Data-Driven Storytelling Award FAQ

Why did you change the name of the award from Digital Media to Data-Driven Storytelling?

We changed the name of the award to better reflect shifts in journalism.

Who should apply in this category?

Entries must rely on data elements or graphics.

Entry is limited to articles featuring data visualizations. It may include short video, graphics and/or multimedia presentations. If data-driven content is not central to your story, please see the eligibility criteria for our Investigative and General Reporting category.

Entries will be accepted from newspapers, magazines or their websites, and publications associated with universities and research organizations. For full audio/visual stories, see the Television and Audio category.

If I do not meet these criteria, where should I submit?

Documentaries will be accepted in the Television and Audio category if they aired on the web in affiliation with a television or radio news organization, or through an online streaming platform

The Investigative and General Reporting category will accept stories that do not rely on data elements or graphics.

How does the awards entry system work?

Our awards entry system allows you to draft, edit, submit, and monitor the status of your entries. You can log into the system and edit your entries as many times as necessary. Once applications are submitted, they can no longer be edited.

Be sure to click submit before the deadline. After the deadline, the awards entry system will be closed to new submissions.

What will I need for the awards entry system?

• Contact information for the entrant and any co-contributors.
• Basic citation information (i.e., when and where it was published).
• Names of any organizations providing financial support.
• Summaries of the entry's relevance, influence, and unique attributes of digital media.
• A static URL for each post (to remain active until after the awards ceremony).
• Contributor biographies – a short paragraph for each author is sufficient.

Please contact Mikayla Thompson at mthompson@nihcm.org if you are unable to submit any required documents.

How many articles may be uploaded in a single series application?

If part of a series, we allow for up to 10 entry items to be entered in a single application.

Who is the entrant?

The entrant is the primary author and main contact for the entry. You must choose a single entrant, but you may credit co-authors as contributors. If the entry is chosen as a finalist, the entrant will be notified. The entrant must be authorized to enter the work on behalf of the publication and any co-authors.

How is the entrant information used?

The entrant may be asked to verify the citation of the entry for our finalist list. The entrant on a winning entry will determine how the prize is distributed.

Who is a co-contributor?

Any co-authors should be listed as co-contributors. It is common for there to be no co-contributors.

If you need to include more co-contributors, please contact Mikayla Thompson at mthompson@nihcm.org.

How is co-contributor information used?

Contributors to an entry will be informed via email if the entry is chosen as a finalist. They will also be acknowledged in the finalist list and invited to our awards dinner.

What are the best practices for uploading biographies?

• Contributor biographies may be included via .pdf:
• Do not secure or password-protect the .pdf in any way.
• The .pdf extension must use lowercase letters for our system to accept it.
• Use only letters to define the name of the document (our system will not accept special characters such as & ' % #).
• We recommend using Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat to create the .pdf. (Using a program such as Quark, Photoshop, or InDesign to create the .pdf may cause compatibility issues.)
• Use a unique file name for each .pdf uploaded.

What constitutes an entry?

An entry can be a single post. It can also be a series of posts as long as the posts are

• linked by topic,
• written by the same author or by a collaborative team of authors, and
• published on the same website.

How many entries may an individual submit?

For the Data-Driven Storytelling Award, we will accept no more than three (3) entries per entrant. An entrant may be listed on additional applications as a co-author or co-contributor.

What happens after an entry is submitted?

After you submit an entry, you will see the entry status on your Submission Dashboard change from "Draft" to "Submitted." You will also receive a confirmation email stating that the entry has been submitted. (The confirmation email will be sent to the entrant's email address.)

Once the application is submitted, you will no longer be able to edit your application. Please contact Mikayla Thompson at mthompson@nihcm.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Is there an entry fee?

No, there is no fee to enter the awards competition.