Best In Business Contest: General Excellence

BIB 2007 General Excellence Contest Rules

The General Excellence competition selects outstanding daily newspaper business sections, weekly business newspapers, business magazines and business Web sites (or business pages on general news sites). At least one member of a newspaper, magazine or online business staff must be a SABEW member to enter the General Excellence contest.

Contest Categories

BIB entrants must know the circulation size of their newspaper/magazine before starting the BIB entry submission process. Members who are unsure can look up their names on the electronic Membership Directory under the Members Only section of the SABEW Web site. (See Checking Your SABEW Membership Information on the BIB welcome page for help.)

Daily Newspapers

Daily Newspapers are divided into four categories based on size of circulation:

• Small: Up to 125,000
• Medium: 125,001 to 225,000
• Large: 225,001 to 325,000
• Giant: 325,001 and above

(For daily newspapers, circulation categories are based on average daily circulation calculated by taking total weekly circulation, including Sunday if you publish then, and dividing it by the number of days the paper is published. So, if you publish every day of the week, divide by seven. If you do not publish on Sunday, divide by six and so on.)

Magazines

News magazines are divided into two categories based on size of circulation:

• Small: Under 500,000
• Medium: 500,000 and over

Weekly Newspapers

Weekly Newspapers all compete in one category.

Web Sites

There is also a General Excellence category for online publications. Click Online Contest on the left menu to view information about this contest category. To enter, you must follow the rules for that contest and complete the Online Contest Entry Form (PDF) available from the BIB Online Contest Rules page.

Note: If your stories are published in both print and Web formats, you may enter the same news stories for both the Online Contest and the appropriate print BIB contest.

Requirements

To ensure that judges see a representative sample of your newspaper, follow these contest requirements.

Daily Newspapers

Each daily newspaper entering the General Excellence contest:

1. Must submit its publication for three mandatory dates in 2007:
   • Wednesday, 4/18/2007
   • Tuesday, 7/17/2007
   • Sunday 12/16/2007 (If your paper does not publish on Sunday, submit Saturday or Monday instead.)
2. Must choose three additional dates during 2007 to submit, called the "Editor's Choice" dates.
   • Day 1: Monday section or Thursday section
   • Day 2: Friday section or Saturday section
   • Day 3: Another Sunday section (If your paper does not publish on Sunday, submit Saturday or Monday instead.)
3. General Excellence entries may also include one business-related special section published during 2007.

Note: Page 1, or other sections of the newspaper, are eligible to be included with the General Excellence entry, provided the stories ran on the same day as sections being entered. An optional one-page nomination letter may also be included.

Weekly Newspapers

Each weekly newspaper entering the General Excellence contest:

1. Must submit its publication on or between the following three mandatory dates in 2007:
   • Sunday, 4/15/2007 - Saturday, 4/21/2007
   • Sunday, 7/15/2007 - Saturday, 7/21/2007
   • Sunday, 12/16/2007 - Saturday, 12/22/2007
2. Must include two additional "Editor's Choice" dates. These can be any two other weeks during calendar year 2007.
3. Weekly newspaper General Excellence entries may also include one special section published during 2007.

Magazine

Each magazine entering the General Excellence contest:

1. Must submit the publication's first issue published in August 2007. Publications that DID NOT publish in August should enter the next issue published AFTER August.
2. Must include two additional "Editor's Choice" dates. These can be any two other issues during calendar year 2007.

Entry Fees

The fee for each General Excellence contest entry is based on type of publication and circulation size as follows:

• Daily Newspaper, Small: $105 (Up to 125,000)
• Daily Newspaper, Medium: $140 (125,001 to 225,000)
• Daily Newspaper, Large: $175 (225,001 to 325,000)
• Daily Newspaper, Giant: $210 (325,001 and above)
• Weekly: $140
• Magazine, Small: $140 (Under 500,000)
• Magazine, Giant: $210 (500,000 and over)

Preparing Your Entry

To participate in the BIB Newspaper and Magazine General Excellence contests, you must first register for the Members Only area of the SABEW Web site. Then, submitting your entry requires two steps:

1. Complete the online Best In Business Contest Entry Form
2. Mail four copies of the sections you are entering to SABEW, postmarked no later than Feb. 1, 2008

Preparing Your Entry to Mail

There are a few important things to keep in mind in preparing your entry for mailing. Remember the number four.

1. BIB General Excellence Contest submissions must include:
   • Four copies of each newspaper section, magazine or weekly newspaper required for the entry, preferably originals.
   • Four printed copies of the online Entry Registration Confirmation.
2. Before you mail the four copies of the BIB General Excellence entry to SABEW:
   • Separate - the four copies of the entry materials into four packets with pages in the order listed under Requirements above.
   • Add - a copy of the printed Entry Registration Confirmation on the top of each packet.
   • Add - a copy of the optional one-page nomination letter if you choose to include one.
   • Pack - all four packets in one container. (Inside the box, just staple or clip each packet separately. This provides SABEW with one full copy of your entry for administrative purposes and three copies for the judging panel.)
   • Write - on the container which BIB category you are entering. (For example, if you are entering the Large category, write: “BIB General Excellence Contest: Large.”)
   Note: See Preparing your Entry for BIB General Excellence Contest for more detailed instructions on how to assemble your entry.

General Excellence contest entries that do not follow the instructions on this Web site and on the entry forms will be disqualified. Your entry fee will not be refunded and you will not be notified of the disqualification.

Go to Best in Business Contest Entry Form.

Questions?

Contacts:

• General Excellence, News, Online questions: Jill Jorden Spitz, contest co-chair, at jspitz@azstarnet.com or (520) 573-4177
• Magazine contest questions: Lisa Gibbs at lgibbs@miamiherald.com or (305) 376-3578
• General Questions: Carrie Paden, SABEW executive director, at padenc@missouri.edu or (573) 882-8985

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