The APME Innovator of the Year Award recognizes innovation in print, online, management, structure or other area that demonstrates a bold, creative effort to improve a news or information product and increase audience. Demonstrable success is not essential but could improve the entry's standing.

The competition is open to any editor or staff member of an AP member newspaper, a team from a member newspaper or a newspaper.

Entries must have been published or launched between Aug. 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008.

All entries will be submitted online at www.omnicontests3.com/apme/omnicontests

A total of 20 files can be uploaded with each entry. This can include a combination of documents, published pages and multimedia files, if applicable.

Online innovation: The entrant is responsible for making the site available to judges through a Web link. URL should be submitted with the application.

Print innovation: Submit electronic files of published tearsheets.

Online and print: Combinations are welcome, and should be submitted according to rules for both.

Management, structure or other: Explain thoroughly the innovation and how it improved or increased efficiency, effectiveness, coordination and audience or enhanced the newspaper's competitiveness or ability to improve content. Provide examples of resulting content as appropriate.

Entry questions should be directed to:

Entries must be submitted online by June 2, 2008 to be assessed the normal entry fee, or by June 9, 2008 for an additional $10 assessment.

A $75 contest fee ($50 for current APME Supporting Members) will be assessed entries submitted by June 2. For entries submitted between June 2 and 9, there will be an $85 fee.

Follow information on the online application to submit payment by credit card or to send a check.

(For more on APME Supporting Membership go to the APME Web site: www.apme.com/membership).

A panel of APME Board members will judge all entries and select three finalists. The finalists will be presented to attendees of the APME conference in Las Vegas Sept. 8-11, and a vote of attendees will determine the winner. A representative of each finalist will be asked to present his or her newspaper's entry at the conference. Attendance is not required to win.

The APME Innovator of the Year will be honored at the APME conference in Las Vegas and will receive a plaque recognizing the winning effort. Also, APME's quarterly magazine, APME News, will feature the winner in a cover story in its next edition.

Top award, as voted by 2007 APME conference attendees:

The News-Press of Fort Myers, Fla., for a series of innovations, including mobile journalists, hyper-local Web portals, and crowdsourcing, which solicits tips and other information from Web site viewers.

Finalists:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for a newsroom restructuring designed to better serve print and online products. The reinvention resulted in two content departments – News & Information and Enterprise – and two publishing departments – print and digital.

The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, for its RocDocs data Web site, the result of more than a year of major newsroom restructuring, recruitment and training. The site comprises three segments – data, maps and investigative reports.

Bob Heisse
APME Innovation Committee chairman

(814) 231-4640

bheisse@centredaily.com