Writing

Writing Guidelines

  • Each university may submit two entrants’ work per competition (or two teams in the Team/Individual Investigative Reporting competition).
  • Writing entrants must be undergraduate journalism majors or minors attending a university with an ACEJMC-accredited journalism program or must be recent graduates of said program.
  • Spring, summer or fall 2025 graduates may enter the 2025-2026 competitions but would not be eligible to participate in the 2026 Championship.
  • An entry is a single article written by the entrant (or by a team in the Team/Individual Investigative Reporting competition) and published before the entrant(s) graduated .
  • Only single bylines are allowed with the following exception: Team/Individual Investigative Reporting
    competition.
  • Entries must have been published in print or online or both in a campus or professional
    publication.
  • Articles must be appropriate for the competition in which they are submitted and must be produced and published within the time limitations specified.
  • If a story has a credit line, the entrant must include a statement describing the writing, reporting or editing work contributed by the person(s) cited in the credit line.
  • Sidebars, subordinate in length and content to the article submitted, written by the same entrant on the same topic and published the same day, will be considered part of a single entry.
  • If the entry is from a professional publication, the editor must certify in writing that it is primarily the
    entrant’s work with minimal editing and no editor rewriting.
  • If a correction was published or issued online after the original story was presented to the audience, the
    correction or clarification must be submitted as well.
  • An entrant may enter multiple writing competitions with the following exceptions: if the entrant wins first place, if the entrant qualifies for the Championship, or if the entrant places twice in the top five.
  • An entrant who has won first place in the Writing Championship is not eligible to compete in future writing competitions.
  • An entry submitted once may not be resubmitted in any other competition or in any other competition year.

How to Enter

  • Competition entries are submitted through the online application by a school administrator.
  • Details are sent to all participating journalism schools. Login codes are provided by the program office.
  • To receive information about the program, please contact Program Director Jan Watten:
    jwatten@hearstfdn.org.

Writing Competitions

Feature Writing

Creative feature writing: color or mood article covering news, business, feature or entertainment as opposed to a hard conventional news story or personality profile. Stories should be memorable for their reporting, crafting,
creativity and economy of expression.

Sidebars subordinate in length and content to the article may be included.

All articles must be disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2024 through November 4, 2025.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by November 4, 2025.

Sports Writing

A news, feature story or commentary in sports, which must relate to an event or issue, not to a sports personality.

Sidebars subordinate in length and content to the article may be included.

All articles must be disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2024 through December 16, 2025.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by December 16, 2025.

Personality / Profile Writing

A personality sketch of an individual on or off campus.

All articles must be disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2024 through February 3, 2026.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by February 3, 2026.

Team or Individual Investigative Reporting

Definition TBA.

Each university may submit up to two entries in this competition, each by a different student or team.

Entrant(s) MUST be undergraduate students (with the exception of minor help from graduate students who may have assisted with the project).

Awards may be divided to the individual undergraduates on the winning team. If the entry qualifies for the National Writing Championship, the administering professor will select the lead entrant to participate in the
Championship. Note: only one entrant will be eligible to participate in the Championship.

All articles must be disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2024 through March 10, 2026.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by March 10, 2026.

National Writing Championship

This event is open to eight selected finalists from the writing competitions: four first-place winners
(unless graduated the previous year) and four “at large” finalists with combined or individual high points.

Dates: May 31 – June 5, 2026

Judging

Writing entries are judged based on the following criteria:

  • Quality of the writing and the reporting that supports it
  • Stories must be well defined and framed clearly
  • Knowledge of subject
  • Understandability
  • Clarity
  • Reporting depth
  • Construction
  • Originality