Student Awards
The Michigan Student Broadcast Awards help give high school and college students the opportunity to show off their best work and gain recognition in Michigan’s media industry. Communication and content creation via all forms of media is increasingly important, and students must learn to effectively share their messages in a clear, concise manner. This program gives students valuable practice in their craft, enhances their resume, and helps to prepare the future leaders of the media industry with a high level of competition.
Entry Deadline Countdown
Important Upcoming Dates
October 17, 2022 - Entry system opens
December 15, 2022 3:00 p.m. EST - Entries due
January 12, 2023 - Award winners announced online
March 15, 2023 - Student Awards Luncheon, Lansing Michigan
Categories
High School and College Visual Categories (formerly High School and College Television) include all visual projects such as on-air broadcasts, film projects, YouTube submissions, etc.
ALL VISUAL PROJECTS INCLUDING ON-AIR BROADCASTS, FILM PROJECTS, YOUTUBE SUBMISSIONS, ETC.
Current Events Story - Current events story that is no more than five (5) minutes in length. Content may include significant current events of local or national interest.
Criteria to be judged on: human interest, presentation of facts, subject portrayal, and production value.
Documentary - A program focused on a single topic up to sixty (60) minutes in length. Judges may only watch portions of entry.
Criteria to be judged on: significance, resourcefulness, comprehensiveness, thoroughness of research, and production value.
Hard News - Coverage of a significant event affecting the community, no more than five (5) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: significance, presentation of facts, thoroughness, and delivery.
News Feature - A single report which may have aired in a newscast as relief or contrast to serious reporting or a long form program that is no more than ten (10) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: human interest, subject portrayal, creative writing, entertainment value, and production value.
Newscast - Best locally originated newscast, approximately thirty (30) minutes in length. Judges will be asked to view at least 30 minutes of each entry and no penalty will be given for entries that extend beyond 30 minutes. Each school program will be limited to three (3) entries.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation, production value, interest of stories presented, and overall impact of the newscast.
Public Service Announcement - An announcement of general public interest, not more than :60 seconds in length. Must be written, produced and aired on your station.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
Sports Announcing Team - Broadcast of a sports announcing team at a sporting event that is no more than five (5) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation and production value.
Sportscast - Best locally originated sportscast, no more than 30 minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation, production value, interest of stories presented, and overall impact of the sportscast.
Talk Show/Scripted Show - A program that is no more than thirty (30) minutes in length that can be a topic of choice.
Criteria to be judged on: resourcefulness, creativity, comprehensiveness, thoroughness of research, and production value.
Use of Social Media - Showcase all the ways your program is using social media within a variety of platforms to enhance the viewer’s experience. Demonstrate how you are connecting with your target audience and local community using social media to promote stories, programming, newscasts, sports, and/or events. Entry content such as video/audio clips, screen shots, pictures, and more should be edited into one video submission. Each school program will be limited to 1 entry. Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness.
High School Only: Sports Public Service Announcement - A PSA that is :30 seconds in length promoting sportsmanship and officials recruitment.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
High School Only: Public Service Announcement – Sponsored by OK2SAY – An announcement encouraging students to utilize OK2SAY, Michigan’s Student Safety Program, if they have a concern about their safety or the safety of another. The video should not be more than :60 seconds in length. Must be written, produced, and aired by your school program. Visit www.ok2say.com for topic suggestions.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
High School and College Audio Categories (formerly High School and College Radio) include all audio projects such as over-the-air broadcasts, podcasts, internet radio, etc.
ALL AUDIO PROJECTS INCLUDING OVER-THE-AIR BROADCASTS, PODCASTS, INTERNET RADIO, ETC.
Current Events Story - Current events story that is no more than five (5) minutes in length. Content may include significant current events of local or national interest.
Criteria to be judged on: human interest, presentation of facts, subject portrayal, and production value.
Daily Newscast/News Feature - A newscast, sportscast or news feature that is no more than ten (10) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation, production value, interest of stories presented, and overall impact.
On-Air Personality or Team - Best on-air broadcast personality or broadcast team. Maximum length of entry is five (5) minutes.
