All entries are due by midnight PDT on April 1, 2023. Winners will be announced in May. You must be a JEANC member for your students to enter these contests. To join or renew your membership, go here.

Any student work published from April 2, 2022 to April 1, 2023 is eligible for entry in this year’s contest (yearbook work is the exception; see those categories for explanation). Each publication may submit up to two entries per category, as long as they are not from the same student.

Also, remember to enter our three special categories: the new Casey Nichols Service Above Self Award,  The Nicholas Ferentinos Memorial Press Freedom Award and our revamped Best of the West contest.

All the information you need about the Annual Contest can be found on the JEANC website under the contest tab. For more specific information and links, keep reading.

Contest FAQs

This is your go-to link. Here you can find FAQs for the contest and links to all the forms you’ll need to enter as well as a description of all the categories.

Contest categories

We have 65 different contest categories that include print publications as well as web and broadcast, and range from writing features to opinion to news, design and photography. Our aim is to honor all outstanding scholastic journalism and media.

Best of the West

The Best of the West contest is now its own competition. First, second and third place Best of the West winners will receive a plaque. Categories will include Newspaper, Newsmagazine, Yearbook, News Website and Broadcast; the fee for each entry is $25. This award differs from the Best of Show award at NorCal Media Day since there is no in-person component. While staffs will be submitting a representative set of publications, this is not a critique and there will be no feedback on the entries.

I’m new. How do I get started?

Share this link with your students about how to prep contest entries, including screencasts and web resources so they can help cull your best entries and prepare them for submission. Feel free reach out to any JEANC board member if you’re feeling overwhelmed, or need some tips on how get contest material ready — or just have questions. We’re here to help! You can start with Board President Tripp Robbins.