There’s no need. On the new coupon, you will see what you have attached in your entry. If you are unsatisfied, or you want to make a correction, you can change it, before submitting. What you see before you submit is what we get. An administrator will check your entry within 48 hours. If any there is any error, we will contact you directly. If we discover an incomplete entry after the Awards deadline, you will be allowed time to re-submit your complete entry.

No, with two exceptions - Scoop of the Year and Photograph of the Year. Journalists entering Scoop of the Year may submit the same scoop in another category (say, Sports Journalist of the Year) as part of a larger body of work. Photographers entering Photograph of the Year can include the same picture in their portfolio for Photographer of the Year.

Yes. If you have written some great sports stories and some great features, you may enter these works in both relevant categories of the awards. You may not enter the same work (ie, a sports feature) in two categories (for example, Sports Journalist of the Year and Features Journalist of the Year)

No. Your entry to any award, such as Sub-Editor of the Year or Artist of the Year, must be your only entry for that award. For most awards you can submit up to five examples of your work, so there’s plenty of scope to showcase your best.

Call Lucinda Duckett on (02) 9288 3125, or email her: duckettl@newsltd.com.au

Yes

Very important. Your background statement provides the context for judges to assess the journalistic enterprise that went into your work. Remember, the editors judging your work do not come from your publication, and may not be familiar with local affairs in your state. Do not assume they have in-depth knowledge of what went into the story – you must tell them.
It is in your interests to provide as much detail as possible: precisely what you did, what you were trying to achieve, what conditions you were working under, why you think the work is good, what response it got, what happened next.
Do not exaggerate. If your work reaches the final rounds of the awards it will be subject to background checks with your editor and colleagues. Feel free to include detail that could not be published for legal, moral or ethical reasons if it gives better context to your contribution to the work.
You may write a supporting statement of up to 500 words for each piece of work you submit.
Sometimes it may be appropriate to use the same statement for the whole entry (ie, Campaign of the Year). It’s up to you.

Absolutely! The awards are judged on merit only. If yours is the best entry every year, you will win every year – and good on you. The exception is Young Journalist of the Year, where previous winners (not finalists) cannot enter the category again. However, they may enter their work in any other category.

The only award open to non-editorial staff is the Chairman’s Award. Feel free to nominate someone, but there is no formal process for this award. It is awarded at the chairman’s discretion. The rest of the awards are for editorial staff only.

If you are submitting a long-running investigation or series, please choose just FIVE stories that are representative of the entire work. You may use your supporting statement – up to 500 words – to explain the background, the context, how the story unfolded and what happened next. Please do not enter more than five stories. The judges will assess only the first five.

Please choose only those stories that were published within the eligible period. You may use your supporting statement – up to 500 words – to describe fully how the series started, what happened and when.

No, only published work is eligible.

No, not any more – except that hard copies of entire newspapers or magazines may be submitted to support entries in Newspaper of the Year, Regional Newspaper of the Year, Suburban Newspaper of the Year and Magazine of the Year categories.

In all other categories, you must enter electronically through this website or via CD-ROM.

Papers, magazines and CDs should be sent to: News Awards, Corporate Affairs, Level 5, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, marking the category clearly on it.

It will be cheaper for you to use the internal mail – there is no need for Registered Post.

Staff who do not have access to a News Limited intranet, including foreign correspondents and anyone at our newspapers in Fiji, PNG, Community Newspapers in Perth and parts of News Digital Media will need to enter the awards by CD-ROM. Some artists and illustrators may also prefer this method.

Please ensure that the CD-ROM includes the category, the publication or website you work for, you name, your resume and contact details and background statements for the work you are submitting.

All judges are current or former editors. In the first round, your work will be judged independently by three different judges. If they disagree, your work will be sent forward to the next round regardless. In the second round, your work will be assessed by another team of judges. If they are not unanimous in their decision, your work will go to a third round of judging.

At no stage will your work be assessed by your current editor.

Judges assess all entries against the core judging criteria of newsworthiness, relevance, accuracy, balance, fairness and clarity. In each category, there are added criteria which are specific to that Award.

To become a finalist, an entry must also demonstrate leadership in coverage of the subject.

The criteria demand that judges look beyond the resources of a newspaper to the essential journalistic skill that went into it. This means that work published in the smallest community newspaper competes equally with the biggest metro daily.

Yes. You may email Les Hoffman at hoffmanl@newsltd.com.au or phone 02 6680 2080

You may enter up to five pieces of work to support your entry. In the three Newspaper of the Year categories, as well as Magazine of the Year and Website of the Year, five copies of the whole publication may be supplied.

In the Best Coverage Across All Media category, you may enter as many versions of the same story as you feel are relevant to illustrate how it meets the criteria.

If you are submitting a long-running investigation or series, please choose just FIVE stories that are representative of the entire work. You may use your background statement – up to 500 words – to explain the background, the context, how the story unfolded and what happened next.

Please do not enter more than five stories. The judges will assess only the first five.

Unfortunately, no. We work with deadlines. You’ve got nearly five weeks for this one. If you start early, you won't be late.

If you feel you have an exceptional case (and we mean exceptional), and your editor agrees, please contact Lucinda Duckett on (02) 9288 3125 or duckettl@newsltd.com.au If you can avoid the risk, don’t take it.

Yes, provided you work exclusively for News Limited. Unfortunately, casuals, contributors and freelancers are not eligible. Former employees cannot enter, even if we published their work in the eligible period. If you feel you have a special or unusual case, please contact Lucinda Duckett on (02) 9288 3125 or at duckettl@newsltd.com.au

Finalists will be announced nationally on October 3. In some divisions, your editor may gather staff to make the announcement. In most, you will hear the news when it is posted via email and on notice boards.