The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

(SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry".

History

The awards program began in 1939. The SPJ first awarded the Distinguished Service Awards. These awards later became the Sigma Delta Chi Awards. Prior to the creation of the awards program, the society first chose six individuals for their contributions to journalism in 1932.

Entry requirements

A fee is collected from each entry. Since 2007, the fee for members of the Society of Professional Journalists was $60, $100 for non-members. All entries must be accompanied by three copies of the entry form. In addition each entry must include a cover letter that includes a summary of the story or stories, a discussion of the major findings and results, a review of the process followed to get the story and an account of the difficulty or uniqueness of effort in obtaining the story. The 2012 contest judged more than 1,700 entries.

Judging criteria

Materials are judged by a panel of distinguished, veteran journalists. For each category one award is issued and judges may withhold an award if they deem no entry worthy. Entries are judged on readability, effectiveness of interpretation, accuracy and completeness, enterprise, clarity and

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

, resourcefulness of the reporter in overcoming obstacles, interest and adherence to the SPJ Code of Ethics.

Award categories

The 48 categories are assigned according to publication type or the type of work in journalism. There are awards for

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

and wire services,

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, arts and graphics,

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, newsletters,

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and online reporting.

References

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External links