Guidelines for Judges

Starting with the 2002 competition, the 66 judges now receive a set of guidelines developed by the National Newspaper Awards Board of Governors. They receive a general set of suggestions on how to proceed with judging and judges in each of the 22 categories receive more specific judging criteria related to their category.

General notes to Judges

Note: Not all elements apply to all stories. Each judging panel should determine which elements are most important to its category. The qualities of good writing, good leads, color, completeness, quotes, anecdotes are given needs for all entries. To quantify judging, judges can assign points for each category.

Idea:

• Significance (Was it worth reporter and reader spending time on?)
• Newsworthiness
• Timeliness
• Originality and creativity
• Humorous
• Initiative

Reporting:

• Depth and breadth
• Context and background
• Accuracy
• Fairness and balance
• Comprehensive, relevant sources (officials and real people)
• Detail that engages reader
• Answers readers questions
• Enterprise and effort

Writing:

• Language (precision of usage, elegance)
• Style, tone, mood (appropriate to content)
• Credibility/authority
• Compelling lead/opening
• Clarity
• Strong focus/theme – what is this story about?
• Structure and organization
• Effective anecdotes quotes and examples
• Narrative and description
• Accuracy and fairness
• Creativity/Risk-taking
• Reader interest

Overall impression:

• Excellent
• Good
• Indifferent

Judges Guidelines by Category

To view the guidelines for judges for individual categories, click on a link below.

Local Reporting

Guidelines for entrants
For excellence in local reporting for a single story or a series of related-subject articles (not more than five) by a journalist or team working for a newspaper of 30,000 average daily circulation or less. Submissions must include text, which may include news stories, features, columns, analyses. Audio, video and other multimedia elements may also be included. Up to two submissions per person or team.

Guidelines for judges
Local news matters greatly in the communities in which these smaller-circulation Canadian daily newspapers publish. This category is intended to open competition to those papers that must work with fewer resources (money and manpower) than larger-circulation dailies. You are asked to weigh the work of either a single dramatic story or a series or a campaign of up to five-related subject articles and/or multimedia content by an individual or team. To determine excellence in Local Reporting you might consider the following:

Short features
Some say it’s easier to write a long story than a short one. No necessarily. This category demands thoughtful compression and as such, recognizes the art of selection necessary to produce brief, literate, memorable stories that engage the reader. The scope of this material is wide-ranging, drawing from all areas of the newspaper. This award is meant to honor a single piece of excellent short feature writing rather than a body of work. Prime consideration should be given to compelling, literate, brief writing with a timeless quality. To determine excellence in Short features you might consider the following:

• Is the subject original?
• Does this work provide new insight into news, trends or phenomena?
• Was creative thought and synthesis a factor?
• Is this work tightly-focussed, precise, clear and convincing? Does every word serve a purpose?
• Is this work well-organized around a central theme with a clear beginning, middle and end?
• Is language both simple and elegant, conveying grace and vividness?
• Does writing display cadence and rhythm? Is tone and mood a factor?
• Does this work both show and tell the reader about the subject at hand through revealing, well-chosen anecdotes, quotes and examples?
• Are colorful, tightly-edited quotes used to reveal voice and character?
• Does the writer use personally observed details to appeal to both the eye and ear?
• Is drama, emotion, excitement and/or conflict conveyed in human terms?
• Does this work draw on literary techniques such as simile and metaphor, suspense, irony and foreshadowing?
• Is this work creative and imaginative?
• Does this work interest and/or entertain the reader, inform the reader, and achieve its purpose?
• Does this story leave a strong impression?
• Is it entertaining

Long features
Prime consideration should be given to compelling, original and timeless work of high literary quality. You might also consider::

• Is the subject matter original? Does it deserve the space allotted to it?
• Does this work provide new insight into news, everyday events, trends or phenomena?
• Was creative thought and synthesis a factor?
• Does this work draw the reader into the story memorably?
• Is this work well-organized on a central theme with a clear beginning, middle and end?
• Is language simple and elegant, conveying grace and vividness?
• Does writing display cadence and rhythm? Is tone and mood a factor?
• Does this work both show and tell the reader about the subject through revealing anecdotes, quotes and examples?
• Is there imaginative appeal?
• Does this work leave a strong impression? Is it entertaining, worth your time?

