IJEA Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest
Click Here to Access the 2026 Contest Platform
Deadline for 2026 IJEA Newspaper & Digital News Contest:
10:59 p.m. Sunday, March 15, 2026
ADVISERS, PLEASE NOTE OUR CHANGE IN FEES!
Last year, a new fee structure was introduced for the IJEA Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest. Previously we had charged a flat entry fee of $20 per school. All entries were covered by the $20 fee.
The new fee structure that we implemented last year kept the same price for the school entry fee ($20) but limited the number of covered entries to five. Any entries beyond five required a $5 fee per entry. We made this change in order to generate enough revenue to continue paying for the BetterBNC contest platform that we had used since 2022.
This year we are excited to increase the number of covered entries from five to 10, while maintaining a per-entry charge of $5 for all additional entries submitted by each school.
So beginning with our 2026 contest, the entry fees will be as follows:
• The school contest entry fee will stay at $20.
• This entry fee covers TEN entries in any category, up from last year’s five.
• For additional entries beyond the first 10, the fee will be $5 per entry.
With these changes, a school would pay—at minimum—$20 for 10 entries, or at the most, $265 to enter every available per-school contest slot.
The contest will continue to allow schools to submit two entries in all categories except for Best Website, which is limited to one entry per school.
The IJEA board continues to listen to adviser feedback and does not make changes to contests lightly.
If you have any questions, please reach out to a board member. If you work for a school that is financially unable to continue to participate in the contest because of these changes, we want to hear from you as well, so that we can better gauge the impact of these changes.
Thank you! The March 15 entry deadline will be here before you know it, so start pulling together your publication’s best work. We’re looking forward to it.
How to Enter the 2026 Contest
• Use Our Contest Platform to Submit Your Entries
Please consult this page for instructions and screenshots on how to use the platform. The same instructions (minus screenshots) can be found in the “SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS” section when you arrive at the platform homepage. The instruction section is located in the lower left corner of the contest platform homepage.
• Fill Out and Submit the Adviser Information Form
The Adviser Information Form is separate from the contest platform. It’s the same form we’ve used for the last several years. Filling this out is important because we use the provided information to place your publication in the correct enrollment division and publication category. This is also where you’ll calculate your school’s total fees.
IMPORTANT: If the contest platform does not currently list your school as one of the contestants, please contact Dave Porreca at [email protected], and he will add your school right away.
How to Use the Contest Platform
Instructions and screenshots explaining how to use the contest platform are available here. PLEASE CONSULT THIS PAGE if you are unfamiliar with the BNC platform. The instructions and screenshots will answer almost any question you might have about using the platform.
Once you arrive at the contest platform, the same instructions (minus screenshots) are contained in a section titled “SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS,” located in the lower left corner of the contest platform homepage.
Contest Categories
Our 30 categories are organized into three main types: Core (open to all publications), Digital (open to digital-only publications or digital versions of hybrid publications) and Print (open to print-only publications or print versions of hybrid publications).
Descriptions of the contest categories are available at these links:
• Core Categores (20)
• Digital Categories (5)
• Print Categories (5)
If your publication was designed as a print publication but was not actually printed and was instead distributed as a PDF only, please consider yourself a print publication for this contest.
Number of Entries Per Category
Each school may submit a maximum of two entries per category except for Best Website, which is limited to one entry per school. Our contest consists of 30 categories, resulting in a maximum of 59 possible entries per school.
Deadline for Entries | March 15, 2026
The deadline for this year’s contest submissions will be 10:59 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, March 15, 2026. With respect to that deadline, the new platform will automatically cease accepting entries at that time, so deadline extensions will no longer be possible as they were in previous years.
Eligibility Window | March 16, 2025, to March 15, 2026
To be eligible for the 2026 contest, your students’ work must have been published between March 16, 2025, and March 15, 2026. The 2026 eligibility window includes work published on March 16, 2025, and on March 15, 2026.
Contest Entry Fee & Per-Entry Fees
We charge a one-time contest entry fee of $20 for all participating schools. As mentioned above in the section describing our pricing changes, this $20 fee entitles each school to 10 entries without additional charge. After your first 10 entries, each additional entry will cost $5 each.
