Call for Entries: ASBPE Awards of Excellence

Two new categories: Original Research and News Analysis;
Entries must be postmarked by January 28, 2005.

Download the entry form now! (780K PDF) To view or download the PDF you need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you haven’t begun to gather your entry materials for the ASBPE Awards of Excellence competition, now is the time. The deadline for submissions has been extended by a week. The new deadline is Friday, Jan. 28, 2005.

Members and previous entrants should have received their entry brochures by now. The form also may be downloaded (780K PDF), or a copy can be requested from info@asbpe.org.

New this year are two editorial categories, Original Research and News Analysis. Additionally, we have refined the Feature Article and Government Coverage categories.

Previously, articles based on original research were submitted in the Feature Article category. ASBPE wishes to give special recognition to those publications with enterprising original research such surveys, product rankings, or other proprietary information.

Entry Deadline, Fees, Award Announcements Deadline: All submissions must be postmarked by January 28, 2005. Fees: Entry fees per submission are the same as last year: $70 for members and $90 for nonmembers, except for the Magazine of the Year, which is $90 for members and $115 for non-members. Award Announcements: Regional winners will be announced to the public at ASBPE regional awards ceremonies held in the spring of 2005. Watch our Web site for dates. National winners will be announced to the public at a ceremony, in conjunction with ASBPE’s National Editorial Conference, held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum in Cleveland, June 21, 2005. Winners will be notified via fax before regional ceremonies. A complete list of winners will be posted at ASBPE’s Web site after the respective awards ceremonies. Questions: For questions about entries and the competition, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

We have also dropped the News Article category in favor of News Analysis. The reason: most of our magazines are monthlies, and as a result should be examining the significance or impact of an event on our readers, rather than reporting straight news.

The Government Coverage category has been refined. Previously, we asked entrants to submit all government-related articles from two consecutive issues. This favored publications whose market niche was government. The new requirement asks entrants to submit one government-related article (not an entire issue) from each of three consecutive issues.

Magazine of the Year

As always, top honors will go to the Magazine of the Year in our two circulation divisions: under 80,000 and 80,000 or more. Judging is based on five criteria:

1) quality of writing, reporting and editing;

2) value and usefulness to the reader;

3) editorial organization;

4) interaction with readers; and

5) layout and design.

Will your magazine join these past winners?

• Computerworld (2004)
• CSO (2004)
• SQL Server (2003)
• CFO (2003, 1998)
• HealthLeaders (2002)
• CIO (2002, 1999)
• Selling Power (2001, 2000, 1997)
• Sales and Marketing Management (2001)
• Meetings & Conventions (2000)
• HomeCare (1999)
• civic.com (1998)
• Best’s Review (1997)

Stephen Barr Award

This year’s contest will also feature our second Stephen Barr Award, which will honor a feature writer for her or his individual work. ASBPE bestows $500 to the winner along with a handsome crystal trophy.

The award is endowed by the family of Stephen Barr, a perennial ASBPE excellence-award winner in his role as senior contributing editor of CFO magazine. Barr died of cancer in 2002 at age 43.

Contest entrants don’t compete directly for the Barr Award. Rather, a panel of judges will select the “best in show” among the top feature-writing categories, identifying the finest example of writing that displays the qualities Barr’s work exemplified:

• inventiveness of approach (and especially use of narrative style),
• insight and balance in the presentation of a complex subject,
• depth of investigation, and
• impact among the community of readers.

Free Membership Award

Look, too, at the nonmonetary rewards that come with winning a national ASBPE Gold. For the second time, named winners will receive free ASBPE membership for the next year, a $75 value. In the case of a current member, the year’s free membership will take effect upon expiration of current membership.

Judging

Experienced judges with background in business publications read each editorial, design, Web, newsletter, and Magazine of the Year entry. Their introduction to each entry is a required and important one-page cover letter of 250 words or fewer, describing the publication’s mission and readership and discussing both the work that went into the entry and its significance to readers.

The following are the general criteria for judging:

Editorial (and newsletter) judging — based on quality of writing, reporting and editing; development of the subject; presentation, and value to readers.

Design judging — layout and composition; use of typography, graphics and photography; content; originality; relevance to the related story or publication, and how easily the entry communicates useful information to the reader.

Web judging — reporting, writing, design, usability, readability, organization, value to readers, interactivity and effective use of online technology.

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