Investigation
Investigation is a demanding kind of reporting, that can reveal matters of public importance which some may wish to keep secret. This category, (formerly called enterprise reporting) consistently receives some of the finest work done in Canadian daily newspapers each year. Enterprise and depth of research are primarily sought here and the difficulty of the endeavor should be given strong consideration. To determine excellence in Investigation you might consider the following:

• Was this work a worthwhile allocation of this newspaper’s resources – does the subject involve a matter of reasonable importance to the public?
• Is this a significant expose. Is the public interest or the rights of individuals t stake?
• Does this work emanate primarily from the initiative of the reporter/newspaper?
• Does this work expose secrets and/or wrongdoing?
• Does fact-gathering go beyond routine, drawing on computer databases, analysis, public records and authoritative (perhaps reluctant?) sources for its information?
• Were most sources on the record? Were anonymous sources used judiciously to present important information that could not have been obtained elsewhere?
• Did this work involve extensive enterprise to expose the subject at hand? What level of initiative, tenacity, and frustration went into gathering the information?
• Was there any personal risk involved?
• Does the work make complicated matters perfectly clear? Is it organized to carry readers through complicated findings?
• Does it explain, analyze and interpret information gathered for readers?
• Is this work written in a compelling manner that draws readers in and keeps them reading? Does it make the human impact of the matter clear?
• Is it accurate and fair?
• Did this work lead to social change, or improvement?

Editorials
Editorials are the soul of a newspaper. Editorials can be explanatory, descriptive or prescriptive. Editorial writing can be light or serious, formal or colloquial. In this category you are judging a body of work with entrants selecting three editorials representative of their work. Sustained quality is sought with clarity of style and sound reasoning primary considerations. To determine excellence in Editorials you might consider the following:

• Is quality sustained.
• Does the subject matter merit editorial treatment?
• Does this work put topics on the public agenda that might otherwise go unnoticed?
• Does this work help readers identify issues of importance and help them understand issues in new ways?
• Does research back up logical, well-reasoned arguments?
• Does this work speak with authority?
• Are compelling, thoughtful arguments made in a clear, concise and logical manner? Is a clear point of view put forward?
• Does this work spur reader response and encourage debate?
• Did this work lead to change or improvement?

International
International coverage brings the world to Canada’s newspaper readers, making the foreign understandable and significance. Compelling writing and enterprise in difficult situations are strong considerations here. To determine excellence in International submissions you might consider the following:

• Does this work involve matters of importance in world affairs as they relate to Canada?
• Is there a new insight on a widely reported international story?
• Does this work show enterprise to reveal causes and consequences of matters of importance to Canada outside its borders?
• Is there a balance of sources?
• Does initiative and tenacity show?
• Were there dangerous or difficult circumstances?
• Does a commanding depth of knowledge show?
• Is there adequate historical perspective?

Presentation
Presentation is a refinement of the former Layout category and is intended to honor excellence in the visual elements that draw readers into the newspaper. As a judge you will be faced with the entries consisting of a single layout (perhaps a partial page layout), or multi-page presentation. You will also be judging both broadsheet and tabloid presentations and each should be considered within the scope of its own possibilities and limitations. Originality and creative use of visual and text elements are key. You might also consider:

• Is the presentation imaginative? A judgment call, but if you discern pleasantly daring and startling qualities in a layout, it probably qualifies as imaginative.
• Does the design clearly convey the intended message and pull readers into the text?
• Do headlines impart drama and impact?
• Do text positioning, fonts, typography and weight work together to create eye appeal and balance?
• Are color, line and artistry used creatively?
• Do photos, drawings and graphs work with text to draw reader into the page?
• Was deadline pressure a factor (work for same-day newsbreak)?

