The Jewish Scholastic Press Association is now accepting entries for the 2022 Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards, deadline Feb. 20, 2022, for work published during the calendar year 2021.

JSPA will award a first-, second- and third-place certificate in each category. A Grand Prize in Jewish Scholastic Journalism will then be selected from among the first-place winners.  The winner will be awarded a personal recommendation from the American Jewish Press Association for a journalism internship near their home.

Winning entries will be presented via live webcast in March and published on the JSPA website. Click here to enter the contest.

Please be careful to follow journalism best practices, and do not submit first-person or opinion articles in the news and feature categories.

We’re pleased to announce this year’s awards judging team:

·    Jen Bladen, MJE, Adviser to the award-winning Harvard-Westlake yearbook Vox Populi and middle school newsmagazine The Spectrum
·    Susan Freudenheim, former Executive Editor of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
·    Leila Miller, Mexico City correspondent, Los Angeles Times
·    Kathleen Neumeyer, Dow Jones News Fund Distinguished Journalism Adviser, CSPA Gold Key recipient, and former adviser to the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on February 20.  Click here to see last year’s winners.

CONTEST CATEGORIES

• Category 1: News reporting on Jewish communities, religion, education, institutions, activism, culture, leaders or personalities. NOTE: First-person and/or opinion articles will not be accepted in this category.

• Category 2: Feature reporting on Jewish communities, religion, education, institutions, activism, culture, leaders or personalities.

• Category 3: News and feature reporting on current events involving Israel. NOTE: First-person and/or opinion articles will not be accepted in this category.

• Category 4: News or feature reporting on interreligious or intercultural events. NOTE: First-person and/or opinion articles will not be accepted in this category.

• Category 5: Ongoing reporting on any subject in Category 1, 2, 3 or 4. Ongoing reporting means at least two stories on two different days, covering a story that is evolving with additional facts or occurrences. NOTE: First-person and/or opinion articles will not be accepted in this category.

• Category 6: Opinion: Non-first-person opinion on any Jewish or Israel-related story. This category would encompass unsigned editorials.

• Category 7: Opinion: First-person opinion or first-person experience regarding Judaism, Jewish culture or identity, or Israel, or any Jewish or Israel-related story.

• Category 8: Photojournalism: Photograph attached to any Jewish or Israel-related story.

• Category 9: Layout, design, illustration or infographic attached to any Jewish or Israel-related story, one page or multiple pages.

• Category 10: Video or podcast reporting of any Jewish or Israel-related story.

ELIGIBILITY: All submissions must be the work of high school students, and published in an ongoing news publication in print or online from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2021.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received by Feb. 20, 2022.

SUBMISSION: All entries, including those published on paper only, must be submitted electronically. Entries published online should be entered as URLs on the entry form.  Entries published only in print may be submitted as PDFs or photographs of the print pages.  Entries submitted as text only (in Word or text editing software) will not be considered.

LIMIT: There is a limit of five articles per category per school.

PAYMENT: Entries are $5 each. Advisers or staff submitting as a “Publication” may submit up to 20 entries free, with additional entries $5 each. Entrants submitting as “Individuals” may submit up to 5 entries free, with additional entries $5 each. Payment is via Paypal on the contest link.

If you have questions about entries or payment, please contact [email protected].

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST.