Spring Journalism Contest
The Iowa High School Press Association’s Spring Journalist Contests honors exceptional student work across Iowa.The annual competition features three components: Spring Newspaper Contest, “Of the Year” Awards, and News Teams of the Year Contest. Scroll down for full details of the Spring Contest, Of the Year awards, and News Teams of the Year.
The Spring Newspaper Contest highlights excellence in five disciplines:
- Writing–Reporting & Opinion
- Photography
- Art, Illustration, Design
- Online
- General
In addition to the Spring Contest categories, students may also compete for “Of the Year” awards, which include:
- Writer of the Year
- Photographer of the Year
- Designer of the Year
- Videographer of the Year
- Opinion Writer of the Year
View IHSPA 2025 Spring Contest Results.
Contest period:
All work must have been published or posted between March 15, 2025 and March 15, 2026 by current students of IHSPA member schools.
Deadlines:
Contest opens February 13, and the entries must be submitted online by 11:00 pm CST on April 1. No hard copy will be accepted.
School size classification:
The news contests are distinguished by three major size classifications – small, medium and large school – based on enrollment. To achieve similar-sized competition pools, IHSPA uses a system to classify enrollment therefore indicate your 9-12 official enrollment. When all the entries have arrived the size classes will be determined by dividing those entered into thirds.
There is not a separate contest for those papers publishing in a magazine, newspaper, or one-page insert. All schools are put in classes by size only.
How to Enter:
Go to the BetterBNC platform using this link. Then select the 2026 IHSPA Spring Journalism Contests.
Here are instructions for first time users of the Better BNC platform for entries.
Entry fees:
$2 per entry.
Schools are allowed to enter up to five entries in each category.
When you have submitted your last entry on the contest website, go to the Manage Entries portion and follow the links to tally your bill. You will then be directed to the IHSPA online store to pay your contest entry fees. Please choose Spring Journalism Contest at the IHSPA online store. Your entry will be considered complete when payment is made.
| Discipline | Category | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Art & design | Editorial Cartoon/comic strip | Student produced cartoons that work with a story or stand alone. It can be produced by hand or on a computer. All art must be original work by the artist. |
| Art & design | Illustration or Art | Student produced art or drawings that work with a story or stand alone. It can be produced by hand or on a computer. All art must be original work by the artist. Do not enter cartoons or comic strips in this category. |
| Art & design | Infographic | Information presented in a graphic presentation that usually includes graphs, numbers, charts, and descriptions. Only submit one version – either print or a link. |
| Art & design | Magazine РMultiple Page Design | A multiple-page design from a magazine publication. Strong entries will use powerful graphics, images, and headlines to grab the audience’s attention. |
| Art & design | Magazine, One Page Design | Any cover or single page design in a magazine publication. Strong entries will use powerful graphics, images, and headlines to grab the audience attention. |
| Art & design | Newspaper, Multiple page Design | A multiple page design from a newspaper usually the double-truck or the two center pages. Strong entries will use powerful graphics, images, and headlines to grab the audience attention. |
| Art & design | Newspaper‚ One Page Design | A single page design from a newspaper publication. Strong entries will use powerful graphics, images, and headlines to grab the audience‚Äôs attention. |
| General | Ads | Any advertisement created by students to promote a business or event is eligible. Entries will be judged on creativity, professional and appropriate display or design and reader appeal. The advertisement must run in a student publication, and it may appear in broadcast, print or online. |
| General | Entertainment | Video (url link) or print (pdf) entries that engage the audience creatively. Entries will be judged on production quality, originality, entertainment value, and audience engagement. |
| Photo | Feature Photo | A photo that is used with a feature story. These can be a variety of different shots, have Photoshop effects and possibly be staged environmental portraits. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Photo | News Photo | A photo that is of a newsworthy event that captures the moment, emotion, or scene. The photo must not be staged or have any effects or alterations. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Photo | Photo Story | A collection of photos that tell a story with well written captions. This collection of photos can stand on its own without a written story or accompany a story. The story may appear in print or online. – Submit only one version |
| Photo | Sports Feature Photo | A photo of a sporting event. Great photos capture decisive moments with clarity and usually contain strong emotions. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Photo | Sports Action Photo | A photo of a sporting event. Great photos capture decisive moments with clarity and usually contain strong emotions. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Photo | Environmental Portrait | Posed images of one or more individuals taken in their natural surroundings to provide insight into their work, interests or personality. |
| Online | Multimedia story – Feature | The feature story should use a variety of elements including written text, photos, videos, audio, infographics and interactive elements. A great multimedia story should be well designed, have a wide range of content that could fall into the category of feature, in-depth news or long form journalism. Opinion stories will not be considered in this category. Judges will reward stories that demonstrate a spirit of experimentation by taking risks and trying new things. |
| Online | Multimedia story – News | The in-depth story should use a variety of elements including written text, photos, videos, audio, infographics and interactive elements. A great multimedia story should be well designed, have a wide range of content that could fall into the category of feature, in-depth news or long form journalism. Opinion stories will not be considered in this category. Judges will reward stories that demonstrate a spirit of experimentation by taking risks and trying new things. |
