Award Guidelines

Your Public Media Moment Awaits: 2025 PMJA Awards Open December 16 with Fresh Categories and Guidelines!

Questions regarding the contest? Reach out to awards@pmja.org.

ELIGIBILITY

All entries must have aired or been published during Calendar Year 2024.
All entries must be submitted by an organization that holds a non-commercial radio license from the FCC except for these categories:
- Interview Program
- Narrative/Produced Program

DIVISIONS

Stations are divided into divisions based on staff size:

Division A – 1-3 full-time news staff
Division B – 4-7 full-time news staff
Division C – 8-15 full-time news staff
Division D – 16-29 full-time news staff
Division E – 30 or more full-time news staff

Other entrant divisions:

Independent - Organizations and individuals producing audio programming designed for audiences across all platforms, including radio broadcast and podcast.
- Eligible categories: Interview Program, Narrative/Produced Program
Freelance – Individuals unaffiliated with a public media station that have produced content for public media stations.
- Eligible category: Features produced by freelancers

STUDENT ENTRIES

Student entries can either be entered through the school where the work was completed or the public radio station on which the work aired.
Student entries must meet the following criteria:
- Produced by students while enrolled in high school, a two-year or four-year college or university, or graduate school.
  - Entries produced by a student while working as an intern in a professional journalism setting are eligible.
  - Students with any full-time professional journalism experience are ineligible.
  - A group entry that includes a contribution from someone with full-time professional experience are ineligible.
- Broadcast or published through an eligible public media station. Class exercises that were not broadcast or published are ineligible.

GUIDELINES ON WHAT IS CONSIDERED LOCAL

All work on the entry must be performed exclusively by the station staff.
Work edited by an NPR or APM editor or produced by a network show producer would only be eligible to enter under Local Reporting for National Network categories.
Entries produced by a local entity to be distributed by a national distributor (NPR, APM, etc.) will only be eligible for the Local Reporting for National Network categories (Example: a piece produced by a station to be aired on The World or a show that is distributed by NPR would not be eligible for local categories)
A show or piece that is produced and aired locally and is then shared with other stations is allowed under the local categories. (Example: Local product that is distributed in its original form via PRX, a state network, or independently organized distribution is allowed)

JUDGING CONSIDERATIONS

Our volunteer judges will carefully review each submission, focusing on its overall impact and quality. To help them make the most of their time, please highlight the most compelling aspects of your work that best represent the category you’re entering.

Our judges will evaluate submissions based on the following five criteria:

Public service value: Is this story offering something new? Does it appear to be something important to the community/region?

Quality of Journalism: Does the entry appear to be fair, accurate, and consider a number of perspectives?

Creativity/Innovation: Is there something that caught my attention – something beyond what I’d expect to hear when I turned on my radio/visited the website?

Technical excellence: Is the finished product well-executed? Be it audio/visual context, the quotes and cuts are clean, ambi is well mixed/art is well-suited for the story and the subject.

Writing: Is the script/copy concise, descriptive, and moves the story along effectively?

We will share judges’ feedback with entrants when provided.

BECOME A JUDGE!

Dive deep into inspiring public media and uplift outstanding voices. Judging the PMJA Awards isn't just a task, it's a transformative experience. You'll connect with the community, learn from fellow judges, and sharpen your craft while helping choose the best projects.

Volunteer to be a judge! Visit https://www.pmja.org/volunteer-to-judge-the-pmja-annual-awards to learn more and sign up.

DEADLINE

All Entries must be submitted by March 8, 2025.The entry system will automatically close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time the night of March 8.

Entries submitted February 22 - March 8 will incur a $10 late fee for each entry.

FEES - note: please check your membership status and join/renew prior to submitting your entries if that is your intention.

PMJA member rate: $65 per entry.
Nonmember rate: $100 per entry.
Student rate: $40 per entry.
Entries after February 22: add $10 per entry

All payments must be made online or mailed with a postmark on or before March 8, 2025. If payment is not received within one week of March 8, entries will be disqualified.

For all winning entries, a single award plaque will be mailed to the winner. Instructions for ordering duplicates will be provided with each award.

PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Payment is due at the time of entry submission by credit card or by invoice.
If you are paying by check, print the entry fee page and send it, along with your check payable to PMJA to:
PMJA Awards
P.O. Box 838
Sturgis, SD 57785

PMJA CONTEST CATEGORIES

Special Coverage - 2024 Election: This special category recognizes outstanding local journalism that provided insightful and informative coverage of the 2024 election process, campaign issues, and the impact of the results on local communities. Some possible areas of reporting include in-depth election analysis, investigative reporting, local impact, and voter engagement initiatives. Please include in your submission the local public service value of your effort, and why it was of particular service to your community. This category is open to entries designed for audiences across any platform. Audio elements must be limited to 15 minutes; digital elements should highlight the key URLs that emphasize the public service value of the entry. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES; NO MORE THAN 10 URLS