Criteria to be judged on: production value, effectiveness, and creativity.
Promotional Announcement - A single spot promoting school, station, programs or community event that is no more than three (3) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
Public Service Announcement - An announcement of general public interest not more than :60 seconds in length. Must be written, produced and aired on your station.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
Sports Announcing Team - Broadcast of a sports announcing team at a sporting event that is no more than five (5) minutes in length.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation and production value.
Talk Show - A talk show program that is no more than 30 minutes in length that can be a topic of choice, including sports programming.
Criteria to be judged on: presentation, production value, and overall impact.
Use of Social Media - Showcase all the ways your program is using social media within a variety of platforms to enhance the listener’s experience. Demonstrate how you are connecting with your target audience and local community using social media to promote stories, programming, newscasts, sports, and/or events. Entry content such as video/audio clips, screen shots, pictures, and more should be embedded into one presentation file such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, or equivalent, with audio included. Each school program will be limited to 1 entry.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness
High School Only: Sports Public Service Announcement - A PSA that is :30 seconds in length promoting sportsmanship and officials recruitment.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
High School Only: Public Service Announcement – Sponsored by OK2SAY – An announcement encouraging students to utilize OK2SAY, Michigan’s Student Safety Program, if they have a concern about their safety or the safety of another. The audio should not be more than :60 seconds in length. Must be written, produced, and aired by your school program. Visit www.ok2say.com for topic suggestions.
Criteria to be judged on: creativity, effectiveness, and production value.
Contest Information
- NO entry fee. All entries must be submitted via the online entry system.
- All entries are judged by Michigan broadcasters.
- The judges will be asked to judge each entry based on the criteria listed in each category and how well it follows the category description. The judges will also be encouraged to give feedback on each entry. The feedback, when given, will be made available to view after the competition.
- Awards may be given for 1st, 2nd and Honorable Mention in each category. First place winners receive three (3) points; second place winners receive two (2) points; and Honorable Mentions receive one (1) point for each winning entry towards Station/Program of the Year.
- Station/Program of the Year Award – The Station/Program of the Year award will be presented to the following: one high school audio station/program; one high school visual station/program; one college audio station/program; and one college visual station/program. To win the Station/Program of the Year award, the school must receive the most cumulative points in all categories entered. More than one station/program may be awarded the Station/Program of the Year award.
- Each school’s station/program may submit up to five (5) entries per category unless otherwise specified. If more than five (5) are submitted in each category, only the first 5 submitted will be judged. All other submissions by that station/program in that category will not be judged.
- Independent projects produced by students currently in school may be submitted, however they will not count towards a school’s “Station of the Year” points.
- To submit an independent project, create an Open Call Contestant account, click “Submit Entry,” choose the appropriate division and category, then choose “Independent Project” in the dropdown menu under “Where Published or Performed.”
- Up to four (4) different students may be credited on an entry, others may be added by contacting the MABF office if the entry is selected as a winner.
- All Michigan college, high school and trade school students are welcome to enter.
- Entries must have been created and produced from January 1, 2022 through December 15, 2022.
- All entries must be submitted via the online entry system. All entry links should be checked prior to submitting each entry.
- Supplemental attachments for entries are accepted and may not exceed 10MB in size. Accepted file types include: PDF, GIF, PNG, or JPG. No other file types will be accepted. Please have back-up copies and be certain all links work and remain live.
- Different categories must be on separate entries. Please complete a separate online submission for each entry.
- Entries must be completely created and produced by students. The creative concept of each entry must be original to the students submitting the entry.
- Each entry upload should be labeled with the category name, title of the entry, and school.
- All entries must first be uploaded to an external hosting site before they can be submitted to the online entry system. Below are some suggested sites.
- YouTube
- Soundcloud
- Vimeo
- Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in disqualification.
- All judges’ decisions are final.
- All entries must be received by 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
- All entries become the property of the MAB Foundation. Entries may be used by the MAB Foundation and category sponsors for promotional purposes only.
Questions: mabf@michmab.com or 517.484.7444.
Thank You 2023 Michigan Student Broadcast Award Sponsors
