Call for Entries – 15th Annual Sunshine State Awards

Dear Florida Journalist:

It’s time to enter your outstanding work in the 15th annual Sunshine State Awards, the statewide competition for all media organized by the South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The 2008 competition drew nearly 1,000 entries from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, Web sites and student journalists.

Review the 2009 rules & categories and entry form on this site. All entries must be received (not postmarked) by Friday, Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m.

In view of the continuing changes in our profession, we have made several changes to the entry categories–consolidating some categories, eliminating others, and adding new ones (particularly in the Online division). As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for improvements in future years.

We also ask for your help so that we can continue to operate a vigorous competition. As news organizations’ budgets shrink, we anticipate a decrease in the number of company-paid entries. Therefore, we encourage you to ask your editor to ensure that all staffers receive this entry package so that they may enter on their own. We are holding the line on entry fees ($23 for SPJ members, $28 for non-members, and $43 for the Batten Award) to keep the competition affordable for everyone.

We look forward to receiving your entries and seeing you at the Sunshine State Awards in late May. We will announce the date and location in the coming weeks.

Sincerely yours,

Julie Kay
President, SPJ South Florida Chapter