Frequently Asked Questions
What are the general eligibility requirements?
Entries that are eligible for the 2026 AAJA Journalism Excellence Awards were published or aired between Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 of the previous year (2025).
Photo(s) must have been either created or initially published between January 1st and December 31st of 2025.
For a series or project that spans multiple years, you may submit the project one time for one of the eligible years. For instance, a project that was published in 2024-2025 is eligible for the 2026 awards as long as it wasn’t entered in AAJA’s 2025 Journalism Excellence Awards. Works previously entered into the AAJA Awards will not be considered.
Work must be published in English (or in the case of video, with English subtitles).
It must fall in the listed categories for the Journalism Excellence Awards.
It must not be student work (except for Student Journalism categories).
Entrants are limited to AAJA members only, however, journalists may join the organization prior to submitting their awards application. AAJA is open to all journalists, regardless of ethnic or racial identity.
An entry is a journalism project executed by a single journalist or a team of journalists. For team submissions, at least one member of the team who played a significant role in the submitted work must be an AAJA member. The person who submits the award application must be an AAJA member.
Each entered work may only be submitted to one award category. Please use your discretion.
Journalists may submit multiple pieces, but not the same piece to multiple categories.
If the work is part of a series, you may submit up to three pieces from that series together as one entry; this is applicable to the Written Journalism, Online/Digital Journalism and the topical categories.
GENERAL
Is there an entry fee?
There is no entry fee this year.
What is the deadline?
All completed entry forms and accompanying materials must be received online by 11:59 p.m. PT on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
ELIGIBILITY
Does every entry have to be from 2025?
Yes. To be eligible for the 2026 AAJA Journalism Excellence Awards, works must have published or aired between Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025.
Photos must have been either taken or initially published between Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025.
For a series or project that spans multiple years, you may submit the project once for one of the eligible years. For instance, a project published in 2024-2025 is eligible for the 2026 awards as long as it wasn’t entered in AAJA’s 2025 Journalism Excellence Awards. Works previously submitted for AAJA Awards consideration will not be accepted.
Do I have to be an AAJA member in order to apply?
Yes. However, any journalist may join the organization prior to submitting their application. AAJA is open to all journalists, regardless of ethnic or racial identity.
Can I submit a team project?
Yes, as long as at least one member of the team who played a significant role in the submitted work is an AAJA member. The person who submits the award application must be an AAJA member. Entrants are responsible for providing all names that should be credited at the time of submission. Additional names will not be accepted after this time, including for winning entries.
Can I submit something even if I wasn’t bylined?
Yes, we will accept applications from AAJA members who contributed to the work significantly but are not bylined. This could include editors, visual journalists or project managers. However, please note that the AAJA member's involvement in the piece should be significant and they need to detail that in the application. They must also list themselves as the primary contact to the entry for logistical purposes.
Can students submit for awards?
Yes, high school, undergraduate and graduate students must submit their works to the Student Journalism categories, no matter where it published. If the entrant produced the work as a student and is no longer a student at the time of award submission, they still qualify for the student categories.
How about freelancers?
Freelance journalists are welcome to submit their work. Freelancers may submit their own work even if the newsroom that publishes it does not submit it.
Are works published in international publications accepted?
No, we do not accept international publications.
Can I submit more than one entry?
Yes, you may submit multiple pieces, but each piece may only be submitted to one award category. If the work is part of a series, you may submit up to three pieces from that series together as one entry; this is applicable to the Written Journalism, Online/Digital Journalism and the topical categories.
What if my work is behind a paywall?
If your work is published on a site with a paywall, please provide a login account or PDF (unless the work is being judged for the digital presentation and/or interactive experience) to ensure judges can access your work. You may ask the publication for assistance, as they sometimes provide a generic account for awards submissions.
RULES
How does AAJA’s Code of Conduct apply to awards?
As an AAJA-sponsored program, all AAJA Awards applicants, surrogates, supporters, judges and other members of the awards community are required to understand and comply with AAJA’s Code of Conduct.
AAJA will not tolerate any harassment, coercion, intimidation, bullying, threats, bribery or other pressure campaigns directed at awards volunteers, judges, board members or staff at any point, including but not limited to attempting to influence the outcome of an award decision.
Such behavior must be reported as soon as possible to awards leadership, HQ and/or the governing board. Violators may be suspended from applying or rendered permanently ineligible for future awards consideration.
Disputes must be submitted in writing to awards@aaja.org. AAJA Awards leadership, board members and staff will determine the most appropriate course of action on a case-by-case basis.
Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in my submission?
All submitted work must be led by a human or team of humans. Any AI use must be labeled in the published entry and also noted and explained in your submission. For photojournalism categories, no AI photos will be accepted.
What happens if my entry is found in violation of AAJA Awards rules?
Ineligible entries, such as redundant submissions, incomplete applications and those with incorrect/malfunctioning links, will be disqualified. Entrants will not be notified.
