Television

Television Guidelines

  • Each university may submit two entrants’ work per competition.
  • Television entrants must be undergraduate journalism majors attending a university with an ACEJMC-accredited journalism program or must be recent graduates of said program.
  • Spring, summer or fall 2022 graduates may enter the 2022-2023 competitions but would not be eligible to participate in the 2023 Championship.
  • An entry must consists of at least two distinct reports, originating with and produced by the entrant, totaling no more than TEN minutes.
  • Entries must have been “aired” in the sense of having been made available to an anonymous audience of substantial size on a station or online or both before the entrant graduated.
  • Entries should be submitted as aired, and not edited substantially for the entry time limit. If a report is longer than the entry time limit, the entrant may enter an edited excerpt.
  • Entrants must demonstrate their editing and shooting skills on at least one report.
  • The entrant must attempt to appear in a “stand up” in at least one report.
  • If the entry is included in a professional website or a professional station’s newscast, the producer/news
    director must certify in writing that it is primarily the entrant’s work.
  • Entrants who qualify for the semi-finals or the Championship after TV I, may not enter TV II.
  • An entrant who has won first place in the Television Championship is not eligible to compete in future
    television competitions.
  • An entry submitted once may not be resubmitted in any other competition or in any other competition year.

How to Enter

Television Competitions

Television Competition I: Features

Entries must be non-deadline reporting of personalities, events, or issues. Entries may be based on but not
limited to public affairs, business, investigations, science, sports or weather. Each entry must consist of at least two reports totaling no more than ten minutes. The reports may be part of a longer newscast, but the entry
itself is limited to ten minutes.

Entries may be accompanied by multimedia versions of the reports entered as long as they were produced
primarily by the entrant.

Entries must have been disseminated on air or online or both from September 1, 2021 through November 15, 2022.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by November 15, 2022.
*The top five winners from Television Features are not eligible to compete in Television News.

Television Competition II: News

Entries must be based on coverage of breaking or developing news stories related to campus, community,
national or international issues, sports, business, investigative, science, weather or other current newsworthy matters. Reports must have a hard news focus, regardless of subject. Each entry must consist of at least two reports totaling no more than ten minutes. The reports may be part of a longer newscast, but the entry itself is limited to ten minutes.

Entries may be accompanied by multimedia versions of the reports entered as long as they were produced
primarily by the entrant.

Entries submitted must have been disseminated on air or online or both from September 1, 2021 through
February 14, 2023.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by February 14, 2023.

Television Semi-Final Competition

The semi-final competition is open to the second-through-fifth place winners (unless graduated the previous year) of the two TV competitions.

DEADLINES: Entries must be received by March 20, 2023 for TV I qualifiers and April 24, 2023 for TV II
qualifiers.

National Television Championship

This event is open to the first place winners of TV I and TV II (unless graduated the previous year) and
three finalists selected from the semi-final round. Dates: June 3-8, 2023.

Judging

Entries are judged based on the following criteria:

  • Writing
  • Reporting
  • On-camera presentation
  • Editing
  • Clarity
  • Depth
  • Knowledge of subject
  • Production values
  • Originality
  • Visual story telling
  • Graphics
  • Human interest