2008 Awards FAQ

General Issue

• Q1: Are online publications eligible to enter work into all categories?
• Q2: Why is there no separate category for awarding online work?
• Q3: What advice do you have for entrants?

THE ENTRY PROCESS

• Q1: What do we need to submit with each entry?
• Q2: What should the nomination letter say?
• Q3: Can the entry forms and nomination letters be in Chinese?
• Q4: Must we submit five originals for each entry? Can we submit copies instead?
• Q5: What is the criteria for entering in the various groups (A, B and C)?
• Q6: Can publications in languages other than Chinese and English participate in the awards?
• Q7: Can publications in Group B apply to be judged in Group A and vice versa?
• Q8: How many entries can we submit?
• Q9: How many articles or photos can be submitted as part of each entry?
• Q10: How many articles or photographs should be entered in each category?
• Q11: Do sidebars count against the six-article limit in entries?
• Q12: We're very busy. Can we get an extension on the entry deadline?

THE JUDGING PROCESS

• Q1: How does the judging process work?
• Q2: Will awards be given in all categories?

ENTRY CRITERIA

• Q1: Can work done principally from outside Asia be entered? What about joint-venture articles where one reporter is in Asia and one reporter is outside the region?
• Q2: Can translated articles be entered in the awards?
• Q3: Is work from Afghanistan/Iraq eligible for entry?
• Q4: Can only Asians enter the Local Journalist Award?
• Q5: Must entries in the Excellence in Opinion Writing category be written by the publication's staff, or can they be from outside contributors?
• Q6: Can opinion pieces be submitted in categories other than for Excellence in Opinion Writing?
• Q7: What kind of photos are eligible to enter in the Excellence in News Photography category?
• Q8: What kind of articles should be entered in the Excellence in Reporting on Breaking News category?
• Q9: What kind of articles should be entered for The Scoop Award?
• Q10: What's the difference between the Excellence in Explanatory Reporting category and the Excellence in Feature Writing category?
• Q11: Can entries comprise both online and print articles and photographs?

General Issue

Q1. Are online publications eligible to enter work into all categories?
Yes. SOPA regards journalistic work published online * including breaking news, explanatory reporting, feature writing, opinion writing, news and feature photography * as identically qualified for entry into categories eligible to print. The exceptions are the design categories open only to newspapers and magazines, i.e. excellence in newspaper and magazine design, and excellence in magazine front cover design.

Q2. Why is there no separate category for awarding online work?
SOPA believes that the characteristics that make excellent journalism are the same whether the medium is print or electronic.

Q3. What advice do you have for entrants?

• Be extremely selective. While some awards have gone to entries with multiple articles or photographs, just as many awards have gone to entries with a single article or photograph. Simply submitting the maximum number of articles doesn't help an entry's chances; in fact, it may hurt if a weak article in the entry pulls the overall score down. This is especially important given the emphasis on multi-article entries showing a clear theme of coverage.
• Write a strong, persuasive nomination letter. Judges come from all over the world and will be reviewing work done months ago. While they are all senior, seasoned journalists and ex-journalists, they may not be as familiar with the circumstances surrounding the work submitted. If you don't explain clearly why the work matters, what impact it had, or how difficult i t was to obtain, they won't be able to get a full sense of the quality of the entry.
• Presentation matters. Entries go through many hands, and judges have to look over a lot of work. It's important that everything be firmly secured and clearly marked. Post-it notes fall off; paper clips get dislodged; loose articles go missing. Make it easy for judges to evaluate your entry.

THE ENTRY PROCESS

Q1. What do we need to submit with each entry?

Each individual entry needs to include FIVE sets of the following items:

1. The nominated work (These can be copies rather than originals; in the case of design and photo categories, please submit color copies.)
2. The nomination letter
3. The entry form

When you have collated all the entries from your publication, please fill out the Summary of Entries form and submit it with the entries and the entry fee. You only have to submit one copy of the Summary of Entries form.

Q2. What should the nomination letter say?

 The nomination letter is a critical part of each entry; it is an opportunity for you to explain to judges why the entry should win. You should use it to describe the circumstances surrounding the reporting and publication of the articles or photographs, as well as the importance of the topic, and any impact publication had. The letter should also explain how the entry helps fulfill the publication's editorial objectives.

For example, if the reporter faced great difficulty reporting the story, you may want to explain that in the letter. If publication of the photographs prompted changes in laws, you may want to inform the judges of that. If the topic covered was a controversial one, you may want to tell the judges what role the articles played in a national debate on the subject. And so on.

The nomination letter should not be longer than a single page. Entries with nomination letters longer than a page will be disqualified.

Q3. Can the entry forms and nomination letters be in Chinese?

Entrants in Group C must submit nomination letters in Chinese. Entry forms can be in Chinese or English.

Q4. Must we submit five originals for each entry? Can we submit copies instead?

We prefer originals to be submitted, but will accept copies. For entries in the design or photo categories, please submit color copies.

Please also submit copies in the form they were originally published, rather than as text files reprinted from databases. This will allow judges to see the entry as it originally appeared.

In addition, you MUST include any corrections or challenges to the accuracy of the entry (letters, etc).

The reason for preferring originals is so that the judges ? most of whom are not in Hong Kong ?can see the entries exactly as they were first published.

Q5. What is the criteria for entering in the various groups (A, B and C)?

Groups A and B are for English-language publications. Please note that there are separate criteria for magazines and newspapers. 