Editorial cartooning
Editorial cartoons shoot straight to the heart of an issue. Sought here is originality, bite, humor and impact as well as quality of drawing. In this category entrants may enter one editorial cartoon or select three cartoons to represent a body of work. That means you can award top honors to one highly original, witty, cartoon or reward a cartoonist for the body of work submitted. To determine excellence in Editorial cartooning you might consider the following.

• Is sustained wit evident in all of the work?
• Is humor clever and biting? If satire is a factor, is it used effectively?
• Is the work original in both its message and style?
• Is a clear message conveyed?
• Is work outrageous (and is that justified)
• Is the cartoonist’s line and style consistent, distinctive?
• Are caricatures of personalities recognizable and effective?
• Does this work inform the reader, entertain the reader and achieve its purpose?

Breaking news
Breaking news demands beating the odds imposed by deadline. Sought here is superior coverage that immediately follows an event creating major deadline pressure. First to street, first on the wire and completeness is key. Resources available to the newspaper and its journalists should also be considered here. Consider the following:

• Is this work based on an original newsbreak rather than an ongoing development?
• Were there official constraints — police, military, bureaucrats, armed civilians?
• What deadline pressure was this work produced against? How did the reporter(s) and/or newspaper triumph over the tyranny of time?
• Did this work involve reporting in chaotic and unusual uncertainty?
• To what extent was resourcefulness and tenacity required in gathering information about this newsbreak?
• Was there any risk involved in reporting — any violence or threat of it?
• Does this work fully inform readers of what happened, its impact, consequences and importance? Are context and background provided?
• Did this coverage reveal aspects of the news missed by other media? Is a “scoop” involved?
• Is the work written to convey the drama of the situation using vivid, concrete details that reveal the human dimensions of the news?
• Do the facts easily endure second-day scrutiny?

Beats
Beats are the backbone of newsroom coverage. Sought here is sustained performance on a variety of topics covered within the beat rather than work on a specific story. Resources available to the reporter and newspaper are a factor. Consider the following:

• Does this portfolio provide evidence of sustained high quality?
• Is material important to readers?
• Is there a strong command of important, complicated issues?
• Is there evidence of trust and exclusivity with sources?
• Does enterprise show in revealing causes and consequences of matters of importance within the assigned beat?
• Did the reporter seek out both stakeholder sources and members of the community involved and affected to cover major aspects of the issue being covered?
• Is there strong evidence of the beat reporter’s initiative and tenacity?
• Does this work combine insider understanding with clear, jargon-free writing that appeals to a wider audience? Is it written for readers, not sources?
• Does this work anticipate and answer all of the reader’s question? Are background and context consistently provided?
• Is this work accurate and fair?
• Did this work lead to change?

Columns
Columnists are privileged in any newspaper, having earned the right to regularly give readers their thoughts and opinions. This category is one of the most difficult to judge because of the diversity in what can be submitted. There is no limit on subject matter. That means one incisive piece of invective could win, or at the other end of the scale, three related pieces that had a significant impact on a community. Also consider the following:

• If more than one column is submitted, is sustained quality evident?
• Does the columnist’s personality infuse the work attractively?
• Do the subjects the columnist chooses to focus on matter to the newspaper’s readers?
• Does the work spring from original, creative ideas?
• Do the columns inform, engage, persuade, educate, entertain or simply make readers laugh?
• Is a clear point of view put forward?
• Are opinions and arguments consistently backed by research and constructed in a logical, well-reasoned manner?
• Are columns written with style in an authentic, distinctive voice?
• Is there a superior command of language?
• Does this work spur readers’ responses or debate?

