By Jorge Rojas
APSE Contest Chair
Thank you for working so hard Tuesday and over a holiday weekend (I apologize) to meet or beat the APSE contest deadline.
Over the next 24-36 hours, the APSE officers will be looking through your entries to make sure everything is in the correct format and up to snuff. If you woke up wanting to make a switch, update, correction or clarification (“Oof, I forgot to add that link!”), we will work with you. We want you to feel good about your entries and for your best work to be judged.
Upon scanning the division entries late last night, it looks like this year’s contest is going to be a real dogfight. There is a lot of excellent material entered on all platforms, showcasing reporting, storytelling, projects and investigations. Topics range from championships, Olympics, discrimination, sexual assault and even a couple of murder mysteries.
In all, we have 40 eligible entrants in Division A; 42 in Division B; 46 in Division C; and 52 in Division D.
The next steps are 1) to review and group stories into each category in each division so that judges have what they need, including working passwords!; and 2) to line up the judges.
We are expecting a good turnout for judging at the Doubletree Suites Orlando/Disney Springs on Feb. 20-24. Hotel bookings have been going slowly (but surely), and we already have a solid list of 30 judging stalwarts planning to attend. Reserve your rooms now! The deadline for the APSE group rate of $173/night is Jan. 29, 2022. It’s a good price for Florida in February, Click here to access the online registration.
There have been questions about COVID as we continue to cope with Omicron and Year 2, and here are some answers. We will be socially distanced, and the hotel setup — with the pool and gazebo hospitality areas — is conducive to a good judging experience (especially if we can get the remote judges to do all the hardest work!). Nobody is going to be asked to sit in a room or tight quarters. Picture judging as more of a relay race of handoffs during the day, in which you can judge in your room or by the pool, followed by some outdoor dining and maybe a couple of beverages with colleagues in the evening. Judging isn’t always a picnic — though picnics are encouraged! — but it has proven over the years to be rewarding, worthwhile, and a great networking opportunity. Sound good to you? Though it’s clearly a personal decision, we hope you will attend.
Many of you have volunteered to be remote judges, which is great. You might want to remind me of that in a couple of days as your offer could end up lost in the shuffle amid yesterday’s deadline frenzy. I’ll be starting an official list tomorrow.
In the meantime, please contact me at jorgerojas1033@gmail.com or 954-328-5584 if you have any questions or concerns about the contest or judging.
Thanks again for helping us get off to a smooth start. Let’s keep it going!
NEWSPAPER AND WEBSITE CATEGORIES
DIVISION A
- ABC News
- AL.com
- Baltimore Sun
- Bay Area News Group
- Bleacher Report
- Chicago Tribune
- Denver Post
- Detroit Free Press
- Detroit News
- ESPN.com
- FloSports
- Houston Chronicle
- KSL.com
- Los Angeles Times
- Miami Herald
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- New York Post
- Newsday
- NJ Advance Media
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- San Francisco Chronicle
- SI.com
- South Florida Sun Sentinel
- Southern California News Group
- Star Tribune
- Tampa Bay Times
- The Advocate
- The Arizona Republic
- The Athletic
- The Boston Globe
- The Dallas Morning News
- The Kansas City Star
- The New York Times
- The Oregonian
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- The Seattle Times
- The Undefeated
- The Washington Post
- USA Today
- Yahoo Sports
DIVISION B
- Albany Times-Union
- Austin American-Statesman
- Champaign News Gazette
- Cincinnati Enquirer
- Columbus Dispatch
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Gambling.com
- Green Bay Press-Gazette
- Indianapolis Star
- Knoxville News Sentinel
- Las Vegas Review-Journal
- Lexington Herald-Leader
- Omaha World-Herald
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- PennLive
- Philadelphia Daily News
- Port Charlotte Sun
- Raleigh News & Observer
- Richmond Times-Dispatch
- Salt Lake Tribune
- San Antonio Express-News
- Scranton Times Tribune
- South Bend Tribune
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- St. Paul Pioneer Press
- TC Palm
- The Buffalo News
- The Charlotte Observer
- The Commercial Appeal
- The Courier-Journal
- The Gazette (Colorado Springs)
- The Oklahoman
- The Post and Courier
- The Post-Standard
- The Record (Bergen, N.J.)
- The Tennessean
- The Villages Daily Sun
- The Virginian-Pilot
- Times of NW Indiana
- Toledo Blade
- Wisconsin State Journal
DIVISION C
- Altoona Mirror
- Bama Central
- Beaver County Times
- Bozeman Daily Chronicle
- Columbia Tribune
- Corpus Christi Caller Times
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Fort Myers News-Press
- Grand Forks Herald
- Greensboro News & Record
- Idaho Statesman
- Inside Carolina
- Lewiston Tribune
- Naples Daily News
- Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
- Northwest Florida Daily News
- Northwest Herald
- Panama City News Herald
- Pensacola News Journal
- Peoria Journal Star
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- Republican Herald (Pottsville, Pa.)
- Roanoke Times
- Santa Cruz Sentinel
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- Springfield News Leader
- St. Augustine Record
- Tallahassee Democrat
- The Citizens’ Voice
- The Commercial Dispatch
- The Clarion Ledger
- The Daily Memphian
- The Desert Sun (Calif.)
- The Free-Lance Star
- The Journal Times (Racine, Wis.)
- The Republican / MassLive
- The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.)
- The Spokesman-Review
- The Springfield Republican
- The State
- Topeka Capital-Journal
- Wichita Eagle
- Williamsport Sun-Gazette
- Wilmington StarNews
- Winston-Salem Journal
DIVISION D
- Aiken Standard
- Athens Banner-Herald
- Augusta Chronicle
- Casper Star-Tribune
- Century Newspapers
- Cherokee Tribune
- College Hockey News
- Columbia Missourian
- Daily American Republic
- Daily Record (Rockaway, N.J.)
- Denton Record Chronicle
- Ellensburg Daily Record
- Fayetteville Observer
- Florence Morning News
- Gainesville Sun
- GamecockCentral.com
- GoPowercat.com
- Houma Today
- Inside the Birds
- Laramie Boomerang
- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
- Manhattan Mercury
- Marietta Daily Journal
- MaxNews Today
- Medford Mail Tribune
- Mon Valley Independent
- Monroe News-Star
- Monticello Herald Journal
- Mud River Sports
- PolkSports.com
- PowerMizzou.com
- Rock Hill Herald
- Rome News-Tribune
- Roswell Daily Record
- Savannah Morning News
- Shreveport Times
- Southwest Times
- Sun Journal
- The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette)
- The Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro)
- The Gadsden Times
- The Jackson Sun
- The Leaf Chronicle
- The Montgomery Advertiser
- The Palladium Times
- The Pine Belt News
- The Post-Star
- The Spectrum & Daily News
- The Star Press (Muncie, Ind.)
- The Victoria Advocate
- Tuscaloosa News
- Wyoming Tribune Eagle
