Frequently Asked Questions about the Philip Meyer Journalism Award

What is the Philip Meyer Journalism Award?	Who is Philip Meyer?
What is meant by “social science research methods”?	Is this “computer-assisted reporting”?
How is this award different from the IRE Awards?	Why is IRE sponsoring this new award?
Could a Meyer Award entry also be an IRE Award entry?	Who is eligible for the contest?
Who will judge the contest?	How do I participate?
How much does it cost to enter?	What work is eligible for the contest?
Where do I send my entries?	What is the deadline for entering the contest?
What actions would result in a disqualification?	Is there a limit to the amount of entries I can submit?
Do you accept entries in languages other than English?	What are the different types of awards?
How many categories are there and what are they?	What must my entry include?
When will the judging be complete?	Who should I call if I have any other questions?

What is the Philip Meyer Journalism Award?
The Philip Meyer Journalism Award will recognize excellent journalism done using social science research methods.

Who is Philip Meyer?
Meyer is the author of Precision Journalism, the seminal 1973 book (and subsequent editions) that focused growing numbers of journalists on the idea of using social science methods to do better journalism. He pioneered in using survey research as a reporter for Knight Ridder newspapers to explore the causes of race riots in the 1960s, and holds the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

What is meant by “social science research methods”?
These are the research tools used by social scientists across a wide variety of disciplines such as sociology, demographics, geography, political science, ethnography, communication, etc. Such tools might include quantitative and qualitative methods such as surveys using randomly-selected respondents, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, social network analysis, content analysis, field experiments and more.

Is this “computer-assisted reporting”?
Computers often are used for this kind of work, but that is not a requirement. And CAR often is used for journalism, particularly investigative stories, that don’t necessarily use social science methods. Examples of the latter might include using a computer to sort, filter or categorize government records to produce lists or tables for a story.

How is this award different from the IRE Awards?
One of the defining characteristics of good investigative reporting eligible for an IRE Award is that it uncovers information that others have tried to keep hidden. The Meyer Award is designed to recognize work that explores significant societal problems that haven’t necessarily occurred because of attempts to keep the problems hidden.

Why is IRE sponsoring this new award?
IRE is the home of the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR), a joint program of IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism.

Could a Meyer Award entry also be an IRE Award entry?
Yes, if it meets the requirements of both contests.

Who is eligible for the contest?
The Philip Meyer Journalism Award adheres to the principles of the IRE Award program in avoiding conflicts of interest. Work that included any significant role by a member of the IRE Board of Directors or an IRE contest judge may not be entered in the contest. This often represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual — and sometimes an entire newsroom. The IRE membership appreciates this devotion to the values of the organization.

This year's board:
James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post
Cheryl Phillips, The Seattle Times
Dianna Hunt, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Stephen C. Miller, The New York Times
Lea Thompson, ThomThom Media, LLC
Wendell Cochran, American University
Renee Ferguson, WMAQ-Chicago
Manny Garcia, The Miami Herald
Mark Katches, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle
Marilyn Thompson, The New York Times
Duff Wilson, The New York Times
Alison Young, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Who will judge the contest?
The judges will consist of journalism educators who have significant professional experience doing journalism using social science research methods, and social scientists who have significant experience working with journalists and appreciate the differences between journalism and academic research.

This year's judges will be:

Steve Doig, Contest Chair
Knight Chair of Journalism, Arizona State University

Complete list of judges will be listed soon.

How do I participate?
The postmark deadline for entry in the 2007 awards is Oct. 31, 2007.
2007 Entry Form
Download text file of questionnaire (To save a local copy right-click and save link)

How much does it cost to enter?
IRE Members:

$50 (Professional)
Free (Student)
Membership must be current through November 2007.

IRE Nonmember:

$110 (Professional. This includes a one-year professional membership fee of $60.)
$25 (Student. This includes a one-year student membership fee of $25.)

What work is eligible for the contest?
All work must have been published or aired between Oct. 1, 2006, and Sept 30, 2007.

Where do I send my entries?
Return a completed entry form to:
2007 Philip Meyer Award
138 Neff Annex
Missouri School of Journalism
Columbia, MO 65211

What is the deadline for entering the contest?
Oct. 31, 2007. This is a postmark deadline.

What actions would result in a disqualification?
Entries disregarding the rules included in the form will be subject to disqualification. Work that included a significant role by a current member of the IRE Board of Directors or a Meyer Award contest judge may not be entered.

Is there a limit to the amount of entries I can submit?
There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit or the number of stories (in a series) you may submit per entry.

Do you accept entries in languages other than English?
We accept entries in all languages, but require three (3) complete hard copies of English translations for each entry.

What are the different types of awards?
Three Meyer Awards will be given, acknowledging 1st, 2nd and 3rd place from the pool of entries received. The awards include cash prizes: $500 for first, $300 for second, and $200 for third.

How many categories are there and what are they?
Unlike the IRE Awards, this award is not broken down into different media categories.

What must my entry include?
All entries must have the entry fee payment and one CD containing the electronic copy of the questionnaire. Although there are not separate categories for this contest, we’ve included the following list to outline what we expect for each different type of media.

Print Entries:

· You must submit three (3) collated entry packets.
· An electronic copy of the questionnaire submitted on a CD.
· Each packet must contain a completed entry form, a completed questionnaire and a copy of the entry.
· The entry must be on 8.5" x 11" paper.
· Cutting and pasting the entry onto 8.5" x 11" paper is acceptable but foldovers are not.
· One entry packet must contain all originals.
· Please place the packets in an envelope or folder and write the title of the entry on the outside.

TV Entries:

· You must submit three (3) collated entry packets.
· An electronic copy of the questionnaire submitted on a CD.
· Each packet must contain a completed entry form, a completed questionnaire, a transcript on 8.5" x 11" paper and a DVD copy of the entry.
· Please label all three DVDs with the entry name, affiliation and running time.

Radio Entries:

· You must submit three (3) collated entry packets.
· An electronic copy of the questionnaire submitted on a CD.
· Each packet must contain a completed entry form, a completed questionnaire, a transcript on 8.5" x 11" paper and a labeled CD copy of the entry.
· Please label all three (3) audio CDs with the entry name, affiliation and running time.

Book Entries:

· You must submit three (3) collated entry packets.
· An electronic copy of the questionnaire submitted on a CD.
· Each packet must contain a completed entry form, a completed questionnaire, and a copy of the book.
· Please attach entry name and affiliation to all three (3) books.

Online Entries:

· You must submit three (3) collated entry packets.
· An electronic copy of the questionnaire submitted on a CD.
· Each packet must contain a completed entry form, a completed questionnaire, and a printed copy of the online Web pages, which must include the site's URL.
· You must also include a CD containing the Web pages if they can't easily be reached online by the judges.
· Please label all three CDs with the entry name and affiliation.
· The printed entry must be on 8.5" x 11" paper.
· Cutting and pasting the entry onto 8.5" x 11" paper is acceptable.

When will the judging be complete?
Judging will be completed by December 2007.

Who should I call if I have any other questions?
Please call the IRE Resource Center at 573-882-6668 or e-mail rescntr@ire.org for assistance in submitting contest entries.