Entries open December 15 for National Newspaper Awards

Toronto, December 13, 2019 – The National Newspaper Awards (NNAs) will begin accepting entries for the 2019 competition at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 15.

Entries will be accepted in 21 categories between December 15, 2019, and January 15, 2020. Finalists will be announced in mid-March, and winners will be announced at a gala on Friday, May 1, 2020, in Toronto.

The entry fee is $40 + HST per entry for organizations on the NNA Benefactor List, and $50 + HST per entry for entries from other organizations.

To be eligible, an entry must have been published first in 2019 by an eligible organization, with the work having been performed by an eligible entrant, as defined under the contest Rules of Entry. Rules can be viewed at https://nna-ccj.ca/rules/. Entry procedures can be viewed at https://nna-ccj.ca/tips-on-entering/. Categories can be viewed at https://nna-ccj.ca/entry-categories/.

A few changes to rules and categories were announced earlier this year. Highlights include:

• The overall entry period will continue to be between December 15 and January 15, but individual categories will have final entry deadlines starting as early as January 9.
• The two-year-old Photo Essay category has been eliminated.
• The News Photo category has been divided into two categories: Breaking News Photo and General News Photo.
• Published descriptions of many categories have been amended to provide greater clarity and guidance for entrants.
• Guidelines for judges in each category are being published on the NNA website, along with a general “mission statement” that will be provided to judges.
• Rules with respect to eligibility of freelance journalists have been changed. Entrants whose entered work was done on a freelance or contract basis rather than as an employee of the publishing organization are eligible to enter provided that they work regularly in journalism. That rule previously required evidence of work in daily journalism. Evidence of regular journalistic activity is now required from freelance/contract entrants in the following categories: Local Reporting, Short Feature, Long Feature, Explanatory Work, Investigations, International, Beat Reporting, Business, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, Politics.
• Restrictions on the number of entries entrants can submit in the Investigations and Breaking News categories have been eliminated.
• The number of entries organizations can submit in the Project of the Year category has been reduced to two, from three.
• Entrants in Beat Reporting must now submit a portfolio of four stories (down from five).
• Entrants in Columns and Editorials must submit portfolios of three columns or editorials (instead of the previously stipulated “up to three”).
• Organizations submitting work in the Breaking News category must provide detailed information on which stories are part of the entry in cases where work archived online includes work published outside the 36-hour period covered by the category.

This is the 71st year of the awards, which were established in 1949 to encourage excellence and reward achievement in daily newspaper work in Canada.

More information about the awards program can be found here:

• NNA Home Page: www.nna-ccj.ca
• Contest Rules: https://nna-ccj.ca/rules/
• Category Descriptions: https://nna-ccj.ca/entry-categories/
• Entry Instructions and Guidelines: https://nna-ccj.ca/tips-on-entering/
• How to Register: https://nna-ccj.ca/how-to-register/
• How to Enter: https://nna-ccj.ca/how-to-submit-entries/

For more information, contact:

Paul Woods, Executive Director
National Newspaper Awards
exec@nna-ccj.ca