IJEA Membership Requirement
Advisers, please note: In order to enter your students’ work in the contest, you must be a 2025-26 member of IJEA. Membership dues are $25 per year or a one-time fee of $250 for a lifetime membership.
To join IJEA, please complete and submit our online membership form OR our fillable PDF form. In either case, mail your yearly or lifetime membership fee to:
Susan Bookless, IJEA Treasurer
11420 West Chetlain Lane
Galena, IL 61036
All necessary payment instructions are included in both the online and PDF membership forms. For more information about IJEA membership, click here.
Maximum Possible Cost for a School
As mentioned above, each school may submit a maximum of two entries per category except for Best Website, which is limited to one entry. With 30 categories in our contest, this means a school may submit a maximum of 59 possible entries.
So the maximum possible cost for a school entering all 30 categories would be $265 ($20 contest fee + $0 for first 10 entries + $245 for remaining 49 entries) if the adviser is ALREADY a 2025-26 IJEA member, or $290 if the adviser is NOT YET a member ($265 + $25 membership fee).
Awards
Each enrollment division offers all 30 categories, with first-, second- and third-place division winners chosen in each category. Honorable mention awards are given at the judges’ discretion. All award winners will receive digital certificates.
Points
For purposes of determining the top publications in each division, a first-place entry in any category will count as five points, a second-place entry as four points, a third-place entry as three points and an honorable mention entry as one point.
Best Overall Publication Honors
The top three point-scoring publications in each enrollment division will receive certificates indicating first, second or third place for Best Overall Publication within their respective divisions.
Best Print, Digital & Hybrid Publication Honors
In addition, certificates will be awarded to each division’s top three print-only publications (Best Print Publication), top three digital-only publications (Best Digital Publication) and top three hybrids (Best Hybrid Publication).
Contest Winners Since 2010
Congratulations to all of our winning publication staffs and advisers over the years! Our contest is dedicated to recognizing the hard work and dedication you put into telling the stories of your schools. Prior to 2011 this contest was known as the Eastern Illinois High School Press Association Newspaper Contest.
• 2025 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2023 to March 2024)
— Division 1 Best Publication Winners | Division 1 Individual Winners | Winners Gallery
— Division 2 Best Publication Winners | Division 2 Individual Winners | Winners Gallery
— Division 3 Best Publication Winners | Division 3 Individual Winners | Winners Gallery
— Division 4 Best Publication Winners | Division 4 Individual Winners | Winners Gallery
— Division 5 Best Publication Winners | Division 5 Individual Winners | Winners Gallery
• 2024 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2023 to March 2024)
— Division 1 Best Publication & Individual Winners
— Division 2 Best Publication & Individual Winners
— Division 3 Best Publication & Individual Winners
— Division 4 Best Publication & Individual Winners
— Division 5 Best Publication & Individual Winners
• 2023 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2022 to March 2023)
— Division 1 Individual Winners
— Division 1 Best Publication Winners
— Division 2 Individual Winners
— Division 2 Best Publication Winners
— Division 3 Individual Winners
— Division 3 Best Publication Winners
— Division 4 Individual Winners
— Division 4 Best Publication Winners
— Division 5 Individual Winners
— Division 5 Best Publication Winners
• 2022 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2021 to March 2022)
— Division 1 Individual Winners
— Division 1 Best Publication Winners
— Division 2 Individual Winners
— Division 2 Best Publication Winners
— Division 3 Individual Winners
— Division 3 Best Publication Winners
— Division 4 Individual Winners
— Division 4 Best Publication Winners
— Division 5 Individual Winners
— Division 5 Best Publication Winners
• 2021 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2020 to March 2021)
— Division 1 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 2 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 3 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 4 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 5 Winners (with links to winning entries)
• 2020 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2019 to March 2020)
— Division 1 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 2 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 3 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 4 Winners (with links to winning entries)
— Division 5 Winners (with links to winning entries)
• 2019 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2018 to March 2019)
• 2018 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2017 to March 2018)
• 2017 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2016 to March 2017)
• 2016 Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest (work published from March 2015 to March 2016)
• 2015 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2014 to March 2015)
• 2014 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2013 to March 2014)
• 2013 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2012 to March 2013)
• 2012 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2011 to March 2012)
• 2011 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2010 to March 2011)
• 2010 Newspaper Contest (work published from March 2009 to March 2010)