from staff
The Florida Bar is seeking entries for its 52nd Annual Media Awards Competition. This year, for the first time, entries will be accepted electronically at the Florida Bar Web site, www.floridabar.org. No entries will be accepted in any other form and the deadline is March 2.
Traditionally, the awards are presented during the Bar’s annual reporter’s workshop in October. That may change this year.
“We are having a media law conference in Tampa in late spring or early summer and we’d like to have the awards then,” said Bar spokeswoman Francine Walker. “If we can work it out, we’ll have it then. If not, we’ll have it at the reporter’s workshop. Having it during the media law conference makes sense.”
The Florida Bar Media Awards are presented annually in recognition of outstanding journalism. Qualified entries consist of a story or series of stories that highlight the system of law and justice as it affects the people of Florida. News media that have made a significant effort to inform the public about the delivery or quality of justice are invited to enter.
Work submitted for consideration may include news stories, series, features, editorials, documentaries, columns, special sections — anything produced by a news organization — that deal with law and lawyers, courts, law enforcement, the delivery of legal services, the effectiveness of the justice system, the work of the organized Bar or related matters. Entries must have been published or aired between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of last year.
Content of entries may be current or historical, objective or analytical in nature. Special consideration may be given to entries that demonstrate courage or tenacity on the part of the news medium or the journalists who produced the entry.
All media organizations, large or small, are encouraged to enter. Judging criteria are not based on the greatest amount of resources used, but whether those resources available are used well and to the fullest in the tradition of outstanding journalism. Awards will be presented in four categories:
· newspapers and other periodicals with circulation over 50,000
· newspapers and other periodicals with circulation up to 50,000
· television
· radio
Last year’s winners for publication over 50,000 in circulation were the Florida Times-Union and the Miami Herald. The Villages Daily Sun won for publications under 50,000 circulation, while WTSP-TV in St. Petersburg won the television award and WUSF in Tampa won the radio award. Honorable mention went to the Daytona Beach News-Journal and the Daily Business Review.
For additional visit www.floridabar.org or contact Creston Nelson-Morrill, event coordinator, at (850) 561-5766.