Florida Press Club

Submission Link

The Contest deadline is Monday 8/15/2011.

Click here to enter the contest https://omnicontests4.com/default.aspx?comp_id=170

Contest Deadline

The deadline for the Excellence in Journalism Competition is 11:59 p.m. Monday. The Florida Press Club officers ask that entrants submit and finalize all entries soon. To see if your entries are finished, click on VIEW ENTRIES. If you see a red incomplete, click on that, and the text will tell you what you need to do to submit and finalize.

Go to https://omnicontests4.com/default.aspx?comp_id=170 for the contest.

Since omniCONTESTS is a new contest platform for us, we’ve encountered a few glitches. For example, we’ve noticed uploading documents with the Safari browser can cause the user to be directed to try again. Deleting and then re-uploading a document can also cause problems. We’ve talked to the tech support staffers at omniCONTESTS, and they are working on a solution. Using either Internet Explorer or Firefox might be best for now.

If you need help in any capacity, please email Sherry Mims at fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com as soon as possible. Even if you want to enter the contest and are unfamiliar with how an online contest platform works, just send an email. We are here to help!

To pay for multiple entrants online, take the amount omniCONTESTS tells you and add $20 for each person you want to enter. (Remember that you’re automatically charged one membership fee through omniCONTESTS.) Pay the total at http://www.floridapressclub.org/CCpayment.html. You should see a Manual Payments option. Put that amount in the box and click return (enter) on your keyboard. Then email Sherry to have your entries submitted and finalized.

You may also pay by check. Email Megan Stokes at megan[dot]magrini[at]gmail.com for details. Then, like above, email Sherry to have entries submitted and finalized.

A sole entrant can pay through omniCONTESTS’ PayPal system (as well as check). Just click the PAY NOW option. You do not need a PayPal account to pay with a credit card or debit card.

When paying for multiple people either with PayPal or checks, please send names and email addresses of the people you wish to be members. If you feel some clarification is needed regarding submitted entries, feel free to send a Word document listing what the members entered.

All payments must be made by 11:59 p.m. Monday unless worked out in advance with Sherry and Megan.

Please encourage your colleagues and other interested parties to enter because the more entries we receive, the bigger and better things we can do for our members.

Thank you for supporting The Florida Press Club.

Submission Information

1. How do we enter the contest?

The website address is https://omnicontests4.com/Default.aspx?comp_id=170. Register in the upper left corner. Please read the RULES and the HELP pages before clicking the ADD ENTRY button. Please fill out and click save for all the tabs. If you are entering a jump as a second document, please label the first and second documents, PDFs, etc., as 1 and 2 at the end of the title. You may upload multiple documents by clicking the + option.

2. What about special sections?

Please email fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com for details. You will still fill out all of the information, but you will mail your entry to Sherry instead.

3. Do we have to pay through PayPal?

Although PayPal is our preferred method of payment, we realize some news organizations can only pay by check. Please email Sherry Mims (fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com) and Megan Stokes (megan[dot]magrini[at]gmail[dot]com) to let us know as soon as possible. Otherwise, omniCONTESTS will not let you finalize entries. We have to manually submit your entries for you, so our eyes will be the last ones to look at your entries. No changes will be allowed after entries are submitted.

You can also pay by debit card or credit card through PayPal without actually having PayPal. After clicking on PAY NOW, omniCONTESTS will take you to check out. Select the “Don’t Have a PayPal Account” option to pay this way. Paying online is preferred because you will be able to finalize entries. Remember to go back to VIEW ENTRIES afterward. If you see the incomplete after payment, click on incomplete, and your entry will be submitted (accepted).

4. Are the Serious and Light Feature Writing categories different?

Yes, despite the descriptions on the initial Call for Entries, Serious Feature Writing is the category for serious news features or in-depth profiles. The Light Feature Writing category is for lighter articles (holiday, travel). 5. If I am submitting entries for multiple people, what do I do?

If you are entering for two or more people, you can use your name as usual. On the second tab, it will ask you for Entry Information. Put names the way you would want them to appear on the certificate. (This option is required for everyone, not just for multiple entrants.) When you review the totals, you will notice you are only charged one $20 membership fee. This is incorrect if you are submitting entries for two or more people. There is a fee discount set up to allow lone entrants to pay $20 once. By all means, pay the total through PayPal (or see No. 3, above, about checks), but then send us an email telling us the names and email addresses of the people whose entries you are submitting. Again, please email this information to both Sherry and Megan, but you will only send payment to Megan. We will be going through entries, and we will disqualify any contest entries from people who did not pay the $20 membership fee. If there are multiple names on a byline, all people must be members in good standing. The $20 per person fee is good until the 2012 Excellence in Journalism Contest.

Because omniCONTESTS’ software is new to us, we recommend finalizing all entries BEFORE the AUGUST 15 deadline. We cannot fix entries if it is past the contest deadline, and we will not refund entrants for disqualified entries. This is to be fair to everyone who submitted on time.