NNPA Messenger Awards 2025

 

 

 

NNPAF 2025 Messenger Awards Scholarship Winners

 

 

AWARDS OVERVIEW

In an effort to be more contemporary yet honor our legacy of great publishers, the NNPA Fund Messenger Awards (24) are divided into SIX divisions that include FOUR categories:

 

 

PINNACLE – JOHN RUSSWURM AWARD

 

Awarded to the Newspaper with the highest cumulative score.
The Observer

 

Publisher of the Year

 

Shirley Ann Barber James— Savannah Tribune

 

Rules & Eligibility

Only NNPA Members, who have paid 2022 dues and are in full membership compliance, are eligible to enter the NNPA Fund Messenger Awards 2022. 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 2021.

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.

 

JUDGING SPECIFICATIONS

Judges will rate each entry on a scale of 1 – 10 (highest rating 10). The publications with the highest rating will receive a First, Second and Third Place award.

ARTICLES: Judging will be on the overall importance and significance of the story, the 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 a 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, ease of navigation, quality of the content, use of graphics, and relevance to the community.

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

 

ENTRY SPECIFICATIONS

 

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.

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

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

The Black Press is the trusted source for Black America and serves as the primary information delivery system of Black institutions like the NAACP, the Urban League, United Negro College Fund, Congressional Black Caucus, Black Churches, and more. The NNPAF mission is to build the Business, Human, Community and Future capacity of the Black Press.