Contest Guidelines
Eligibility:
The competition is open to all IBNA dues-paying members employed at any electronic media facility in Iowa and adjacent markets serving Iowa audiences, and to students who are from Iowa or are attending an Iowa-based college/university.
– An IBNA member may “share” his/her eligibility with non-members at the station/school.
– There is no limit to the number of entries which may be submitted from a single individual/organization.
– Stations may submit additional written materials explaining their entries; for example, station resources, special circumstances to help put the entry in context, etc.
All entries must have aired/appeared during calendar year 2025. All entries must be submitted as they aired/appeared, without later editing (except compilations).
– Winners will be notified via e-mail, with specific awards/placings announced at the annual IBNA convention.
– The IBNA Board has instructed judges to select first, second and third place award winners in each category, whenever possible.
Divisions/Fees:
Radio (Professional): There us now one radio division. Fees: $17.00 per entry. There is no limit on entries per category, except Overall Excellence, which has a limit of one entry per station.
Television (Professional): There are two television divisions: small market and large market. Large markets are defined as stations with primary service areas of Des Moines/Ames, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, and the Quad Cities, as well as networks/news services. Any other city of license is considered a small market. Fees: $22.00 per entry. There is no limit on entries per category, except Overall Excellence, which is limited to one entry per station.
Student Radio and Television Entries: All student radio and television entries, regardless of college or university size, are in the same division. Best Newscast and Best Sportscast can be entered for any day. All other rules for professional radio and television entries apply; the student entry fees, are $10 for TV, and radio.
Entry Submission
- TV entries must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo and the hyperlinks to the story sent with the entry.- Radio Entries may be directly uploaded to RockOurAwards.com by the entrant.
- It is the responsibility of the entrant to make sure all links are “live” with full audio (if appropriate) and video and that the entry can be downloaded; judges will be instructed to ignore any entry with a “dead” link without further notice to the entrant or refund of entry fees.
- Entrants can include anchor lead-ins to stories (either within the audio/video, or in writing) and give the judges facts important to the story in writing; this additional written material may be uploaded as a .doc or .pdf OR entrants may use the “Comments” box on the entry form.
- Those who enter the IBNA News Awards Contest agree to allow IBNA to use excerpts from their work in an awards video to be shown at the annual convention, and later to be made available to members and educational institutions, and for promotion of IBNA generally.
NOTE: Entries submitted without the name of a current year dues-paying IBNA member on the entry form, or submitted without entry fees, are not eligible.
- -Entry fees are payable ONLY via credit/debit cards through a PayPal by using the “My Billing” tab on the RockOurAwards website. Entries are not considered ‘submitted’ until fees are paid. – When completing the entry form, designate the entry title and names of the journalists involved.
Categories:
1. SPOT NEWS COVERAGE – A recorded or live report of a breaking story, not a pre-planned event. Criteria include clarity, editing, scripting, delivery, thoroughness, speed with which the story is covered, ability to place the audience at the scene, and indication to the audience of the significance/consequences of the event. The entry can include details of when the story broke, how soon after that the entry aired, what reports followed, etc. Compilation of same-day coverage is allowed.
2. FEATURE – A single story aired with the intent to provide relief from the impact of hard news stories. Criteria include human interest, delivery, production values, and the ability to evoke audience emotion. (“Hard news” features should be entered in another category, such as general reporting.)
3. IN-DEPTH/SERIES – An expanded report or series that provides background and understanding of a specific news event or issue. Entries should go beyond the traditional spot news story.
4. PUBLIC AFFAIRS – A single program or a series of programs that address one or more issues of importance to the community and, by providing information or advocating action, helps the community understand or deal with the issue(s). Written background information on the issues should be provided to aid the judges. Audience or community feedback as a result of the story can also be attached.
5. FARM AND AGRIBUSINESS – A single story or series on one topic that demonstrates the station’s commitment to reporting on farm and/or agribusiness issues. Entry should not include market reports.
6. SPORTS COVERAGE – Coverage of sports figures or events, but not play-by-play. Entries should be reports that give the audience an insight into the person or event.
7. SPORTS PLAY-BY-PLAY- Locally originated coverage of athletic contests. An entire game should not be submitted. The focus is on the play-by-play description of the game Criteria include flexibility, vividness and enthusiasm. Compilation entries are encouraged; a compilation should not exceed 20 minutes. “Highlight” shows should be entered in the Sports Coverage category. For broadcasts on over-the-air, terrestrial radio stations or online stream.
8. POLITICAL COVERAGE – Coverage of politics. Entries should be reports that give meaning to the issues and the candidates, or breaking coverage of importance. Election day coverage should include information on the candidates, the implications for the results for listeners and viewers. A compilation of coverage should not exceed 20 minutes.
9. GENERAL REPORTING – A general news story. It should not be spot news, but this category is designed for “hard news, instead of “feature” stories. Example: The firing of a key government official would be spot news. The background reasons for the firing, the subsequent lawsuits or other information pertaining to the firing would be general reporting.
10. BEST NEWSCAST – IBNA designates “contest days” each year, with notice given to stations. Enter ONLY newscasts aired on those designated days. A station may submit multiple entries in this category. Newscasts are judged on the presentation and interaction of the anchor/anchors the writing, sound and video used to tell the stories in the newscasts. Local story content is the priority. While entries may include national/international material supplied by networks, judges are instructed to disregard such stories in their evaluation.
The contest days will be listed on this website.
11. BEST SPORTSCAST – IBNA designates “contest days” each year. Enter ONLY from sportscasts aired on those designated days. A station may submit multiple sportscasts. Sportscasts are judged on the presentation and interaction of the anchor/anchors, the writing, sound and video used to tell the stories in the sportscasts. Local story content is the priority. While entries may include national/international material supplied by networks, judges are instructed to disregard such stories in their evaluation.
12. NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY – Video which may be part of a news assignment, or a feature aired primarily for photographic quality. Criteria include quality, editing, imagination, impact on the viewer, and the ability to tell a story visually. Compilation entries are not allowed.
13. OVERALL EXCELLENCE – A compilation, not to exceed 20 minutes, demonstrating the station’s commitment to high journalistic ideals, commitment to community and ability to cover a variety of issues along with the big story.
14. Podcast – A podcast must cover local topics that aired in 2022. Must show ability to report on an issue or issues impacting the local community.
Here are the winners from the 2024 contest:
Here are the results from the 2023 contest.
IBNA winners 2023
————————————————————————————————————
Here are the results for the 2022 news contest for entries that aired in 2021: IBNA Contest Results 2022
Membership renewal information:
IBNA annual memberships expire in January. Membership cannot be renewed on the contest site. To renew your IBNA Membership, please go to the membership page of this website and fill out the form and pay on this website.
.