ONLINE ENTRY FORM
Please submit an online entry form for each award entry. If a team contributed to an entry, please list a maximum of four contributors. If you need to submit electronic documents not available online, send to TMA by email.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Select the award category that best fits your entry. Note: A story can be entered in one category and also be part of a body of work submitted for a Texas Health Journalist of the Year Award.
1. Short Print/Online Breaking News. News articles of less than 2,500 words in print or online publications.
2. In-Depth Print/Online Stories or Series: Articles of more than 2,500 words in print publications or online publications.
3. Radio News: Brief news stories produced by any Texas radio station with a duration of 10 minutes or less.
4. Long/In-Depth Radio News or Series: News stories produced by any Texas radio station with a duration of over 10 minutes. This includes multipart series and news podcasts. Call-in broadcasts and broadcasts with ONLY a panel of guests are ineligible.
5. Short TV News Stories: News stories produced by television stations with a duration of four minutes or less.
6. In-Depth Television News Stories or Series: Longer-format television news stories or multipart series that exceed four minutes in duration. Call-in broadcasts and broadcasts with ONLY a panel of guests are ineligible.
7. Texas Health Journalist of the Year – Large Market: Recognition for a well-rounded and notable body of work produced in a single year by a print, broadcast, or online journalist in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, or Austin. The work could consist of articles/reports on a specific topic or on a variety of topics about medicine or health care. Send up to four work samples to represent your work. Put all submissions under a single URL, such as one YouTube link, or put all URLs on a single entry form.
8. Texas Health Journalist of the Year – Small Market: Recognition for a well-rounded and notable body of work produced in a single year by a print, broadcast, or online journalist in all other Texas markets. The work could consist of articles/reports on a specific topic or on a variety of topics about medicine or health care. Send up to four work samples to represent your work. Put all submissions under a single URL, such as one YouTube link, or put all URLs on a single entry form.
CONTEST RULES
Who Can Enter?
Any general-interest print, broadcast, or online news journalist working for a media outlet based in Texas may enter. Entries from trade, medical professional, or other nonmedia outlets are ineligible. Stories must be intended primarily for a Texas audience.
What Can You Enter?
Any general news content aimed at the public (no public service announcements, promotional spots, nonmedia blogs, or marketing pieces) that first appeared or aired in a Texas-based news outlet during 2024.
Other Contest Information
- TMA must receive your entry(ies) no later than Jan. 10, 2025. Submit an online entry form for each entry. Additional documents can be submitted to TMA by email.
- Material must be first published or broadcast between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.
- Journalists may submit up to two entries in categories one through six, plus a Texas Health Journalist of the Year entry.
- Entries may be the work of an individual or the collective effort of several staff members at a publication or station (however, no more than four may be listed).
- Entrants may submit a news story both as an individual entry in categories one through six and also submit the same story as part of a body of work for the Texas Health Journalist of the Year category.
- TMA and its judges reserve the right to disqualify any entry not meeting eligibility requirements.
- TMA and its judges reserve the right to move an entry to a more suitable category.
- When sending URLs for print entries, please ensure links will stay active through February 2025. If judges cannot access an entry, it will be disqualified. If print entries can be accessed only behind a paywall, please provide a PDF of your entry(ies).
- For broadcast and other entries that contain video footage, please post the entry on YouTube or Vimeo with no advertising. If that is not possible, a URL is required.
- Texas Health Journalist of the Year entrants: List all URLs on one entry form or combine all stories under one URL, or for video, put them on YouTube or Vimeo.
- TMA charges no fee to enter the Anson Jones, MD, Awards.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Entries are judged on accuracy, significance, quality, public interest, and impact as explained below.
Accuracy: “Accurate” can apply to medical or factual accuracy, or balanced reporting. Are the facts as presented truthful/verifiable? If a story is controversial, is it balanced? Is the information presented in line with evidence-based medicine?
Significance: Is the information important for people to know? Is there a consequence to not knowing this information? Might it (or did it) stimulate discussion on a vital aspect of health or alert people to an urgent/emergent health issue, risk, or illness?
Quality: Is the entry well written and well researched? Does it contain good sound or visuals (if applicable)? Does the story contain multiple sources/experts/interviews? Does the entry include good storytelling and examples of people affected?
Public interest: Is the topic intriguing? Does the subject matter affect a broad audience, or just a few people? Is this something readers/viewers/listeners might care about? Is the information conveyed “in the public interest”?
Impact: Did the story motivate individuals, government agencies, or lawmakers to take action (or could it)? Might this (or did it) positively influence health care for a significant population, or shed light on underserved patient needs or an issue that negatively affects patients?
Judges may name one winner per category and honorable mentions, if warranted, or no winners in a category.
The Texas Health Journalist of the Year and all other winners (individual or group) receive a monetary prize. Plaques or certificates also are presented to all winners and honorable mention recipients.
Judges are Texas Medical Association physicians and other members of TMA’s Council on Health Promotion, and respected journalists from the news publishing and broadcast fields. Final winners are determined by the TMA Council on Health Promotion.
Winning media outlets will be notified in the spring.
For more information, contact Swathi Narayanan at (408) 987-1318 or ansonjones@texmed.org.