It’s a new school year, and we know many of you are busy developing relationships with your publication staffs, setting goals for the year, and getting yourself organized.
As you think about what’s to come in 2024-2025, we hope you will keep in mind the following opportunities that OSMA provides:
Yearbook Contests/Critiques
We switched back to three separate deadlines for this year’s contest, and you still have plenty of time to meet the final deadline. Submit last year’s yearbook by November 30 for a full critique and rating evaluation from one of our experienced judges. You can check out the Yearbook Contest page for more information.
Fall Workshops
This year, we are hosting regional workshops at four Ohio universities – Kent State University, University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, and Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Many of our fall workshops are nearing their registration deadline, so it may be too late to consider this for this year. But we hope you’ll still take a look at the information and consider joining us in Fall 2025.
Annual Individual Contests
Due in January, our individual contests allow member schools to submit up to 2 entries in each of approximately 50 categories. Categories run the gamut from writing, art, photography, design, multimedia, and yearbook. Giving students the opportunity to win individual awards at the state level is an exciting experience, and we hope you will plan for that. Most information will be available late this fall on our Annual Individual Contests page.
Annual Overall Critiques
Similar to the annual yearbook critiques, our overall critiques allow different publication types (newspaper, newsmagazine and news website) to submit their cumulative work for the school year and receive a thorough critique and a rating evaluation from an experienced judge. This year, we are updating our rubrics to ensure that judges are looking for content that is consistent with current journalism standards and trends. We will be posting more information on our Critiques page in the upcoming months.
Spring Convention
Save the date for this year’s Spring Convention, which will be held on April 11-12, 2025 at Kent State University. During this time, students will be able to attend a variety of learning sessions on topics of their choice, and all individual and program awards will be announced at a catered banquet. More information will be posted on the State Convention page this winter.
Journalist of the Year Scholarship
Each winter, seniors across Ohio prepare their digital portfolio to enter the Georgia Stilwell Dunn Ohio Journalist of the Year scholarship competition. We follow the JEA Journalist of the Year guidelines and select one winner each spring. The Ohio winner receives a $1000 scholarship to the college of their choice and is automatically entered into the national Journalist of the Year competition for even bigger prizes. Seniors, we encourage you to begin working on your entries now! You can find more information at the Journalist of the Year section of our website.
Looking to get involved?
Consider getting involved in OSMA by joining the OSMA Board of Directors, encouraging students to apply for the Student Board in the spring, or volunteering to present at a fall workshop or spring convention.
See you soon! It’s going to be a great year.
