Classification of Newspapers

There are five divisions and newspapers are classified based upon total weekly print distribution and daily or non-daily status. To determine total weekly distribution, the total print distribution data in the 2021 U.S.P.S. Statement of Ownership or audit will be used. Divisions are frozen. Each newspaper will enter in the same division as in 2022.
Online publications will compete in Group IV with the option to compete up in Group V.
If a newspaper publishes more than once per week, either the actual distribution for each day will be used or, in the case where only one average circulation figure is listed, that figure will be multiplied by the number of days the newspaper publishes in a one-week period. In contests that are divided into five divisions, they are as follows:
Group I—Non-dailies with a combined weekly distribution of 2,999 or less
Group II—Non-dailies with a combined weekly distribution of 3,000-6,999
Group III—Non-dailies with a combined weekly distribution of 7,000 and above and Dailies with a combined weekly distribution less than 20,000
Group IV—Dailies with a combined total weekly distribution of 20,000-149,999 and Online Publications
Group V—Dailies with a combined total weekly distribution of 150,000 and above
General Rules

1. The contests are open to active members of the Tennessee Press Association in good standing. Publication period for the contests is January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. The date the content first appears, whether online first or in print, is the date that determines eligibility. Entries submitted must be from newspapers/online publications published during this period except as specified otherwise in the individual contests.
2. For Daily Newspapers: Entries requiring three complete issues or tearsheets from three issues must be consecutive issues published during the contests period, excluding Sunday editions.
For Non-Daily Newspapers: Entries requiring three complete issues or tearsheets from three issues must be consecutive issues published during the contests period and may include Sunday editions.
A newspaper may choose different, three-issue sequences within the contests period for different competitions.
For the categories of Make-Up and Appearance and Sunday Editions and Best Sports Coverage, a newspaper must choose one edition from each quarter (four total) as its entry.
3. DEADLINES: Material used in connection with the contests must be submitted online by Monday, March 6, 2023. The online entry portal will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Entry fees must be received no later than March 24, 2023.
4. For online entries, a PDF of the entire page(s) containing the entry must be uploaded or when allowed by the category, links to online content may be submitted. You may indicate on the PDF the story being submitted. PDFs must include the date of publication.
5. Newspapers may submit online content to accompany the print-edition entry in the categories of Best Spot News Coverage, Best News Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Public Service.
This can include online reporting, breaking news alerts on the newspaper’s website and/or social media pages such as Twitter and Facebook. Video reports are also allowed. Newspapers should provide URLs so judges may view the online content. A user name and password must be entered in the comments field if the content is behind a paywall. If the content is no longer available online, it may be submitted as a PDF.
Entry fees
6. Entry Service Fee: The entry fee is $12.00 per entry. Payment of entry fees must be received by March 24, 2023. It is the entrant's responsibility to make sure the payment is submitted in time for TPA to receive it by March 24.
7. Publishers may enter as many categories as desired. A fee must be paid for each contest entry. A newspaper or online publication may submit only one entry in each contest except as noted where two entries are allowed.
In categories allowing two entries, the entries must be separately entered into the online system, not uploaded as two PDFs in the same entry.
8. A photo may only be entered in one of the three photo categories (News, Sports or Feature) and a column may only be entered in one of the two column categories (Best Personal Column or Best Personal Humor Column).
9. In appraising all contests except Best News Photograph, Best Feature Photograph and Best Sports Photograph, the judges will use a set of criteria specially prepared for the UT-TPA competition.
Niche Publication Content
10. Material from a niche publication may be entered into the contest if the editorial content has been created, written and prepared by the newsroom and was distributed with the newspaper to regular subscribers.
Shared Content, Newspaper Groups
11. Regarding shared content among any group of newspapers, entries to only be entered by the newspaper where the primary reporter/photographer is based.
Newspaper groups that produce an item for multiple publications within their group may enter the item only once by the newspaper in which the item originated. You may not enter the same item more than once under multiple flags. If you do, both entries will be disqualified and your entry fee will not be returned.
Definition of a Contributor
12. A newspaper or online publication may enter work by a regular contributor. A regular contributor is someone who is not syndicated and whose work appears in the submitting newspaper a minimum of twice per year.
All entries must be original from your newspaper or newspaper website or your online publication. They must be conceived and written by the newspaper staff members. A staff member is defined as a regularly employed, full-or-part-time person who works for your newspaper/online publication. Freelance work is allowed only if it appears exclusively in your newspaper. If an entry was published by multiple publications in an ownership group, it should be submitted by the publication employing or compensating the author.

13. Entering the contests gives TPA permission to display the entries and to publish the entries in print or online.
15. The judge's decision is final.

