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  • It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Sarah Doerner, IJEA’s longest-serving president. Sarah died Nov. 29 in Du Quoin at the age of 86. Services were held Dec. 7. We will be publishing a tribute to this great journalism educator in the coming days.
  • High school seniors! Get your portfolios ready for the 2025 Illinois Journalist of the Year Contest! Entries will be due Feb. 15.
  • The winners of the 2024 IJEA Yearbook Contest have been announced! Check out our article below for the full listing of honorees!
  • A big thank you to everyone who attended our 2024 Fall Conference, which took place Sept. 20 at Illinois State University. The sessions were amazing! Thank you to all of our presenters!
  • Advisers! Join IJEA today! Annual memberships and lifetime memberships are available. Use our online form or fillable PDF to join!
Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA

Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA

Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA

Calendar for 2016-17


 

ijea square icon2AUGUST 2016

Sunday, Aug. 21
• Illinois Journalism Education Association (IJEA) Executive Board meeting, IHSA headquarters, Bloomington

 


 

ijea square icon2SEPTEMBER 2016

Friday, Sept. 9
Early registration ends for IJEA Fall Conference

Friday, Sept. 16
IJEA Fall Conference, Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
IJEA Board of Directors meeting, Illini Union
Constitution Day

Monday, Sept. 19, to Friday, Sept. 23
Qualifying Exam for National Journalism Quiz Bowl

 


 

ijea square icon2OCTOBER 2016

Sunday, Oct. 2, to Saturday, Oct. 8
National Yearbook Week

Tuesday, Oct. 11
• Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Circle entries for summer/fall yearbooks and digital-only media must be postmarked

Thursday, Oct. 13
Journalism Education Association (JEA) Broadcast Adviser of the Year nominations due
JEA Yearbook Adviser of the Year nominations due
• Kettle Moraine Press Association (KEMPA) Fall Yearbook Critique submissions due

Friday, Oct. 14
• KEMPA Fall Conference, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Monday, Oct. 17, to Sunday, Oct. 23
Free Speech Week

Wednesday, Oct. 19
Early-bird registration ends for JEA/National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Fall Convention in Indianapolis.
Registration and online submissions for Indianapolis Fall Convention JEA Write-offs must be completed by 6 p.m. CST

 


 

ijea square icon2NOVEMBER 2016

Sunday, Nov. 1
• Quill and Scroll Yearbook Excellence Contest entries must be postmarked

Monday, Nov. 7
CSPA Fall Conference, Columbia University, New York City

Thursday, Nov. 10, to Sunday, Nov. 13
JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, Indianapolis

Friday, Nov. 11
Southern Illinois School Press Association (SISPA) Golden Dozen Yearbook entries must be postmarked

Sunday, Nov. 13, to Saturday, Nov. 19
American Education Week

Friday, Nov. 18
IJEA Yearbook Contest entries must be postmarked

 


 

ijea square icon2DECEMBER 2016

Tuesday, Dec. 13
JEA Diversity nominations due
JEA First Amendment Press Freedom nominations due
JEA Rising Star nominations due
JEA Teacher Inspiration nominations due

Thursday, Dec. 15
Bill of Rights Day

 


 

ijea square icon2JANUARY 2017

Friday, Jan. 13
Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association (NISPA) Yearbook Contest entries due
NSPA Magazine Pacemaker entries due
NSPA Online Pacemaker entries due
NSPA Yearbook Pacemaker entries due
• SISPA Best Story entries must be postmarked
• SISPA Blue Banner Newspaper entries must be postmarked
• SISPA Yearbook Contest entries must be postmarked

Sunday, Jan. 29
NISPA Newspaper Contest entries due
NISPA Online Media Contest entries due

 


 

ijea square icon2FEBRUARY 2017

Monday, Feb. 1
Illinois High School Association (IHSA) journalism tournament registration deadline for schools

Friday, Feb. 3
SISPA Advisers of the Year (newspaper and yearbook) nominations must be postmarked
• Quill and Scroll International Writing, Photo, Blog Contest entries must be postmarked
NOTE: The Quill and Scroll date has not yet been confirmed; it is based on last year’s deadline date.

Wednesday, Feb. 15
IJEA Illinois Journalist of the Year entries due

Sunday, Feb. 19, to Saturday, Feb. 25
Scholastic Journalism Week

Tuesday, Feb. 21
Illinois Woman’s Press Association (IWPA) High School Communications Contest entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 22
SISPA Winter Conference, Student Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)/JEA High School Essay Contest entries must be postmarked or uploaded

Friday, Feb. 24
Illinois Press Foundation (IPF) High School Mini-Grants Program requests due

Saturday, Feb. 25
IJEA Board of Directors meeting, 10 a.m., home of IJEA co-secretary Dan Kerns, Peoria
NOTE: This date has not yet been confirmed; it is based on last year’s meeting date.

