Full duPont-Columbia Awards Entry Guidelines & FAQ

If you have any questions not covered here, contact duPontAwards@columbia.edu

Submission Platforms

  • Network, cable and streaming

  • Local Major Market Stations (1-10)

  • Local Medium Market Stations (11-50)

  • Local Small Market Stations (51 to 212)

  • Independent Documentaries: including theatrical release

  • Local & National Audio/Radio, includes Podcasts

  • Online: including Multimedia & Interactive

The duPont-Columbia Awards honor outstanding reporting across platforms without defined categories. We will however prompt you in the application to help describe your platform and your format.

*If you are a network entering an audio or multimedia entry, please enter using the NETWORK platform selection and email us (at dupontawards@columbia.edu) to let us know.

How to Submit an Entry

Enter online here. You must create an account in order to see the entry form, where you’ll be able upload your relevant media and fill out the entry form. More detailed entry guidelines can be found below. A non-refundable entry fee is required to complete your entry. Pay by credit card using our secure online site inside the application portal. We do provide the option to pay by check, credit card highly preferred.

What makes a winning entry?

The duPont screeners and jury look for outstanding journalism in the public service, evidence of commitment to important stories and innovative storytelling. Essential criteria includes breadth and resources devoted over a period of time. The jury does not use a formal judging rubric.

  • We strongly discourage “body of work” entries, defined as a collection of works on disparate subjects that make the case why your organization should win for all combined. We instead suggest that you enter them individually for consideration. “Body of work” awards are rare, and are a discretionary decision made by the jury. We do however welcome a series or collection of work on the same topic: ongoing coverage of a single issue (Ex: 2019 winner Nima Elbagir’s Human Rights Reporting.)

Entry guidelines AT A GLANCE (see more detail below):

  • Eligibility period for a submission is July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024.

  • Entries open May 1 and the last day to submit is July 1. Extensions are granted at the discretion of the Awards office.

  • There are no limits on the number of entries one individual or organization may submit. However, individual stories must be entered separately.

  • Total running time of an entry can be of any length, except for Breaking News (2 hour compilation limit please).

  • Series:

    • If submitting a series for consideration, you must submit the entire series with written guidance in the Entry Description of recommended highlights.

    • Alternately, you may submit single episodes for individual consideration.

  • Partnerships: Print and broadcast/cable/digital audio or video partnerships are accepted. Please be clear about what each partner contributed.

  • Entries must have been available to a U.S. audience in some form, including online.

  • Non-English entries are eligible, but require on-screen subtitles (preferred) or an English transcript.

  • You can submit an entry you reported on in previous years’ submissions if this year’s material contains significant developments.

  • You may update your entry post-submission, until the July 1 deadline.

  • All requirements are subject to the discretion of the Director.

To complete the application, you will need:

  • Entry Synopsis (see guidelines below).

  • Entry expanded description (“What makes your entry duPont worthy?”).

  • Credit Listing (name, title). There is no limit for the number of production credits.

  • A dedicated URL where the media for your entry is hosted online, including password if applicable (**must remain live through January 2025.)

  • Production Notes:

    • List all funders and producing organizations.

    • Were any interviewees or experts in the program paid for their participation?

    • Did a book or another source form the basic reporting for this entry? If so, what new reporting does this program add to the story?

    • If there are re-enactment elements in your entry, please note what they are, with an accompanying time code.

    • Has your entry ever been challenged? If so, please describe, including how it was resolved.

    • NOTE: The Production Notes section is required. Mark “none” or “no” in these fields if none to proceed.

  • Supplemental materials (optional).

BREAKDOWN OF ENTRY APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

Links

Please submit your entry in one link if possible. **Media submitted should not have pre-roll advertisements and should be hosted on a site that is easy to navigate (such as Vimeo). If you have content that appears over several links, if possible we ask that you consolidate the content into one or two links on a video or audio streaming service. Additionally, in the Expanded Entry Description, note the highlights you especially want jurors to see.

If you cannot consolidate the content into one link and/or there are multiple videos to look at, you may now add multiple URL links in the Media URL question (up to 15). Please indicate this in the longer Expanded Entry Description question and list them. If your entry involves a website with complex elements to navigate, be very clear how the jury should do so.What should I put in the Entry Synopsis section?

We ask for a concise synopsis of the material being judged. Briefly summarize the program and any major points from start to finish. There is a 300 word limit.

What should I put in the section marked “What makes your entry duPont-worthy? (Expanded Entry Description)”

The description should clearly state the entry’s strengths and why the entry is an outstanding duPont contender. The description should address specific points of distinction, impact, reportorial obstacles and other challenges. If you choose to include supplemental material in your entry, make note that you have done so in this Expanded Entry Description section. There is no word limit in the Expanded Entry Description, but typical entries range from 300-700 words. If there are specific points you’d like the judges to see in your media submission, include the time codes for those points in the Entry Description. If you have entered multiple links, this is the place to explain what they are in a brief list.

