News Contest

CONTEST DEADLINE: The deadline to enter is Dec. 5, 2025.

CONTEST PERIOD: The contest period is for work published between Nov. 16, 2024 through Nov. 15, 2025.

ELIGIBILITY: Full-time or part-time regular employees of newspapers and online publications, or regular contributors or freelancers to active organizations that were members of the SCPA during the contest period are eligible to enter. A contestant must have been a regular employee or contributor during the period the entry was published. Contestants may enter regardless of physical location, i.e. out-of-state design centers are eligible. Organizations that became members of SCPA during the contest period may submit contest entries published after their application date. All entries must have been published in a member’s print or digital edition, specialty publication (including special sections, magazines and other print products produced by newspaper) or on a website, app, social media page or personal social media account associated with news organization.

LOG-IN CREDENTIALS: Each member editor will receive an email from SCPA in mid-October with your organization’s log in credentials and a copy of the rules. Reporters and other staffers should get the log-in credentials from their editor. If additional staffers should be set up with log-in credentials, please let us know.

CONTEST DIVISIONS:

• DIVISION A: Large daily newspapers and Division A online publications
• DIVISION B: Midsize daily newspapers
• DIVISION C: Small daily newspapers
• DIVISION D: Large weekly and monthly newspapers and Division D online publications
• DIVISION E: Midsize weekly and monthly newspapers
• DIVISION F: Small weekly and monthly newspapers
• DIVISION G: Associate and Individual Members
• DIVISION H: Collegiate undergraduate enrollment of 10,000 or more
• DIVISION I: Collegiate undergraduate enrollment less than 10,000

Your division will auto-fill in the digital contest platform after you select your organization.

View SCPA members by division, as well as how each division is determined.

Active member news organizations are allowed to compete in a larger division. If you are interested, contact SCPA before submitting entries.

FEES/PAYMENT: Each entry in the News Contest is $9. Each entry in the Associate & Individual Member Contest is $20. Each entry in the Collegiate Contest is $5. On the Entry Report page, you will see a breakdown of all of the entries that are being submitted for your news organization. No total entry fees will be displayed. Instead, SCPA will ensure that all of your entries are correct and contact the editor with an invoice that can be paid by check or online by credit card.

A-MARK PRIZE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM IN SOUTH CAROLINA: Investigative reporters are trained to follow the money, but it takes resources to follow the money. That’s why the South Carolina Press Association and the A-Mark Foundation have created a new $15,000 cash prize for S.C. reporters and their newsrooms.

• First place: $5,000 for the journalist(s) and $2,500 to the news organization
• Second place: $3,000 for the journalist(s) and $1,500 to the news organization
• Third place: $2,000 for the journalist(s) and $1,000 to the news organization

The A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism is open to all journalists and all news organizations in South Carolina, including newspapers, broadcast outlets and online news publications. The A-Mark Foundation is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in 1997. View full criteria and details here.

CENTER FOR INTEGRITY IN NEWS REPORTING AWARD OF EXCELLENCE – SOUTH CAROLINA: The South Carolina Press Association is thrilled to announced the funding of a new award that will recognize the best example of impartial, objective and fair news reporting in the Palmetto State. The overall statewide winner will receive a $5,000 prize. View more details and criteria.  

AWARDS PRESENTATION: 2025 News Contest awards will be presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting & Awards on March 6, 2026, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Collegiate contest awards will be presented at the Collegiate Meeting & Awards on March 27, 2026, at the Collegiate Meeting in Columbia.

NEED HELP? Call Jen Madden at (803) 750-9561 or email us.