Business
Subject matter is wide-ranging –tyros, personalities, failures and successes, and trends of interest to readers appreciative of business and commerce, but not necessarily a part of it. Most have some awe of money. Entrants may choose to submit work that provides evidence of consistent excellence of coverage within a business beat, or excellence in business features or business columns. Consider the following:

• Does this work explicate complicated?
• Is enterprise in reporting and gathering to reveal causes and consequences within business and the economy?
• Is this work a significant expose?
• Is it balanced?
• Is there strong evidence of initiative and tenacity?
• Does this work combine strong insider understanding with clear, jargon-free writing ?
• Is it written for readers as much as trade?
• Does this work make the complex clearly comprehensible? Are business, financial and economic terms defined and explained for readers?
• If numbers are involved are they put in context for readers?
• Is this work accurate and fair?
• Does this work anticipate and answer all of the reader’s question? Are background and context consistently provided?
• Is the drama of business evident?

Sports
Sports produces some of the best-read stories in any daily newspaper, offering ,heroes, triumph, heartbreak, courage and failure. Sought here is compelling writing that delights a wide audience but also satisfies fans. Also consider the following:

• Does this work have appeal beyond sports fans?
• Does this work show enterprise, initiative, tenacity?
• Does a game story provide interpretation and analysis, showing how and why the game was won or lost and what the strategy was? Does it seek out and explain what was unique?
• Are both amateur and professional issues addressed?
• Does this work provide evidence of a relationship of trust and exclusivity with key stakeholder sources including athletes, coaches and owners?
• Does this work provide perspective and analysis and evidence of insider understanding?
• Is reader helped by well-told anecdotes and examples?
• Does the writing flesh out personalities, motives and mannerisms to create drama and provide meaning?
• Is drama, emotion, excitement and/or conflict conveyed in human terms, free of cliché and jargon? Are statistics put in context?
• Are background and context consistently provided?

Arts & Entertainment
Arts and entertainment coverse movies, music, television, books, dance and visual arts. Sought here is well-informed writing, showing knowledge of any arts discipline. It should, written in a compelling manner for an aficionado and general audience. The art of criticism may also be recognized by this award. But the range of story types in arts and entertainment will go beyond reviews to include profiles, features, trend pieces and news.

Consider the following:

• Does this work appeal to both aficionados and general readers?
• Does this work provide perspective and analysis and show evidence of insider understanding?
• Does it break new ground?
• Is a love or passion for the subject communicated to the reader?
• Are reviews knowledgeable, informed and fair?
• Are opinions and arguments clear and backed by research. Are they constructed in a logical, well-reasoned manner?
• Does the writing flesh out personalities, motives and mannerisms to create drama and provide meaning?
• Does this work exhibit intellectual breadth and an ability to relate arts and entertainment to the world at large?

Politics
Coverage of politics is central to the newspapers role in democracy, with newspapers providing much of the information Canadian citizens know about their politicians and governments. Public and private doings, actions and words of elected or publicly-appointed officials are grist for subject matter. Work here can come from any level of politics – municipal, provincial, national and international. Sought is evidence that provides evidence of consistent excellence of coverage within a political beat, or excellence in columns or features about politics. You might also consider:

• Is subject covered involve matters of importance to readers of this newspaper?
• Does it unveil examine and explain important, complicated issues
• Are the competing interests of politicians, governments, special interest groups and citizens?
• Does it hold elected and appointed officials accountable for their words and actions?
• Does this work show enterprise?
• Does it expose secrets and/or wrongdoing?
• Are stakeholder sources and those affected By the issues addressed?
• Does this work provide evidence of a relationship of trust and exclusivity with key stakeholder sources?
• Is there strong evidence of initiative and tenacity?
• Is there strong insider understanding. Is writing clear, jargon-free that appeals to a wider audience?
• If numbers are involved are they put in context for readers?
• Does this work draw in the community and encourage public debate?