| Online | Multimedia story – Sports | The sports story should use a variety of elements including written text, photos, videos, audio, infographics and interactive elements. A great multimedia story should be well designed, have a wide range of content that could fall into the category of feature, in-depth news or long form journalism. Opinion stories will not be considered in this category. Judges will reward stories that demonstrate a spirit of experimentation by taking risks and trying new things. |
| Online | Podcasting | Submit links to audio podcasts or internet radio shows. Podcasts should be from 5 to 30 minutes in length, and may contain interviews, non-copyrighted music, and strong student voices. Top podcast entries will be judged on originality, organization, quality interviews, and show graphics or branding. |
| Online | Social Media Promotion | Use of social media platforms for promoting traffic to an online site, broadcast or print news publication or to promote the sale of the yearbook. Collect social media examples using an online content-curation tool or by capturing screen shots with links to create a portfolio. Number of Entries: One entry per IHSPA member school. Submission: Website URL link to portfolio or PDF portfolio. Do not submit both. |
| Online | Social Media Reporting | Coverage using social media platforms for reporting, updating and engaging with the school community. Collect social-media examples using an online content-curation tool or by capturing screen shots with links to create a portfolio. Number of Entries: One entry per IHSPA member school. Submission: Website URL link to portfolio or PDF portfolio. Do not submit both. |
| Online | Video News Show | For this contest, digital entries only are accepted. Submit direct URLs to the online site or a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo. The video news show includes a broadcast TV news show including anchors, a script and cuts to news, sports and/or feature package(s). Judges will focus on the following areas: scriptwriting and transitions, professional on-air presence, coverage and content, writing and reporting, leadership, editing and graphics. |
| Online | Video story | Judges will be looking for video stories that have high interest to high school students, contain more than two interviews where the audience can clearly hear the interviews, uses multiple camera angles, doesn’t have shaky camerawork, doesn’t use copyrighted material, uses natural sound, uses footage effectively, has good lighting, interesting backgrounds, uses narration by the reporter and effective editing that helps tell the story. |
| Online | Web Design | Judges will look for a clean design that has a unique image header, little or no white space, images sized to fit posts correctly, has a customized favicon, images are original, and is easy to navigate. Emphasis will be placed on the home page. Top sites will be mobile friendly and try to reach the high school audience through interesting and effective design. |
| Online | Interactive Graphic | Allows reader to navigate through an informational graphic to engage with the information. Popular formats include factoids, lists, quizzes, bar charts, line charts, pie charts, tables, ratings, timelines, step-by-step guides, diagrams and maps. |
| Online | Single Web Story Design | Design that uses powerful graphics, images and headlines to grab the readers’ attention. The design helps tells the story. |
| Online | Online Innovation | This category recognizes the importance of engaging audiences in the digital age and awards creativity, ingenuity, and/or innovation. Winning entries will show non-traditional additions to the website and might include: data visualization, social media integration, the use of augmented reality, accessibility and inclusivity, innovative interview formats, or innovative design. |
| Writing | Column/Opinion | An opinion piece that represents one writer’s stand on a local issue that the school or community is facing. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Writing | Feature Story | Exploration of a topic, event or person. It focuses on human interest, and has a high level emotional interest. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Writing | In-Depth News | Stories that probe beyond the normal five Ws and H that are based on research and extensive interviewing. The story may appear in print or online. Winning entries in the past have localized national issues and have shown how they impacted students on a local level. |
| Writing | News Story: School/Local | Entries for this category should cover an event or issue that is having a strong impact on the school or local community. Stories should include objective news reporting, while containing a high level of newsworthiness, factual information, multiple sources and relevance to high school students. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Writing | Personality Profile | A story that focuses on a single person and develops the story around their conflicts, successes and struggles. The story may appear in print or online. |
| Writing | Reviews | An opinion piece that serves as a consumer guide for readers, addressing the question, “Is this thing worth my time and/or money?” in a creative and clear way. Reviews of books, movies, video games, restaurants, TV shows, music, etc. are eligible. Entries are judged on timeliness, evidence of topic knowledge, writing style, originality and reader interest. The piece may appear in print or online. |
| Writing | Sports Story: Game or Season Recap | Entries for this category should cover the big game or a sports team’s season. Entries should include multiple sources including athletes, and coaches. Strong writing includes detailed descriptions that show and don’t tell reader what happened during the games. |
| Writing | In-depth Sports Story | Stories that probe beyond the normal five Ws and H that are based on research and extensive interviewing. The story may appear in print or online. Winning entries in the past have investigated issues athletes are dealing with in their sport from recruiting to concussions. |
| Writing | Health and Science | Stories that investigate and explore issues surrounding health and/or science topics. Story packages in this category are welcome from all media platforms (print, broadcast, online). |
| Writing | Social Justice Reporting | With a focus on equity and inclusion (winning stories in the category can have a focus on racial or gender issues), story packages in this special category are welcome from all media platforms (print, broadcast, online). |
| Writing | Staff Editorial | An opinion piece that represents the viewpoint of the staff on a current issue. Great pieces take a clear stand and provide solutions for change. The story may appear in print or online. |
Of the Year Awards highlights the top students in five categories: Writer of the Year, Designer of the Year, Videographer of the Year, Photographer of the Year, Opinion Writer of the Year.
