Why we participate in contest – Lisa Miller, New Century Press

What a year! Wait — it’s only September. To say the least, 2020 has been a challenge for newspapers. We crossed boundaries we didn’t even know existed. We discovered how to do business without a handshake. Has everything been a bed of roses? Absolutely not. Truthfully, we are still getting poked by thorns each day. …

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Contest Corner: How do I know what judges are looking for?

The Better Newspaper Contests are judged by members of other state press associations. Judging is a reciprocal arrangement; each year INA “trades” with another state press association. For the 2020 contests, judges will be members of the Virginia Press Association; in turn, INA members judged VPA’s contest entries. Because those judging INA members’ contest entries…

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Contest Corner: Follow entry instructions, win Convention-on-us!

Each year, starting on the Monday following the contest entry deadline, INA staff members begin the process of checking all entries to confirm they are prepared correctly. Newspapers are contacted to resolve any questions prior to the entries being judged, to ensure that all entries are judged fairly and properly.  INA newspapers submitted 3,335 entries…

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Accepting 2021 contest entries!

The Iowa Newspaper Association is excited to begin accepting entries for the 2021 Better Newspaper Contests. These contests, held annually, were developed to foster competition and quality among Iowa’s newspapers. To encourage participation, INA will again offer “coupons” for three free entries to newspapers who did not enter the 2020 contests. In addition, INA will…

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Contest Corner: Selecting and organizing entries

Jeff Grant, editor of the Sheldon N’west Iowa REVIEW, has watched the newspaper garner plenty of accolades over the years—17 Newspaper of the Year awards over the past four decades to be exact—and was kind enough to share how his team works together to choose what the newspaper will enter: The first thing we do…

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Contest season is here!

The time many INA members eagerly look forward to each year is almost here. Click here to view the Call for Entries for the 2021 Better Newspaper Contests.   While we know the contests are exciting for many of you, we also realize the work and effort put into the process by INA members is…

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FOI Council prevails in suit against sheriff

The Polk County Sheriff’s Department has agreed to release records in the fatal shooting of a Wisconsin motorist by a sheriff’s deputy. The county also agreed, going forward, that it would routinely release such records whenever its officers are involved in incidents that kill or seriously injure people. The agreement is in response to a…

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