Registration
Complete registration online for LSPA 2024 (membership, conference participation) and Student Media Competition.
The deadline to complete conference registration, postmark payment and submit contest entries is February 9, 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: April 15, 2024, 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.
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
- Best Social Media Presence
Download the form of the newspaper categories.
Broadcast Categories
Download the broadcast contest submission sheet. This sheet must be sent with broadcast entries.
Sportscast
- This category would include your best example of a sports-related broadcast that students participating with your station will have shot, edited and aired. As with all competition entries, students should have completed the majority of the work.
Sports Feature
- Personal interviews or feature stories related to sports. These pieces go beyond scores and statistics. They capture the emotions present in sports (ex. passion, pain, desire, dedication) and effectively convey these to an audience.
Newscast
- A broadcast usually recorded live of students reading the news (category excludes sports-related broadcasts).
News Story (hard news)
- A hard news story that was broadcast by your school’s station that was written, produced and edited by a student.
News Feature (soft news)
- Personal interviews or feature stories (category excludes hard news stories)
Skit/Narrative/Short Film
- Entries for this category should be your best skit, narrative (story) or short film. These are typically entertainment-based rather than pressing news items. Short documentaries would fit into this category as well.
Videography
- Entries for this category will be judged on technical aspects of the videography, such as lighting, editing, picture and sound quality, etc.
Commercial/PSA/Promo/Hype:
- This is a catch-all category for your best television commercial (for a paid commercial client or for your school), public service announcement (PSAs typically promote a cause or a non-profit organization), or promotional or hype video used (typically used to gain excitement for a school event or something else).
Download the form of broadcast categories.
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
This category is an aggregate sum of all the elements below. Without considering the yearbooks for all the categories together, it would be difficult to judge which entries qualify to be called the “Best Overall Yearbook.”
Design
- Cover design includes hand or computer-generated artwork or photography used on the cover.
- Overall design includes cover design, as well as design of inside pages, which assesses use of best practices in the use of fonts, photographs and text to convey a story in print form so that it is visually appealing; appropriate use of white space, captions, photo bleeds, margins and consistent spacing.
Theme Development/Organization
- Include two pages that demonstrate the yearbook’s theme. Judged on design, creativity, originality, use of space and continuity.
Coverage
- Spreads included in any of the sections. Judged on design, creativity, originality, use of space and continuity.
Division Pages
- Include two division spreads. Judged on design, creativity, originality, use of space and continuity. Examples: Student Life Spread; Academic Spread; Clubs/Organizations Spread; Class Section.
Photography
- Examples
- Sports Photo: Submit any non-portrait photo directly related to sporting events.
- Feature Photo: Photos should be non-portrait, non-sports photos that create a special effect or entertain, appeal to the emotions, and accompany a feature story or stand alone on a page with a cutline.
Copy
- Writing of copy is to be judged on clarity, style, completeness and appropriate form.
- Examples
- Sports Writing: Sports-related copy or articles
- Feature Writing: Non-sports-related copy or articles. Is the copy easy to read? Is it written well, free of grammatical errors and without any typographical errors? Does it have a well written lead? Does it tell a story?
Download the form of yearbook categories.
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 three 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.
Questions?
For more information, please contact lspamanship@lsu.edu.