Audience Engagement - Any program or campaign that fosters meaningful connections with the community. Examples include call-in shows, social media campaigns, email newsletters, community events, or innovative digital projects. This category is open to any initiatives that go beyond traditional broadcasting and actively involve listeners in the news process. This category is open to entries designed for audiences across any platform. If audio content is included: TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES; NO MORE THAN 10 URLS

Collaborative Effort - Recognizes the efforts by two or more local stations working together on a specific project or a public radio station working with another entity on a specific project. This category is open to formal collaborations (LJC, RJC, etc.), collaborations with other local entities, and to less formal collaborations. Collaborations will compete at the division of the largest station involved in the effort. This category is open to entries designed for audiences across any platform. If audio content is included, TIME LIMIT 30 MINUTES; NO MORE THAN 10 URLS

Continuing Coverage - A series of stories covering an issue or event as it evolves over time. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES

Digital Writing – One story that demonstrates outstanding online news-writing skills. The story may have accompanying multimedia components, but only the written story will be judged.

Documentary - A one-time stand-alone program that addresses one issue or topic designed for audiences across any platform, including radio broadcast and podcast. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES

Enterprise – A story or series of stories that demonstrates significant journalism that breaks new ground and/or approaches a story from a unique and compelling angle. Enterprise reporting goes deeper than daily reporting, providing fresh perspective, compelling voices, thoughtful analysis and clear and complete treatment of an issue or event. TIME LIMIT 40 MINUTES

Interview - One interview segment. May be part of a news/public affairs program. TIME LIMIT 30 MINUTES

Interview Program - A stand alone program or one episode in a series focused on an in-depth interview with a compelling guest designed for audiences across any platform, including radio broadcast and podcast. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES NOTE: For this category, Independent Division is allowed for non-station produced programs. Programs that are produced and edited locally but distributed nationally are allowable for this category.

Investigative Reporting – A story or series of stories that uncovers facts that someone or some entity has tried to keep from public scrutiny or tried to reframe or misrepresent. These stories show excellence in documentation and data and have impact or potential for impact and change. TIME LIMIT 40 MINUTES

Multimedia – Best multimedia reporting on a single story or series of stories on a single topic. Submit all applicable URLs and a narrative up to 500 words.

Narrative/Produced Program - A stand alone program or one episode in a series in the traditional narrative or produced style designed for audiences across any platform, including radio broadcast and podcast. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES NOTE: For this category, Independent Division is allowed for non-station produced programs. Programs that are produced and edited locally but distributed nationally are allowable for this category.

News/Public Affairs Program - One regularly scheduled episode of a news/public affairs program. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES

Newscast - One unedited newscast, produced on one of our four newscast days in 2024. Those dates were February 13, April 11, July 24 and October 18. TIME LIMIT 10 MINUTES

Series - A scheduled series of stories on one issue or topic. TIME LIMIT 40 MINUTES

Spot News – Best spot on any topic less than 2 minutes in length. TIME LIMIT 2 MINUTES

Use of Sound – One story that shows a creative and effective use of sound to help tell the story. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Visual Storytelling – A story (or series) told primarily through the use of visual media. This can include, but is not limited to data visualization, video, photography, social media, etc. The entry can include up to three examples on a single topic.

Pieces that have been produced in conjunction with a national network will be allowed in the following categories. All entries to these categories will be judged against one another without regard to Division.

National News Coverage – This category may include breaking news, news features, series or continuing coverage. TIME LIMIT 60: MINUTES

National Feature - One feature on a cultural or human interest topic. Hard news and investigative features do not belong in this category. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

FEATURES:

Arts Feature – One feature for coverage of the arts. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Climate/Environment Feature – One feature covering climate or the environment. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Education Feature – One feature covering an education-related topic. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Government and Democracy Feature – One feature on a topic related to government or democracy. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Health/Medical Feature - One feature on a topic related to health or medicine. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES.

Sports Feature – One feature covering a sports or competition-related topic that is not play-by-play coverage of a specific event. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Human Interest Feature - One feature on a cultural or human interest topic. Hard news and investigative features do not belong in this category. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

News Feature - One feature on a news-related topic not specified in other feature categories. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Features produced by freelancers - A single feature on a cultural, human interest or news-related topic produced by a freelancer for a local public radio station. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES. Freelancers or stations may enter this category.

PMJA STUDENT CATEGORIES

Feature - One feature on a cultural or human interest topic. Hard news and investigative features do not belong in this category. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

News Feature - One feature on a news-related topic. TIME LIMIT 15 MINUTES

Program - A stand alone program or one episode in a series in the traditional narrative style or an in-depth interview with a compelling guest designed for audiences across any platform, including radio broadcast and podcast. Enter the “most representative” episode in a series. TIME LIMIT 60 MINUTES Spot News – Best spot on any topic less than 2 minutes in length. TIME LIMIT 2 MINUTES