The New York Teacher staff is pleased to announce the date for the inaugural Journalism Awards Celebration and Conference.
The day-long event takes place Saturday, March 27, at the Hilton Garden Inn and Rensselaer Conference Center in Troy, just a few miles east of NYSUT headquarters.
The event replaces the New York Teacher Journalism Competition awards luncheon that traditionally took place at NYSUT's Representative Assembly.
"We plan to make this new event a value-added occasion where editors and writers can take part in discussions about advocacy journalism and continue to improve their communication skills," said Mary Fran Gleason, editor-in-chief of New York Teacher.
Workshops on topics such as photography, Web sites, writing and editing, and copyright and libel laws will be scheduled before and after an awards luncheon celebrating the winners of the annual contest.
The contest's two top winners — for the Ted Bleecker "Best of the Best" and Solidarity awards — also will be saluted at the RA.
Registration information and other details about the Journalism Awards Celebration and Conference will be announced next year.
Meanwhile, the contest has changed this year.
Several categories in the general contest were condensed.
The category for Best News Story is open to entries on any topic, including health and new member issues. Categories for those two topics have been eliminated.
Also, the category for Best Original Cartoon has been replaced by the Best Photography Category.
The category for Best Front Page or Cover has been replaced with the category Best Editorial Design. Any page in the publication is eligible.
The category for Best Editorial or Column was renamed Best Opinion Writing.
The category is focused on how well the writer used research and facts about an issue to express a point of view persuasively.
Two categories in the contest for retiree newsletters were renamed.
The category for General Excellence is now called Best Newsletter.
Winners in this new category are eligible for the Ted Bleecker Award for most outstanding publication.