Sunday, Feb. 26
NSPA Journalism Honor Roll entries due
NSPA Wikoff Scholarship for Editorial Leadership entries due

 


 

ijea square icon2MARCH 2017

Wednesday, March 1
IJEA Administrator of the Year nominations must be postmarked or emailed
IJEA Hall of Fame nominations must be postmarked or emailed
IJEA James A. Tidwell Award for Excellence in Scholastic Media Education nominations must be postmarked or emailed
IJEA Lifetime Achievement Award nominations must be postmarked or emailed

Friday, March 3, to Saturday, March 4
KEMPA Winter Advisers’ Seminar, Lake Lawn Resort, Delavan, Wis.

Tuesday, March 7
Scholastic Press Association of Chicago (SPAC) Journalism Conference and McCormick Foundation H.S. Media Awards, Roosevelt University and Chicago Cultural Center

Wednesday, March 15
IJEA All-State Journalism Team original deadline for nominations; extended to Friday, March 31
JEA Aspiring Young Journalist nominations due
JEA Student Journalist Impact nominations due

Wednesday, March 15, to Friday, March 17
CSPA Spring Convention, Columbia University, New York City

Friday, March 17
 Northern Illinois Newspaper Association (NINA) High School Journalism Scholarship applications must be postmarked

Tuesday, March 21
IJEA Newspaper and Digital New Media Contest entries due

Monday, March 27
IHSA journalism tournament deadline for each registered school to complete its online list of participants

Friday, March 31
IJEA All-State Journalism Team extended deadline for nominations

 


 

ijea square icon2APRIL 2017

Thursday, April 6, to Sunday, April 9
JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention, Seattle

Friday, April 14
• Quill and Scroll Lester G. Benz Memorial Scholarship for College Journalism Study applications must be postmarked

Friday, April 21
NISPA Spring Conference, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn

Saturday, April 22
IHSA journalism tournament sectionals, seven locations to be announced

Friday, April 28
IHSA journalism tournament state final and presentation of James A. Tidwell Award, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston

 


 

ijea square icon2MAY 2017

Monday, May 1
IJEA Friend of Scholastic Journalism Award nominations due

Thursday, May 4
IHSA Journalism Advisory Committee meeting, IHSA offices, Bloomington

Wednesday, May 10
• Quill and Scroll Foundation Scholarships in Journalism applications must be postmarked

Friday, May 12 (tentative)
Illinois Press Foundation (IPF)/Eastern Illinois University (EIU) High School Journalism Workshop applications due
NOTE: This date is not yet confirmed; it is based on last year’s deadline date.

 


 

ijea square icon2JUNE 2017

Saturday, June 3
IJEA All-State/IJOY Awards Luncheon, Springfield (details to come)
IJEA Board of Directors meeting, Springfield (details to come)

Sunday, June 4, to Friday, June 16
IPF/EIU High School Journalism Workshop, Eastern Illinois University
NOTE: These dates are not yet confirmed; they are based on last year’s workshop dates.

Thursday, June 8
NSPA/Student Press Law Center (SPLC)/Center for Scholastic Journalism (CSJ) Courage in Student Journalism entries due

Saturday, June 10 (tentative)
CSPA Gold Circle entries must be postmarked for print news, print-online hybrid, all magazines and spring yearbooks
• CSPA memberships due for publications wanting Crown Award consideration
NSPA Broadcast Story of the Year entries due
NSPA Cartooning Award entries due
NSPA Design of the Year entries due
NSPA Multimedia Story of the Year entries due
NSPA Newspaper Pacemaker entries due
NSPA Picture of the Year entries due
NSPA Story of the Year entries due
NOTE: These dates have not yet been confirmed; they are based on last year’s deadline dates.

Monday, June 12
IHSA Board of Directors meeting, Bloomington, consideration of changes proposed by Journalism Advisory Committee

Thursday, June 15
KEMPA Administrator of the Year nominations due
KEMPA Advisers of the Year (newspaper and yearbook) nominations due
• KEMPA Friend of KEMPA nominations due
KEMPA Literary Magazine Critique submissions due
KEMPA Media Award nominations due
KEMPA News Magazine Critique submissions due
KEMPA Newspaper Critique submissions due
Quill and Scroll News Media Evaluation and Gallup Award entries due

Saturday, June 17 (tentative)
NSPA Broadcast Pacemaker entries due
NOTE: This date has not yet been confirmed; it is based on last year’s deadline date.

No specific deadline date given
NSPA Pioneer Award nominations

 


 

ijea square icon2JULY 2017

Saturday, July 1, 2016
KEMPA Spring Yearbook Critique submissions due

Monday, July 10, to Thursday, July 13 (tentative)
JEA Advisers Institute, Las Vegas
NOTE: These dates have not yet been confirmed; they are based on last year’s institute dates.

Saturday, July 15
JEA Administrator of the Year nominations due
JEA Carl Towley Award nominations due
JEA Friend of Scholastic Journalism nominations due
JEA Future Teacher Scholarships nominations due
JEA Lifetime Achievement Award nominations due
JEA Medal of Merit nominations due

July deadline but no specific date available yet
Dow Jones News Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year entries due

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Calendar for 2016-17