The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)’s DC Pro Chapter is pleased to announce the 2025 Dateline Awards contest is now open for submissions. Every year, the Dateline Awards recognize excellence in print, broadcast and online journalism across the D.C. metro area. Submissions will be accepted through Monday, March 10.
Submit your best work from 2024 at https://betternewspapercontest.com/DCDatelineAwards.
The contest is open to all and you do not have to be an SPJ member to enter. SPJ DC Pro also honors distinguished coverage through the Correspondent Award and Robert D.G. Lewis Watchdog Journalism Award ($1,000 cash prize). See more details below.
Finalists and winners will be announced in June at the chapter’s annual Dateline Awards and Hall of Fame dinner at the National Press Club.
Key Dates & Details
- Submission Deadline: Monday, March 10, 2025
- Eligibility: Work published, posted, or broadcast between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, is eligible. For series entries, the majority of the work must have been published or aired in 2024.
- Entry Fee: $30 per entry (Note: A processing fee of $2 will apply to online payments). Payments can be made via PayPal or credit card.
- Award Ceremony: Finalists and winners will be announced in June 2025 at the Dateline Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner at the National Press Club.
General Guidelines
- Work must have been published, posted, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2024. For a series, a majority of the work must have been published in 2024.
- Entries must be in their original form as published or broadcast. If any subsequent corrections or clarifications were made, they must be included with the submission to avoid disqualification.
- This competition is open to journalists in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland. Submissions must be relevant to the local area or focus on issues impacting the Washington, D.C. metro region.
- You may submit multiple entries in each category, but each entry must be accompanied by a separate fee. Do not submit the same entry in multiple categories.
How to Submit
Entries are submitted via the BetterBNC portal. All submissions should include the following:
- Up to five URLs or links for online work.
- Clear labeling of each submission for categories such as Television, Radio, and Online News.
- A separate entry fee for each individual submission.
For detailed instructions on how to navigate the submission portal, download the step-by-step PDF.
Submission Tips and Resources
- Review this post on submission tips for helpful information on creating or accessing a profile on the contest submission platform and best practices.
- Download this PDF to get step-by-step instructions on using the BetterBNC portal, which is how the chapter accepts submissions.
- Access a listing of each division and associated categories on this PDF.
Special Awards
- Correspondent Award: This award recognizes distinguished coverage of the Washington area by a correspondent based in the Washington, D.C. area, whose work is published or broadcast for an audience outside the DMV. This category may be a good fit for a journalist’s work that doesn’t qualify in another category. Submit up to five samples.
- Robert D.G. Lewis Watchdog Journalism Award: The Robert D.G. Lewis Watchdog Award will be presented to a finalist in any award classification whose entry best exemplifies journalism aimed at protecting the public from abuses by those who would betray the public trust. No direct entries are accepted for this category. There is a cash prize of up to $1,000 for the winner.
Divisions
- Daily Newspaper includes dailies published in the Washington, D.C., region five or more days a week and wire services covering local issues.
- Weekly Newspaper covering local issues, published fewer than five days a week in the DMV region.
- Magazine covering local issues, published in the Washington, D.C., area.
- Television including on-air and cable channels, appealing solely to local audiences. Each entry should be clearly labeled.
- Radio including city and suburban stations, with stories of local interest. Each entry should be clearly labeled.
- Newsletters/Trade Publications supported by subscription and/or advertising revenue and publications whose audience is specific to interest in a trade.
- Online publications including “web-zines” that appear exclusively in electronic form on the Internet on a regular schedule, as well as websites operated in conjunction with print or broadcast media. One main URL and up to five additional URLs to highlight specific features of the article or package. Entries that do not provide complete and accurate URLs will be disqualified.
Categories
- Non-Breaking News: A single report or series of reports. Could include federal, state, local government; health care; medicine/science; education; minority issues; politics; religion; environment; criminal justice; and social justice issues (poverty, homelessness, public housing).
- Breaking News: Single report or series of reports that best exemplify breaking coverage on a major news event on deadline.
- Features: Single report or series of reports.
- Sports: A single report that profiles an individual in sports at any level (high school, college, pro); or a pattern of outstanding coverage of sports, demonstrated by a selection of up to five reports by a writer or team. The entry may include reports from the beat or a series.
- Editorial/Opinion Writing: The most persuasive single editorial or series of editorials (up to three). Entry can be unsigned editorials or signed columns.
- Business: A single report that profiles an individual in business or development at the state or local level; or a pattern of outstanding coverage of business/development with a selection of up to five reports by a writer or team. The entry may include reports from the beat or a series.
- Photojournalism: For best black-and-white and color news photography. Judges will look at technical composition, creativity and overall visual impact.
- Investigative Journalism: Reporting that demonstrates in-depth, analytical skills, with information gathered over time. Judges will consider originality, use of public records, if they apply, and outcomes of the investigation. Single report or series of reports.
- Commentary: Analysis or interpretation of news events or arts/culture, including food, music and theater. Submit up to three samples.
- Column: Submit up to three columns on any subject
- Feature Photography: A single published photo, either stand-alone or part of a story
- Photography Story: A collection of photos printed together that tell a story—either news or feature in nature. Not for continuing coverage of a subject.
- Art/Photo Illustration: Specially designed art and/or photos to illustrate a story. Submit three examples.
- Infographic: Standalone infographic or part of a story. Submit up to three samples.
- Front-Page Design: Submit three samples by one artist or team. Can represent the front page or section front.
- Series: Submit up to five samples of a news or feature series on one topic.
- Editorial Cartoon: Submit three samples on any topic.
- Beat Reporting: Submit a portfolio of work (no more than five stories) showing sustained excellence in covering a beat. Judges will consider a variety of source development, story generation and beat familiarization. A 100-word supporting statement explaining the entry is optional.
- Blog/online news (all divisions, electronic): Indicate whether it is a site supported by a journalistic/media company or a personal blog by a journalist who also publishes in legacy media or online versions of legacy media or new media. Submit up to three posts.
Email Yi-Shen Loo, SPJ Dateline Awards contest coordinator, at datelinecoordinator (at) gmail.com with inquiries.