Contest Details Deadline: June 7, 2010 Finalists Announced: September 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville Forms available: April 2010

ACP and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation have co-sponsored the Newspaper Pacemaker competition since 1971. ACP began the awards in 1927.

Judges select Pacemakers based on the following: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership on the opinion page, evidence of in-depth reporting, design, photography, art and graphics.

Newspaper Pacemakers are judged in three categories: four-year dailies, four-year non-dailies and two-year papers. Pacemakers are selected by the staff of a professional newspaper or news organization. Finalists will be notified about one month before the fall convention.

Contest Details Deadline: Feb. 15, 2010 Finalists Announced: April 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville Forms Available: Enter Online

Enter the Online Pacemaker contest using our Web form

ACP is offering its highest honor, the Pacemaker award, to online college student publications. This competition replaces ACP's Best of the Net competition, which began in 1995 as the first nationwide competition for online college student publications.

The online publication must be accessible via Internet Web browsers during the months of March and/or April, when the sites will be judged. The site must be produced and maintained primarily by students. Awards will be based on design, ease of navigation, writing and editing, graphics and interactivity. Sites will be judged by non-ACP staff members knowledgeable about design, journalism and interactive media.

Contest Details Deadline: June 7, 2010 Finalists Announced: September 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville Forms available: April 2010

The Story of the Year competition, co-sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, recognizes initiative and original reporting of a situation, problem or issue affecting students. Judges look for entries which show leadership, quality writing, sensitivity and fairness. Categories include News story, Feature Story, Editorial/Commentary, Sports Story, Diversity Story and Multimedia Package.

Entries in the Reporter of the Year competition consist of a reporter's three best single news or feature stories published in a college newspaper during the competition year. There are separate categories for two-year and four-year schools. Three winners in each category will receive cash prizes of up to $1,000. The four-year competition is co-sponsored by MCT Campus.

ACP's Photo Excellence competition honors student photographers in five categories: general news, spot news, feature, sports, environmental portrait and picture story. The awards are co-sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association.

The Design of the Year competition, honoring visual excellence in the college press, is co-sponsored by Adobe Systems. First Place winners receive free Adobe software. Categories include: Newspaper Page One, Newspaper Page/Spread, Yearbook/Magazine Page/Spread, Infographic, Illustration and Magazine/Special Section Cover.

Starting in 2003, the following two ACP contests replaced awards formerly offered by College Media Advisers:

The ACP Cartooning Awards, co-sponsored by Universal Press Syndicate, are open to students at ACP member newspapers in two categories: Editorial Cartoon and Comic Strip/Panel. Universal Press Syndicate has provided a total of $1,000 in prizes for the first-place winners of this contest.

ACP's Advertising Awards honor ad staffs' work at member publications in five categories including Display Ad, House Ad, Ad Campaign, Ad/Editorial Supplement and Rate Card. The contest is co-sponsored by Sierra Nevada Media Group.

Contest Details Deadline: June 7, 2010 Finalists Announced: September 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville Forms available: April 2010

Since 1927, ACP's Pacemaker competition has been considered by many to be student journalism's highest honor. All ACP magazine members are eligible to compete for a Pacemaker, but must submit an entry.

Magazines will be judged by professional non-ACP staff persons knowledgeable about magazine production.

Contest Details Deadline: Jan. 15, 2010 (2008-2009 yearbooks) Finalists Announced: April 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville

Since 1927, ACP's Pacemaker competition has been considered by many to be student journalism's highest honor. All ACP yearbook members are eligible to compete for a Pacemaker, but must submit an entry.

Yearbooks will be judged by professional non-ACP staff persons knowledgeable about design, journalism and yearbooks. Each judge will work independently, and the scores will be added to decide the final winners.

