The Associated Press Sports Editors 2019 Digital Content is being run from July 1 to Dec. 31.
There are two judging time frames (July 1-Sept. 30 and Oct. 1-Dec. 31) with mandatory three-week windows. Judges are required to make multiple visits to the sites during the mandatory windows. Judges also are allowed to look at websites at their leisure during the rest of the year.
There are four categories (Groups A, B, C and D) based on the level at which the news organization pays APSE dues. A change to the scoring system is outlined below.
A top 10 and honorable mentions in each category will be revealed at the start of the Winter Conference in February 2020.
Digital entries
Information for the judges is still needed from several news organizations:
- The name of the news organization (i.e. Midtown Daily Gazette)
2. Category the news organization is entering (based on the level at which the news organization pays APSE dues)
3. The URL/web address of the website(s) to be judged: news organizations that utilize more than one website platform should include all pertinent website addresses
4. For websites with pay walls, the entry should include a password or passwords which judges can use to access the website(s)
5. Entries may include a cover letter explaining the website’s primary focus of coverage and key navigation points (i.e. “All of our prep coverage can be found on www.localpreps.com, while our community sports coverage is under the sports tab on our main website, midtowngazette.com — and you can find our special projects under the ‘sports reports’ tab on the midtowngazette.com website). Please keep the cover letter short. Do not send links to specific multimedia work. The cover letter may also include “suggested” dates and times for judges to look at the site. Please note, judges will not be required to look at the sites during suggested times.
6. Name, email address, work and cell phone for contact person from the organization.
If your news organization has not provided this information, please do so immediately to Lisa Wilson, APSE first vice president, and Gary Potosky, APSE second vice president, at apsecontest@gmail.com with the subject 2019 Digital Contest Entry.
Scoring system
We’ve change the scoring system for the digital contest to best fit the control we have over our own websites, and the goals we believe all sports websites should want.
- Scoring
· Subject matter: 40 (last year 30)
· Quality of the content / should include multiple visits to the site
· Category D (because of staffing issues at smaller shops): raised this score to 50
- Display: DELETED
· Most newsrooms have no control over website design
- Timeliness: 40 (last year 25)
· Keeping up with the site’s goals for timely posting, keeping readers updated
· Category D: reduced this score to 30
- Mobile: DELETED
· Nearly all mobile sites are direct translations from desktop pages. This is a product issue, not a sports issue.
- Navigability: 15 (last year 10)
· Ability to find important content without surfing too far down and around the site. This is a curation judging category, but important
- Multimedia: 5 (last year 10)
· Up to 5 points for sites where multimedia — videos, podcasts, graphics, newsletters — offer readers easier access to key content. Burying videos in individual posts and making them harder to find, or having no noticeable multimedia would result in no credit.
Please offer any feedback via email (apsecontest@gmail.com).
