s assigned number, NOT the contestant’s name or university. The subject line of the contestant entry should include the contest title and contestant number. Only entries received by the assigned deadline will qualify for judging.
Judging criteria: Overall eye appeal; clarity, sharpness and exposure; quality of action; news value/storytelling; quality of cropping; quality of retouching; quality of captions; adherence to deadline; overall quality.
Category 11: TV Anchoring:
Friday, Feb. 16, 2018
Time Allotted: Noon–3 p.m. HU16 TV Studio (Meet in the Recital Hall at appointment time)
Materials Provided:
Materials Prohibited: None
Contestants will be given 10 minutes to practice their script in the Recital Hall. They will then go the TV Studio for recording. They must sign off with Contestant number and SEJC. Contestants should not include their name or their university name in the recording.
Submissions: All recordings will be submitted for judging by SEJC committee members.
Judging criteria: Personal demeanor/appearance; diction; accuracy of report; quality of delivery; high energy; copy interpretation; minimum vocal fillers; overall quality.
Feature writing
Sports writing
Arts & Entertainment writing
Op-ed writing
Copy Editing
Design/Page Layout
Photography (news/feature)
Photography (sports)
Radio News reporting
TV anchoring
TV News reporting (1 or 2 students allowed on a team)
Public Relations (1, 2 or 3 students allowed on a team)
Current Events
Media ethics/history/law