NNPA Messenger Awards 2021

MESSENGER AWARD HELPLINE:
Call Cody @ 360-427-6300

EMAIL QUESTIONS ABOUT:
Membership Dues to Okena (202-903-8580) membership@nnpa.org;
Messenger Awards to Desiree messenger@nnpafund.org

Only NNPA Members, who have paid 2021 dues and are in full membership compliance, are eligible to enter the NNPA Fund Messenger Awards 2021. NNPA dues must be paid prior to submitting entries. This year there are NO designated months. Instead we want your BEST work within the calendar year of 2020.

Each newspaper is allowed ONLY ONE ENTRY per category. Submission of more than one entry in any category will result in the disqualification of all entries in that category for your specific newspaper. Failure to comply with ALL submission requirements as outlined will cause rejection of entries.  

Judges will rate each entry on a scale of 1 – 5 (highest rating 5). The publications with the highest rating will receive a First, Second and Third Place award.

ARTICLES: Judging will be on overall importance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

SECTIONS: Judging will be based on story selection, content relevance, layout, pictures, and variety of local coverage.

OPINION | CAMPAIGNS: Judging will be based on clarity of thought, community interest, style and relevance.

LAYOUT & DESIGN: Judging will be based on use of type – headline, body copy, etc; use of images – photos, graphics, etc; and overall layout and design quality.

DIGITAL: Judging will be based on the clarity of the message, easy of navigation, quality of the content, use of graphics and relevance to the community.

COMMUNITY IMPACT: Judging will be based on importance of the community issue, audience interaction, and ability to affect change.

Each newspaper is allowed ONLY ONE ENTRY per category. Submission of more than one entry in any category will result in the disqualification of all entries in that category for your specific newspaper. Failure to comply with ALL submission requirements as outlined will cause rejection of entries.

UPLOAD ARTICLE PDFs, FULL PUBLICATION PDFs, SCREENSHOTS OF DIGITAL ENTRIES & URL WEB LINKS.

WHOLE editions are submitted ONLY in CREATIVITY DIVISION: Special Edition, Best Layout & Design Tabloid, Best Layout & Design Broadsheet and Newspaper Excellence.

ONE PAGE DESCRIPTION of 200 words or less is required for these categories: Original Advertising Campaign, Community Engagement, Community Service, Website Excellence, Newsletter Excellence, Facebook Campaign, Instagram Campaign and Video Campaign.

EQUITY

1. HEALTH – Emory O. Jackson Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

2.  EDUCATION- Frank L. Stanley Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

3. SOCIAL & CRIMINAL JUSTICE – Ida B. Wells Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

4.  ENVIRONMENT – Wilbert L. Holloway Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

PERSPECTIVE

5. FAITH & RELIGION Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

6. BUSINESS Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure.

7. EDITORIAL & OPINION – Robert S. Abbott Award – Judging will be based on clarity of thought, community interest, style and relevance.

8. ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY USE Award – Judging will be based on the story captured by the photo(s), clarity of the image, and subject matter.

CULTURE

9. ENTERTAINMENT –Armstrong Ellington Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure; layout and design. Page(s), Series or Section

10.  SPORTS – Don King Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure. Page(s), Series or Section

11.  YOUTH & CHILDREN Award – Youth writer’s article will be judged on layout, articles and pictures of special interest to youth, as well as writing style. Page(s), Series or Section

12.  FASHION, BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE – Ada S. Franklin Award – Judging will be on overall importance, relevance and significance of the story, impact of headlines and lead; thoroughness of reporting, sentence and paragraph structure; layout and design. Page(s), Series or Section

CREATIVE

13. SPECIAL EDITION – Leon W. Washington Award – Judging will be based on section theme, depth of supporting editorial material, use of pertinent photos, and skill in handling of tie-in advertising.

14. ORIGINAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN – E. Washington Rhodes Award – Judges will look for a novel or unusual advertising idea, which may be a single advertisement, a series, a campaign, a special page or commercial, or any other unified idea. Preferential consideration will be given to specially prepared campaigns or series of advertisements with any original theme.

15. LAYOUT & DESIGN (Tabloid) – Robert L. Vann Award – Judging will be based on headline type, style selection, body type style, layout and design and overall print quality.

16. LAYOUT & DESIGN (Broadsheet) – Robert L. Vann Award – Judging will be based on headline type, style selection, body type style, layout and design and overall print quality.

DIGITAL

17.  WEBSITE EXCELLENCE – A. Philip Randolph Award – Website will be judged foroverall digital design, functionality and effectiveness in reach and building community through the website.

18.  FACEBOOK CAMPAIGN Award – Judging will be based on originality messages, use of images, likes, share, comments and success performance metrics/analytics.

19.  INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGN Award – Judging will be based on messages, use of images, likes, share, comments and success performance metrics/analytics.

20.  VIDEO CAMPAIGN Award – Judging will be based on significance and impact of message, originality, creativity, unique writing style, quality of images and footage and clarity of story.

AUDIENCE

21.  COMMUNITY SERVICE – Carl Murphy Award – Judges will look at relevance of topic, community impact and call to action.

22.  COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – W.A. Scott II Award – Judges will look at the array of virtual or live events, interactive podcast, live chat or streaming programming that engages the community on single and/or multiple platforms to achieve specific or generic outcomes generating readership or revenue.

23.  NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE – John H. Sengstacke Award  – Judging will be based on overall appearance, general and departmental news coverage, journalistic excellence, general interest, editorial page and advertising content. Submit three (3) consecutive editions

24.  NEWSLETTER EXCELLENCE Award – Judging will be based on relevance, overall appearance, design, content, and performance metrics/analytics (opens, clicks)

JOHN RUSSUWURN Pinnacle Award  – The John B. Russwurm Pinnacle Award will be given to the newspaper scoring the highest number of points in the 24 Messenger Award categories.

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR Award – NNPA members are encouraged to nominate an individual as “Publisher of the Year” by Friday, May 21st.

2021 NNPA FUND MESSENGER AWARDS
Deadline: Wednesday, May 19

2021 NNPA FUND PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION
Deadline: Friday, May 21