Contest Details Deadline: Aug. 1, 2010 Winners Announced: National College Media Convention, Oct. 27-31, 2010, Louisville

Sponsored by ACP with the Student Press Law Center

Along with ACP, the Student Press Law Center co-sponsors the College Press Freedom Award to recognize the college student or student news medium that has demonstrated outstanding support for college press freedom.

Additional information (including a list of past winners of this award) is available at this SPLC web page.

The Best of Show competition is held at all conventions and workshops sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press. The number of entries and places awarded may change from year to year, usually corresponding with overall attendance. Only publications and broadcast teams with students in attendance at the convention are eligible to enter the contest. Nonmembers may also enter the competition, in some cases, for an additional fee. Competitiveness varies depending on time of year and the convention location. The competing pool is typically much smaller and distinct from our national contests, such as the Pacemaker. The Best of Show award does not signify a ranking of national excellence, but rather overall excellence among the attendees and entries.

Because it is an onsite contest, the judging process is accelerated. ACP makes every effort to obtain judges of the highest caliber. Customarily, one judge makes the selections for each category. There is no panel and no discussion is allowed. This also makes the judging process for Best of Show very different from our national contests, where a panel may have time for deliberation and debate. Best of Show judges do not provide ACP with comments on winners or other entries. ACP retains the winning entries for future use.

Contest forms are sent with convention registration confirmations or are available at the convention registration desk. Best of Show entries for print publications consist of one issue of a newspaper from the current school year or one copy of a magazine or yearbook from the previous school year.

These awards have either been discontinued or have been replaced by another award.

Previous winners of these awards are linked below.

Have your work in student media evaluated by an experienced professional or educator with an ACP critique. Newspapers, yearbooks and magazines may enter their work in the ACP critique service.

• Download ACP critique forms in PDF format

The critique is a written evaluation of work submitted by a student publication. The judge provides comments and scores your publication in several categories, including: Coverage; layout and design; writing and editing; photography, art and graphics; Editorial leadership. Categories and scoring systems vary by publication.

The ACP Board of Judges is comprised of professional journalists, experienced media advisers or educators and other media professionals.

The critique service usually takes 10 to 14 weeks. When judges complete a critique, ACP e-mails an electronic version to advisers. ACP makes every effort to return the completed critique as soon as possible.

Publications can qualify for the ACP Hall of Fame by earning 10 All-American ratings from our publication critique services within an 11-year span. Additional ways to qualify for the Hall of Fame are listed below.

Critiques are $139 each for member newspapers, magazines and yearbooks; $199 for non-member publications. More information is available on the critique forms.

Become an ACP Critique Judge

View the current NSPA/ACP Board of Judges

ACP is always looking for media educators or professionals with the qualifications to judge publications submitted for critique. Prospective judges should possess five years experience advising student publications and/or professional experience in writing, editing, design, graphics and photography. Judges are paid an honorarium per publication, with an option to donate your honorarium fees to the NSPA Summer Workshops scholarship fund.

• Download the NSPA/ACP Critique Judge Application in PDF format

View the list of Hall of Fame inductees

In 1987, the Associated Collegiate Press established a Hall of Fame for member student publications. Publications can qualify for the ACP Hall of Fame in three ways: if you've earned 10 All-American ratings from our publication critique service within an 11-year span, received a total of 10 national Pacemaker awards since 1970 or received a combination of 15 national Pacemaker and Pacemaker finalist awards since 1970.

Hall of Fame inductees receive a special honor plaque to mark the induction and are added to the ACP Hall of Fame plaques, which are displayed at our annual ACP/CMA National College Media Conventions.

New Hall of Fame inductions are made once a year, in May, and are honored the following fall at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention.

Advisers who believe their publication has achieved Hall of Fame status may apply for the Hall of Fame by writing a letter indicating the name of the publication, information showing the publication meets the induction criteria and publication/adviser contact information. Mail it to ACP Hall of Fame, 2221 University Ave. SE, Suite 121, Minneapolis, MN 55414. The letter must be received by Sept. 15 to be inducted that year and honored at that year's convention.