LSPA Student Competitions | LSU Manship School of Mass Communication

LSPA Student Media Competitions

 

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LSPA LogoRegistration

Complete registration online for LSPA 2025 (membership, conference participation) and Student Media Competition.

The deadline to complete conference registration, postmark payment and submit contest entries is November 11, 2024.

Before Registering

Decide whether you’re registering for any/all of the following:

  • LSPA Membership
    • Membership gets you a discount on conference registration. LSPA membership is required to enter the competition.
  • LSPA Conference
    • Date: January 28, 2025, LSU Student Union, 8 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (Check-In starts at 8 a.m. Conference starts at 9 a.m.)
  • Student Media Competition
    • Note: Attending the conference is not required to enter the competition, but LSPA membership is required for competition entry.
    • If entering the competition, please review the contest categories below to inform your submissions.
  • Download and print the LSPA Checklist, which you’ll mail in with your payment (it’s best to fill it out as you complete your online registration).

To Register

  • Register online for membership and conference attendance.
  • Register online  to participate in student media competitions.
  • Print and mail this LSPA Checklist, along with payment, to LSPA c/o Kyrin Lewis, LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, 211 Journalism Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.

Rules

For each contest, first, second and third place category winners will receive certificates, and trophies will be awarded to best overall winners in newspaper, broadcast and yearbook. In the past, we’ve had an LSPA Sweepstakes trophy, which is based on the number of category and best overall awards earned.

Judges will critique each entry using a rating sheet as a guide. Awards will be given based on the number of points earned.

To review last year's awarded entries, please click here to view the 2024 winners. Email [email protected] if you have questions.

Entrance in each competition involves a fee. Please see below.

LSPA Competition Categories

Newspaper Categories

Writing

  • News Story (advance or coverage)
  • Editorial Writing
  • Personal Column
  • Feature Story (excluding sports)
  • Headline Writing
  • Sports Game or Tournament Coverage
  • Sports Season Preview or Recap
  • Sports Column
  • Sports Feature

Photography

  • Photo (excluding sports)
  • Photo (sports)
  • Photo Essay (sports or non-sports)

Art and Graphics

  • Infographic
  • Cartoon Strips
  • Editorial/Political Cartoon

Other Categories

  • Best News Website
  • Best Print Newspaper

For more information, download the newspaper categories form.

Broadcast Categories

Download the broadcast contest submission sheet. This sheet must be sent with broadcast entries.

Sportscast

Sports Feature

Newscast

News Story (hard news)

News Feature (soft news)

Skit/Narrative/Short Film

Videography

Commercial/PSA/Promo/Hype

For more information, download the broadcast categories form.Download the broadcast contest submission sheet. This sheet must be sent with broadcast entries. 

Yearbook Categories

All yearbook submissions are automatically considered for "Best Overall" and "Design" categories.

Best Overall Yearbook

Design

Theme Development/Organization

Coverage

Division Pages

Photography

Copy 

For more information, download the yearbook categories form.

Radio Categories 

Radio Broadcast

  • News Package
  • Sports Package

Podcast

  • Podcast – News
  • Podcast – Sports
  • Podcast – Entertainment

Other Categories 

  • Sweeper Voiceover
  • Sweeper Script Writing

For more information, download the radio categories form.

Social Media Categories

Single Post

Social Video  

Page/Channel Organization

For more information, download the social media categories form.

Costs

Membership

A one-time payment of $30 provides membership for all your school's student media for the school year, as well as a discounted conference rate. LSPA membership is required for entry into the Student Media Competition. Become a member of LSPA by registering online.

Conference

Conference registration for non-members is $30 per person. LSPA members receive a discounted rate of $25 per person. Per-person rates apply for students and advisers.

Competition

The LSPA student media competition is composed of five contests:

  • Newspaper Contest: $30 flat rate for entry; $5 per entry.
  • Yearbook Contest: $75 flat rate for yearbook entry.
  • Broadcast Contest: $30 flat rate for entry; $5 per entry.
  • Radio Contest: $30 flat rate for entry; $5 per entry.
  • Social Media Contest: $30 flat rate for entry; $5 per entry.

Questions?

For more information, please contact [email protected]