Multimedia Feature
For excellence in online journalism on a single subject. This may include, but is not limited to, audio and visual elements in the form of photography, sound clips, video, animation, Flash, databases and text. Emphasis is on innovative ways of storytelling. A letter fully outlining origin and purpose of the online feature, as well as the work involved in creating it must accompany the submission. One submission per newspaper.

Guidelines for judges
The Multimedia Feature is the only NNA category that exclusively honours online journalism. Entries should be judged on their journalistic impact, not their technology.
Multimedia elements should rewarded for the way the medium was used to tell the story.
To determine excellence in Multimedia Feature projects you might consider the following:

• Does this subject matter to the readers of this newspaper—was it a worthwhile allocation of this newspaper’s resources?
• Are different multimedia elements – text, photos, video, audio, interactive graphics – used effectively to complement each other?
• Is the use of multimedia features innovative in terms of storytelling?
• Are the multimedia elements intuitive and easy to use for online readers?
• Does this work provide new or original insight into ongoing news, everyday events, trends or phenomena?
• Is this work well-organized around a central theme?
• Is this work creative and imaginative?
• Does this work leave a strong impression?

Explanatory work
This is not a category for features. Essentially, it is aimed at being an example of a valuable supplement to a news or feature opus which itself may not have winning legs. Emphasis will be on text but this may be supported with closely related art work. An Explanatory entry would not stand alone. Its main value is its auxiliary function. It will switch a light of understanding on a subject which may not have been considered in the original, or ever before and which may contain some taken-for-granted assumptions that are half right and half wrong. For example, a story about a horrendous auto crash at an intersection with timed stop lights and a bad reputation may invite an explanatory story on how such lights are timed in that sector of the city or throughout the city — How it’s done, who does it, the philosophy, the rationale (for releasing x-No. of cars at a time), the timing mechanics, the electronics, the costs, the weaknesses or strengths, the future. Another, more rarefied example: A sensational breakthrough news story on the “string” theory in science might be supported with an award-deserving explanation of strings within nuclei, within atoms, within molecules, within all matter — and what it means to science, engineering and, say, the woman car buyer — and be wondrous. This is new ground but old verities apply. Explanatory work shows readers how things work and why things happen. The subjects are limitless, deriving from all beats and all departments of the newspaper. This award is meant to honor a single piece of explanatory work. You might also consider:

• Does this work begin with the goal of making readers understand a difficult, complex or arcane topic?
• Is the subject matter significant and/or timely?
• Does the work indicate a strong command of subject matter and research?
• Is the writing free of jargon, euphemism vagueness and ambiguity?
• Are essential technical terms made fully understandable to readers?
• Does the work both show and tell, using examples, human interest and informative quotes to explain complex concepts and make the reader understand the subject at hand?
• Is the explanation handled creatively and imaginatively?
• Are background and context provided?
• Does work given you new understanding of the subject at hand?

Special project
Because of the volume of most special projects in a daily newspaper, great merit should be accorded editors who provide good shortcuts to understanding and absorption. Is there a good index of all material, text and pictures? Are there useful supporting graphics and pictures and charts and maps, etc? Is this illustration and design mere prettifying, or filler between text? Special projects provide a showcase for a newspaper’s best efforts at providing comprehensive coverage of a matter of vital interest to the newspaper and its readers. This award is intended to recognize the excellence of an entire package including articles, editorials, graphics, photography and presentation. Resources available to the newspaper and its journalists should also be considered here. To determine excellence in Special projects you might consider the following:

• Does this work address a matter vital to the readers of this newspaper—was it a worthwhile allocation of this newspaper’s resources?
• Does this work shed meaningful light on discussion and debate that affect readers?
• Does this work provide new understanding to an ongoing issue?
• Does this work involve extensive fact-gathering that goes well-beyond routine daily reporting, drawing on computer databases, public records and authoritative official sources for its information?
• Is this project organized and written to fully explain causes and consequences in human terms.
• Does this package utilize all resources at hand – writing (main and sidebars), graphics, photography and presentation to provide readers with varying entry points to an extensive amount of material?
• What obstacles did the newspaper face in producing this project?
• Is it accurate and fair?
• Did this work lead to change or improvement?
• Did this work draw in the community and encourage debate?
• Does package likely have a long shelf life?
• Does it have consequences beyond the parochial?