The duPont-Columbia Award looks for deep original reporting. Please describe your reporting process. Help us understand what new information you gathered and any challenges you faced.

This is an opportunity for you to state what makes your reporting original. The judges consider originality as essential - the information should not just be copied from another news story, but should come from credible, corroborated sources, using experienced news judgment to vet these sources for accuracy. Be it a current news story or a historical piece, explain how the piece’s reporting enriches the current understanding of the story. This may be a cut and paste from the “What Makes This Entry duPont Worthy” question if you address it there. Please be concise and thoughtful in your response.

Eligibility Period

Entries must have aired or appeared in theaters or online available to an American audience between July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024.

If you are submitting a series or continuing coverage that includes content which falls outside of the above dates, note that the majority (at least half) of the content must have appeared within our eligibility period in order to be considered.

Programs can only be considered once. If your program was entered in previous years, it is no longer eligible. Entrants with documentaries that premiere in one year (ie at a festival), but get distribution in a subsequent year must choose which year to enter. There are a few caveats - please contact us at dupontawards@columbia.edu for more information.

Supplemental Materials Section

We encourage the submission of supplemental materials. While not required, they can be useful to the judges for context. **They should be in .pdf format. They can include, but are not limited to:

  • 3rd party reviews

  • Previous awards

  • Press quotes

  • Follow-up information on impact

  • Documentation that strengthens your case

  • Recommendations

  • Information or content directly related to the program but is not eligible to be awarded itself - e.g. a print component of the project.

  • Once submitted, entrants can update the supplemental material until the July 1 deadline by going into the application.

  • Once the deadline has passed, entrants can email dupontawards@columbia.edu with updates which duPont staff can add to the application.

Breaking News

Submit breaking news stories as one consolidated entry from the news organization. For example, coverage about the Boston Marathon bombing reported on multiple platforms should be submitted as one entry. Include entire segments as they originally aired, in chronological order, separated by a few seconds of black. We recommend a slate with the segment name & date. Do not submit narrated highlight reels. Instead, point out highlights in the Entry Description. The duPont Jury looks for insightful, enterprising coverage sustained throughout the event or crisis and afterward. Breaking news compilation submissions should not exceed two hours.

Podcasts

Podcasts can be entered as individual episodes or full series. If a full series enters, all episodes of the series must be included to assess the quality of the work in total.

Online

Online entries may include interactive and multimedia projects with print, graphs, and other visual elements, but there must be a significant audio or video component. Entries whose primary element is print/photos and contain only brief sound or moving images are not eligible. Past online winners include a multi­-faceted online site about a deployment of soldiers to Afghanistan, which included videos, reader submitted content, panoramas, and other audio­-visual components. Be sure to include the URL for the entry and the URL for any relevant websites (Network, Production Company, etc.) in the online entry form. Clearly direct the viewer to outstanding components of your entry in the Entry Description.

Documentaries

Documentaries that have appeared on air, online or in theaters are eligible. A documentary is considered for its journalistic content, storytelling, and editorial independence about critical issues. A documentary qualifies if it has debuted to a U.S. audience during our eligibility period, or if it has appeared for the first time on a broadcast/online platform during our eligibility period. Past documentary winners have been honored for stories about the impact of war, health care, poverty, race and ethnic relations, and historical events. Funding information for independent productions is mandatory. If you submit a documentary in the year it premiered (Ex: film festival, online), it is then ineligible for re-submission in subsequent years if it is more widely distributed (Ex: for television, ie POV, Netflix, etc.), UNLESS it has been significantly reworked.

Local Stations

The duPont-Columbia Awards have a strong commitment to outstanding reporting in the public service by local television stations, radio stations and websites about important issues in their communities. Past local winners have received duPont Awards for exceptional coverage of the environment, immigration, education, child abuse, poverty, and investigative reporting on corruption in local institutions.

Payment

Entry fees

  • Network, Cable & Streaming: $300

  • Local Television:

    • Market Size 1­-10: $200

    • Market Size 11­-50: $150

    • Market Size 51­-212: $150

  • Radio/Audio: $200

  • Independent Productions/Doc: $150

  • Interactive/Multimedia/Online Prod: $150

** NOTE: if you are submitting an audio or online entry but your primary organization is Network/Cable/Premium Subscription Service), the fee remains $300.

Payment can be made by credit card (upon submission of entry) or check; credit card is strongly preferred.

Credit card invoices will be automatically generated and sent upon payment.

Credit card receipts for payments are available upon request - email us at dupontawards@columbia.edu and include the last name on the card and the last four digits on the card used in your email request.

Common credit card payment problem: if you are paying using a company card and your transaction is repeatedly being declined this may be because the nature of the transaction is coming up as a prohibited transaction. (Columbia University payments are sometimes misread as Columbia University hospital charges.) Please contact your finance department and/or banking institution so that they can approve the transaction and then remit payment upon submission of your entry.

If you are using a personal card and having trouble, check that you have correctly entered the card number, expiration date and security code.