For English-language magazines: If you are a magazine with circulation equal to or greater than 50,000, you should enter in Group A.   Magazines with circulation under 50,000 should enter in Group B.

For English-language newspapers: Regional newspapers that circulate in more than two countries should enter in Group A. Local newspapers whose circulation is primarily in only one or two countries should enter in Group B.

Group C is for Chinese-language publications.

Q6. Can publications in languages other than Chinese and English participate in the awards?

Regrettably, we are unable to accept entries in other languages due to limitations of staff and judges. We hope in the future to be able to expand the awards.

Q7. Can publications in Group B apply to be judged in Group A and vice versa?

The SOPA editorial awards board will consider applications from English-language magazines with circulation under 50,000 to be judged in Group A. If such a request is granted, ALL entries from that publication will be judged in Group A. (with the exception of entries in the Local Journalist Award).

Publications in Group A cannot be judged in Group B.

Q8. How many entries can we submit?

Each publication can submit up to two entries in all the categories, except for the Excellence in Public Service Journalism, Newspaper Design and Magazine Design categories.

For example, a publication can submit two entries in the Excellence in Reporting category, two entries in the Excellence in Feature Writing, two entries in the Excellence in Business Reporting categories.

Publications can only submit one entry in the Excellence in Public Service Journalism, Excellence in Newspaper Design and Excellence in Magazine Design categories.

Q9. How many articles or photos can be submitted as part of each entry?

Please refer to the table below:

Q10. How many articles or photographs should be entered in each category?

As many as you want, up to the limit for the category. But you should be very selective. The judges aren't looking for quantity as much as quality, and a weaker article or photograph entered as part of a package may end up detracting from the better articles or photographs in the entry.

Also, it's critical that the articles or photographs entered demonstrate a clear theme of coverage. The judges will not score entries that do not show a theme of coverage articulated in the nomination letter.

Q11. Do sidebars count against the six-article limit in entries?

Sidebars published on the same day as the main article submitted don't count against the limit. But again, you should be very selective about which articles to include. Judges will be looking for the quality of the whole package, and weaker pieces will undermine the overall score.

Q12. We're very busy. Can we get an extension on the entry deadline?

No. And there will be no exceptions made.

THE JUDGING PROCESS

Q1. How does the judging process work?

Three-person panels are appointed to judge each category, comprising experienced journalists and former journalists from around the world. The judges assess and discuss the entries and decide on the winner. In the case of questions or a deadlock, they seek the assistance of the Director of Judges, who is a member of the SOPA editorial board.

The judges and Director of Judges are chosen so as to ensure there are no conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest with the publications entering the category they are judging.

Q2. Will awards be given in all categories?

If there are insufficient entries in a given category, no award will be given. Also, if in the opinion of the judging panel, the quality of entries does not merit an award, no award will be given.

ENTRY CRITERIA

Q1. Can work done principally from outside Asia be entered? What about joint-venture articles where one reporter is in Asia and one reporter is outside the region?

Entries must show a strong focus on Asia, and substantial journalistic work must have been done in Asia . So work done principally from outside Asia , even if it has a strong focus on the region, is ineligible. However, articles that are reported partly in the region and partly outside the region are eligible if substantial journalistic work was done in Asia .

Q2. Can translated articles be entered in the awards?

No. Articles must be entered in the original language they were written in.

Q3. Is work from Afghanistan/Iraq eligible for entry?

For the purposes of the awards, Asia is defined to include Afghanistan and the Central Asia republics, in addition to the Indian subcontinent, North and East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands.

Iraq, Iran and the Middle East are not included in this definition and hence work from those places is not eligible for entry.

Q4. Can only Asians enter the Local Journalist Award?

Anyone who is working for a Group B publication can enter the Local Journalist Award ?English Language, regardless of citizenship or ethnicity. Similarly, anyone working for a Group C publication can enter the Local Journalist Award ?Chinese-language.

Q5. Must entries in the Excellence in Opinion Writing category be written by the publication's staff, or can they be from outside contributors?

They can be from either staff writers or outside contributors. However, they will be judged on the standard of reporting as well as on their writing.

Q6. Can opinion pieces be submitted in categories other than for Excellence in Opinion Writing?

Articles that have appeared on op-ed pages rather than on news pages can be submitted in reporting categories, but will be judged on their standard of reporting and writing.

Q7. What kind of photos are eligible to enter in the Excellence in News Photography category?

Entries in this category must be taken while covering breaking news. In other words, they should be covering an event unfolding at the very time and place of its happening, rather than of its aftermath.

Q8. What kind of articles should be entered in the Excellence in Reporting on Breaking News category?

Entries in this category must have been written and reported on deadline as part of coverage of spot news. So features cannot be entered in this category, unless written and reported as part of immediate spot coverage.

Q9. What kind of articles should be entered for The Scoop Award?

The Scoop Award is for an exclusive story on a topic of significance.

Q10. What's the difference between the Excellence in Explanatory Reporting category and the Excellence in Feature Writing category?

The Explanatory Reporting category is principally to honor work that has demonstrated strong reporting and analysis of a topic of significance. While entries for Feature Writing award will likely also demonstrate those qualities, the category primarily honors the high quality of writing in an article or articles.

Q11. Can entries comprise both online and print articles and photographs?

Entries can contain a mix of online and print articles and photographs. However, please do not exceed the limit on the num ber of articles and photographs per entry. Also, note that entries that comprise more than a single article or photograph must demonstrate a clear theme of coverage articulated in the nomination letter.