Photojournalism Guidelines
- Each university may submit two entrants’ work per competition.
- Photo entrants do not have to be journalism majors to enter the photo competitions as long as they are
undergraduates attending a university with an ACEJMC-accredited journalism program or are recent
graduates of said program. - Spring, summer or fall 2024 graduates may enter the 2024-2025 competitions but would not be eligible to participate in the 2025 Championship.
- All photo entries must be appropriate to the competition in which they are submitted and must have been made by the entrant before graduation.
- One photograph from each entry must have been published in print or online or both during the time period designated to each competition.
- If the entry is from a professional publication, the editor must certify in writing that the photo is the
entrant’s work. - Photos approved for a yearbook not yet published are also acceptable if an administrator verifies the photo’s use in the publication.
- An entrant who qualifies for the Championship after photo I, may not enter photo II.
- An entrant who has won first place in the Photojournalism Championship is not eligible to compete in future photo competitions.
- An entry submitted once may not be resubmitted in any other competition or in any other competition year.
This competition is journalism. The content may not be digitally altered significantly beyond standard
optimization as in cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color and contrast, etc.
It is not permissible to alter the basic reality of a photograph.
No removal or insertion of objects from the photo.
No cloning pixels to create a new image or add to an image.
No radical color changes.
How to Enter
- NEW: Competition entries are submitted through the online application by a school administrator.
- Details are sent to all participating journalism schools. Login codes are provided by the program office.
- To receive information about the program, please contact Program Director Jan Watten:
jwatten@hearstfdn.org.
Photo Competitions
Photojournalism I: News and Features
An entry consists of a minimum of four images (at least two news and two features) and a maximum of eight
images.
News: breaking news, general news or news photos relating to sporting events.
Features: features, portraits, sports, documentary photography.
All photographs must have been taken during the following time frame and one image must have been
disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2023 through November 12, 2024.
DEADLINE: Entries must be received by November 12, 2024.
Photojournalism II: Picture Story/Series – Visual Journalism
Each entry must include one picture story/series (still images) with up to fifteen images on any subject.
Optional: entrant may include a video that contains the images submitted in the picture story, not to exceed 60 seconds.
Nat sound or dialog is acceptable, but not necessary.
All photographs must have been taken during the following time frame and one image must have been
disseminated in print or online or both from September 1, 2023 through February 11, 2025.
DEADLINE: Entries must be received by February 11, 2025.
National Photojournalism Championship
This event is open to the two first-place winners in photo I and photo II (unless graduated the previous year) and three “at large” finalists with combined or individual high points from comps I and II.
Dates: May 31 – June 6, 2025
Judging
Photojournalism entries are judged based on the following criteria:
- Photographic quality
- Visual storytelling
- Versatility
- Consistency
- Human interest
- News value
- Originality
- Editing
- Writing
- Reporting