News photography
Good news photo judgment, instinct, creativity and skill will be basic demands, and the picture should communicate a story with impact and drama. Deadline pressure, difficulty of assignment and impact may also be key considerations. Work should represent good reflex skills, positioning, lighting and technical parameters. Entries supported by photographer’s comment on the gathering process are preferred to an editor’s testimonial. Images must not have been digitally altered beyond the traditional lightening, darkening and color balancing. Other considerations:

• Did the picture rate front page treatment? And if not, what compells your consideration of it?
• Is it a cliché picture?
• Is there an artificial set-up quality to it?
• How do you rank technically imprecise great news pix against perfect so-so news pix. For example, would an out-of-focus shot of Osama Bin Laden holding a two-day-old copy of this week’s NYT, outgun for awards consideration of a technical perfect shot of a tortured Canadian soldier? Eassentially, how much is technology part of judgment?
• An obvious effort in bringing elements of a breaking story together
• Significance of the event shot
• Composition and quick timing
• Exclusivity
• Imagination, drama
• Use of color

Feature photography
Feature entries are to showcase skills with to a single picture or a series of up to three images telling one story. Composition will be important. Pictures that reflect skill, creativity and careful planning, delivering visual delight, drama, strong human interest or a fresh view of an everyday scene should be favored. Contrived, cliché or set-up pictures are discouraged. Image quality that enhances the impact or aesthetics of the image will be an asset. Other considerations:

• Humor or views showing us as others see us
• Social or historical significance of the event shot
• Composition
• Set-up energy and anticipation of the shot or shots
• Images that have been digitally manipulated beyond normal lightening, darkening and color balance should not be considered.
• Did the pic warrant front page treatment?
• Was its play (size and placing), off front, adequate?

Sports photography
Entries are limited to a single sports picture or related series of up to three pictures. Work should have fleeting drama and strong impact, demonstrating the photographer’s reflex and skills. Good sports action news judgment, instinct, creativity and impact will be basic demands. Deadline pressure, difficulty of assignment and impact may also be factors. Work should represent good reflex skills, positioning, lighting and technical parameters. Entries supported by photographer’s comment on the gathering process is preferred to editor’s testimonial. Other considerations:

• An obvious effort in bringing elements of a breaking sports story together
• Sports significance of the event shot
• Capture of the competitive spirit, power and emotion of the athlete
• Composition and quick timing
• Exclusivity
• Imagination, drama
• Use of color
• Did pic migrate off sports to front page. Why not?
• Did it get large play in the sports section?
• Images that have been digitally manipulated beyond normal lightening, darkening and color balance should not be considered.

News feature photography
For years, photographers attending a news event have felt frustration when capturing an unplanned moment, particularly during routine events such as press conferences, election campaigns, and assorted gatherings. The introduction of News Feature Photography in 2007 allows photographers to avoid the problem of having to decide if a photo should be in News or Features. News Feature entries are to showcase skills with a single picture telling one story. Composition will be important. Pictures that reflect skill, creativity and careful planning, delivering visual delight, drama, strong human interest or a fresh view of an everyday scene should be favoured. Contrived, cliché or set-up pictures are discouraged. Image quality that enhances the impact or aesthetics of the image will be an asset. Other considerations:

• Humour or views showing us as others see us
• Social or historical significance of the event shot
• Composition
• Set-up energy and anticipation of the shot or shots
• Images that have been digitally manipulated beyond normal lightening, darkening and color balance should not be considered.
• Did the pic warrant front page treatment?
• Was its play (size and placing), off front, adequate