OTHER
Why is there no longer a general AAPI award category? Will work that highlights AAPI stories be prioritized?
We have eliminated the previous bifurcation of “General” and “AAPI Issue” categories. Amplifying excellent storytelling, impactful work, and accurate reporting that empowers narratives of AAPI communities is at the core of all AAJA awards. We continue to value exemplary reporting on AAPI communities, though our awards honor excellence in storytelling by AAJA members on a range of topics, including but not limited to those specifically concerning AAPI communities.
Why do audio and video submissions require transcripts?
To promote accessibility and inclusion in judging as well as align with evolving industry standards.
We will accept either prepared transcripts, a copy of the final version of the script or, for video submissions, closed captions/subtitles on the entire video.
If you need transcript support, there are many free or free trial options available, such as Otter.ai or Trint. Entrants are responsible for covering their own costs.
What is the maximum duration allowed for video entries?
For video entries, submissions from a series must not exceed 10 minutes total, though the total number of videos submitted cannot exceed three entries. Categories include:
Excellence in Video Storytelling, Short-Form
Excellence in Video Storytelling, Long-form & Programs
Excellence in Video Storytelling, Social
Student Excellence in Video Storytelling, Long-form, Short-form or Social
How many photos are allowed in photo stories?
Each story should contain 5 – 12 images and is considered one entry. These images should not be used in other entries. All photographs must comply with the National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics.
What’s the maximum run time for video and audio segments? How many minutes should be submitted?
Run time varies depending on whether you are applying for short-form, long-form or social categories. Short-form video submissions and social video submissions must not exceed 10 minutes in total. Long-form video submissions must be longer than 10 minutes. For the student category in video, submissions must not exceed 30 minutes in total run time.
Short-form audio submissions must not exceed 60 minutes in total run time. Long-form audio submissions must be longer than 60 minutes and not exceed 3 hours in total run time. For the student category in audio, submissions must not exceed 3 hours in total run time.
Please check the form carefully for each individual video and audio storytelling award for run-time requirements.
JUDGING
Who serves as judges?
Any AAJA member in good standing can volunteer to judge the Journalism Excellence Awards as a screener and/or a final-round judge. In some cases, volunteers outside AAJA may be invited to participate for their expertise and input (ex. IJA involvement with the Excellence in Pacific Islander Reporting Award). All judges must agree to AAJA’s Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest policies. AAJA will release judges’ names after the recipients have been publicly announced.
What is the judging process?
Journalism Excellence Awards judging assignments are determined by area of interest, experience, availability and need. For categories with more than 10 submissions, screeners evaluate and select the top 10 projects to move forward. For the final round of judging, a panel of three judges reviews those 10 entries and votes on a recipient (and optional runner-up).
How do you judge entries that come out of newsrooms of varying sizes?
Awards are evaluated relative to resources at the market level.
Are judges eligible to submit their work for consideration?
Yes, but only to categories they do not volunteer for or are assigned to evaluate. Judges are not permitted to evaluate their own work in current competition.
We highly encourage past winners to serve as judges!
How do I volunteer to be a judge?
You can share your interest in being a judge through this form by February 4th: Judge Interest Form. You may also reach us at awards@aaja.org if you are interested in being a judge or screener by February 4th.
RECIPIENTS
Where can I see examples of previous award winners?
You can view past awardees on the AAJA Awards website.
Do winners receive any additional discounts or covered costs, such as convention registration, airfare or hotel accommodations?
No. Winners are responsible for their own registration, travel, lodging and all other convention-related expenses. Award winners will be celebrated at the gala.
Winners will be notified ahead of the early registration rate deadline to take advantage of the lower rate. Award winners will receive a trophy (one per category). If the winner cannot accept their award in-person at the convention, AAJA will cover the cost of domestic shipping.
Do runners up receive a trophy or other benefit?
While runners up receive recognition from the judges and AAJA community, they will not receive trophies. Runners up will also be notified ahead of the convention’s early registration date. Runners up are identified on the website and on the slide of only, not at the gala.
How and when will winners be announced?
Prior to May, winners will be notified through the Primary Contact listed on the application. Winners will be announced publicly during AAPI Heritage Month, with AAJA members prominently recognized on the website and social media. Non-member contributors will be listed by name on the website only. Later in the summer, at the annual convention, winning members in attendance will be celebrated during the gala.
To be prominently recognized online and at the gala, you must be both an AAJA award winner and a member in good standing. Non-member contributors to winning pieces who are listed on the application may be granted a limited window to sign up for membership after notification, subject to AAJA’s discretion.
What is the process to file an awards dispute?
Awards disputes must be submitted in writing to awards@aaja.org. AAJA Awards leadership, board members and staff will review and determine the most appropriate course of action on a case-by-case basis.
Can AAJA later revoke an award?
Yes. AAJA reserves the right to revoke any award upon learning of journalistic misconduct, Code of Conduct violations, AAJA Awards policy violations or other wrongdoing.