How will TPA prevent fraud?
We prefer to trust our member publishers not to submit embellished or edited entries. If fraud is suspected with any entries, a full investigation will follow. A publication committing fraud may have its award revoked and may not be eligible to compete in future TPA contests.

In each division, a General Excellence award will be presented to the newspaper or online publication achieving the highest total of points in its division for 2023. The newspaper placing first in each division of a contest will be awarded a plaque. Second and third place winners will be designated by the judges and will be presented certificates at the awards ceremony.
Divisions I, II, III and IV will be eligible for fourth and fifth places as designated by the judges in each contest, and each of these winners will be awarded an “Honorable Mention” certificate. Plaques and certificates are sponsored by the University of Tennessee System.
A newspaper may designate individuals specifically credited with the production of entry material with their entry. If provided with the entry form, these individuals will be recognized with certificates for winning entries. (Please proof staff names as you enter them. Names will appear on winners' certificates as provided.)
Edward J. Meeman Awards
The Edward J. Meeman Foundation will give $250 awards to 15 of the top winners in these annual contests. For Groups I, II, III, IV and V, an award will go to each of the first place winners of the editorials contest, best single editorial contest and public service contest.

Awards Announcement
Editors or publishers of winning publications will be notified in late May of an award, but not award placement. Awards will be announced on a date and time to be determined by the TPA Board of Directors.

How to Submit Entries

IMPORTANT: BETTER BNC is optimized for the Google Chrome browser and Firefox for PC and Mac. Please have a recent version downloaded and installed for the best contest experience.

File types that may be uploaded are: PDF, JPG, GIF, and PNG.
Files should not be larger than 20 megabytes. For larger files, you may use your own server or an outside service such as realviewdigital.com, issuu.com, scribd.com, etc. and provide the URL to the content with your entry.
System will accept entries beginning on Feb. 3, 2023.

1. Logging in for the first time in 2023:
Go to: www.betternewspapercontest.com/2023TennesseeStatePressContests Password: Spc2023
• Below “Are you a contestant?” click “Newspaper Login”
• Where it says “Login as” select “Contestant Manager”
• Under “News Organization” select your newspaper. Don’t forget to look under “The” at the bottom, and if you do not see your newspaper on the list, call TPA at (865) 584-5761, ext. 105.
• In the password box, enter temporary password: Spc2023
• Press “Login”
• Now you must choose a new password and update the contact information for your newspaper.
• Press “Submit”

NOTE: The system will send you a validation email with a link that must be clicked before you can log into your account.

2. To submit entries:
• Click on “Submit Entry”
• At “Division” leave it as “General”
• Enter a “Headline” or “Date”
• Enter comments (use this field to enter a user name and password, if needed to access the material)
Please be sure that items using external links are not behind a paywall or a password-protected area. If they are, you must provide the username/password info in the comments section of your entry. The password must provide access through May 2023.

• Enter names of those responsible for producing the entry (names for award certificates)
• Click Browse to select a file from your file menu. If more than one attachment is desired for this entry, click on "attach more" and repeat these steps.
• Press “Submit”
• After each successful entry, the Official Entry Form will be presented. This is confirmation of your entry.
Select Submit Another Entry to submit more entries, or Manage entries, which will allow you to review the entries you've already submitted, or Logout.
For detailed instructions, go to www.BetterBNC.com and click on “Contestant Instructions”

Helpful tip: For a fast and efficient contest entry submission experience, enter the contest early (at least a few days before the deadline of Monday, March 6, 2023) and avoid the slowing down of the online contest system.

How to Manage Entries

1. There are two tables on the "Manage Entries" page — "entries" (enabled and will be judged) and "disabled entries" (will not be judged). Be sure your attachments or URLs are showing in the "existing attachments" column.
2. Use the "Action" links for each individual entry which allow you to view your Official Entry Form/Label, edit an incomplete entry or make certain changes, and toggle any entry between enable/disable.
How to Submit Payment

1. On the Manage Entries page, confirm your newspaper name, and number of entries submitted.
2. Click Calculate Entry Fee.
3. A list of all your enabled entries will be displayed, with the entry fee of $12 per entry. Review the list of entries for accuracy. The Total Entry Fee Due is calculated at the bottom of the list.
4. Print this report to submit with your payment. Or if applicable, click on the payment link to pay for your contest entries with a credit card online.
Payment of entry fees must be received by March 24 2023. It is the entrant's responsibility to ensure that payment is processed to be received at the TPA headquarters on or before March 24, 2023.

Send payment to:
Tennessee Press Association
ATTN: State Press Contests
412 N. Cedar Bluff Rd., Ste. 403
Knoxville, TN 37923

Credit card payments:
https://tnpress.com/product/paycenter
or send an email requesting a payment link to
rgentile@tnpress.com