To enter this IHSPA contest, the student must have created their work for a school newspaper, magazine, website or yearbook between March 15, 2025 and March 15, 2026.
Submission Requirements:
Create an online portfolio that includes five work samples of a single student. Include the date of publication and name of the publication where the work appeared or will appear for yearbook contestants.
Contestant’s school must be an IHSPA member.
Judging Criteria:
Judges will evaluate the effectiveness of the student’s coverage of an event or people in a school or community.
Writer of the year, Designer of the year, Videographer of the year and Photographer of the year competitions are open to all grades.
We will honor first, second, and third place in these competitions. There are no school size classes in these contests.
| Instructions | |
| Photographer of the Year | Create an online portfolio that includes five photos including caption and date of publication and name of the publication in which the photo appeared. |
| Writer of the Year | Create an online portfolio that includes five writing samples, indicate date of publication and name of the publication in which the article appeared. Only student publications are allowed. |
| Videographer of the Year | Create an online portfolio that includes five news video samples, indicate date of publication and name of the publication in which the article appeared. Only student publications are allowed. |
| Designer of the Year | Create an online portfolio that includes five design samples, indicate date of publication and name of the publication in which the article appeared. Only student publications are allowed. Works for yearbooks are eligible. |
| Opinion Writer of the Year | Create an online portfolio that includes five opinion samples, indicate date of publication and name of the publication in which the article appeared. Only student publications are allowed. Works for yearbooks are eligible. |
How to Enter:
The applicant must create a website that hosts the portfolio. Most questions can be answered by viewing the JEA website. This is similar to the Journalist of the Year entry. Specific instructions about how to do this can be found at this link.
While this is not a JEA contest, we are following their entry strategy.
Review these instructions on how to create a journalism website.
Once the website has been built use the Better Newspaper Contest platform to enter. The website will begin accepting entries on February 13, 2026.
Deadline: April 1, 2026 at 11:00 pm CST.
Entry fees:
$2 per entry.
Once you have completed all your entries, you will pay the bill online. Entries aren’t considered complete until payment is completed. To pay online, please choose Spring Journalism Contest at the IHSPA online store
IHSPA member schools are automatically entered into this competition when submitting to the Spring Journalism Contest. Your publication is awarded points for first, second, third and honorable mention in the categories of Writing, Photography, General and Art/Illustration/Design and Web. Points are awarded in each of the school size classifications. Consider entering more to improve your chances.
Schools accumulating the top five points in each size class will be honored as IHSPA All-Iowa News Team Finalists. These awards will be given in the spring. (We will not be labeling these first, second, etc.)
The 15 schools achieving IHSPA All-Iowa News Teams Finalists designation are encouraged to submit three complete editions of the publication and the link to the publication website to compete for the five IHSPA All-Iowa News Teams awards.
This will provide the opportunity to submit work from the spring term. The schools will submit three complete editions (one from fall, one from spring and one editor’s choice). The submissions must be mailed and must arrive in the IHSPA office by June 2, 2025 to be considered.
This award will be revealed at the fall conference. There will be one winner from Class A, one from Class B, one from Class C and 2 judge’s choice.
The judging rubric will focus on quality over quantity.
Can there be more than one author listed for a story?
– Yes
How many entries per category are allowed?
– Five with the exception of the Social Media category, where the effectiveness of your socials are being judged as a group. Submit all social media sites that you utilize.
I can’t log into my BetterBNC, what do I do?
– Email Erin Goss ([email protected]) for assistance