DEADLINE: JULY 6, 2009 (Late deadline: JULY 13, 2009)

The 2009 APME First Amendment Awards will be given to journalists or newspapers for work that advances freedom of information, makes good use of FOI principles or statutes, or significantly widens the scope of information available to the public. Other distinguished efforts will be honored with First Amendment citations.

The objective is to honor journalists and newspapers for significant or breakthrough work that protects or advances the First Amendment or federal and state FOI statutes. A story or project that makes good use of an FOIA law does not necessarily meet the criteria for the APME First Amendment Award, and may be deserving of consideration in the APME Public Service competition. Judges in the First Amendment contest will give preference to entries that break ground in the use of freedom of information principles or overcome significant official resistance to legal application of the First Amendment or FOI laws. Newspapers must choose whether to enter their projects in the First Amendment or Public Service contests.

Nominations will be made by individuals, newspapers, professional societies, schools of journalism, state AP associations and others.

There shall be three awards: one for newspapers with average daily circulation to 39,999; one for newspapers with average daily circulation of 40,000 to 149,999; another for newspapers of 150,000 average daily circulation or more, according to the latest audited figures. One Sweepstakes Award will be given to the winning entry that best exemplifies the spirit of the First Amendment. APME reserves the right to decline to award a winner in any category.

Individual staff members of The Associated Press or Canadian Press member newspapers, or the newspapers themselves, are eligible. Specific articles or actions cited for recognition must have been published or have occurred between June 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. However, an individual or newspaper may be nominated for contributions to freedom of information over the years. (Eligibility period restores one month reduced in 2008 competition due to earlier convention that year.)

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

The objective is to honor newsmen, newswomen and newspapers for efforts to obtain information to which the public otherwise would not have access. It is important that entries emphasize and document those efforts. Electronic images of pages must include publication dates. A total of 20 files may be uploaded and can be a combination of published pages, documentation and/or multimedia files. A detailed explanation of the entry to be submitted as a document file to your online application should discuss significant challenges to the accuracy or the approach of the entry, and steps the newspaper took to address those concerns. The entry must include all published corrections.

Entry questions should be directed to:

Mark Mittelstadt, APME
The Associated Press
19 Commerce Court West
Cranbury, NJ 08512

Phone: (212) 621-1838

E-mail: mmittelstadt@ap.org

Entries must be submitted online by July 6, 2009, to be assessed the normal entry fee, or by July 13, 2009, for an additional $25 assessment.

A $100 contest fee ($75 for APME members) will be assessed entries submitted by July 6, 2009. Entries submitted from July 7-13 will be assessed a $125 fee ($100 for APME members).

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

(For more on APME membership go here).

Nominations will be judged in late July by members of the APME Executive Committee, the chairman of the APME First Amendment Committee and distinguished experts on public access issues. Winners will be recognized at the APME annual conference in St. Louis Oct. 28-30, 2009.

Over 150,000 circulation:

The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., for shedding "electronic sunshine" on e-mail written by public officials, which are public records and must be kept.

40,000 to 150,000 circulation:

The Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel, which aggressively fought against back-door dealings of the Knox County Commission, winning a lawsuit to have commission appointments invalidated.

Under 40,000 circulation:

The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y., where the paper and its editorial page editor, Mark Mahoney, made First Amendment issues accessible to readers through the user-friendly "Your Right to Know" blog.

Sweepstakes winner: Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel