2025 MRE Journalism Contest
CALENDAR 18 Months
- All work entered must have been originally published, broadcast, aired or posted online between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
- This year the contest is open to submissions for work published over the past 18 months to embrace the fluidity of news.
CONTEST ENTRY FEE
- A $50 entry fee must be paid for the first entry.
- A $25 entry fee must be paid for additional entries.
- Entry fees are non-refundable.
- Eligible MRE members may receive an entry fee waiver for their first contest entry.
- This benefit applies to members submitting an entry for their own work; the member discount may not be assigned to another person. This is because the award is given to journalists; the publishing media outlet or organization is recognized but is not the official award recipient.
- Application for membership must be approved and membership active before a contest entry is submitted for the member to be eligible for the fee waiver.
- Members should login to the MRE website and visit the member’s page to pick up their discount code before entering the contest.
- The MRE membership fee waiver cannot be applied retroactively.
- There is no fee for students entering the Student Media Project category.
CONTEST ENTRY FORM
- A completed registration and entry form must be submitted with each entry.
- An entry form should be submitted in the name of the journalist whose byline appears on the submission(s).
- In the case of a series entry, the entering journalist’s name must appear on the byline of all articles from the series submitted to the contest for consideration (up to four).
CONTEST ENTRY GUIDELINES
- Entry guidelines are provided, as well as category specifications.
- It is up to the entrant to comply with contest rules and requirements outlined throughout contest documentation and forms.
ENTRY DISQUALIFICATION
- An entry may be disqualified if contest rules are not followed.
- Inaccessible or broken or faulty submission links will disqualify an entry.
- An entry may be disqualified and deleted without proper entry registration.
ENTRY DEADLINE
- All entries must be submitted by 6 p.m. EST Tuesday, July 16, 2025.
ENTRY MATERIALS FILE FORMATS
- PDF for documents – all text media.
- PDF must not contain ads or links to ads.
- Text only pdf is acceptable.
- Text with article graphics is acceptable.
- Text must be legible and properly aligned on pages for crisp and easy reading.
- MP3 files for audio media.
- MP4 files for video media.
- JPG (preferred) or PNG for visual image media
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- All work must have been originally published, printed, broadcast, aired or posted online in the English language.
JOURNALIST HEADSHOT
- A recent headshot for each journalist named on an entry is requested. Image should be no smaller than 600px X 600px. This will be published on the MRE website with a winning submission.
JOURNALIST BIOGRAPHY
- A 100-300 word biography for each journalist named on an entry is required.
PUBLICATION DATE
- All work must have a verifiable publication, broadcast, air or posting date.
PUBLISHER
- All work must have a publication name or name of media outlet, website listed on the content(s).
LINKS
- URLs (web addresses) are required for all entry submissions originally published online.
- If a link is submitted for submission review it must be functional, valid, and accessible.
- Instructions must be provided to access article(s) behind a paywall, along with login credentials.
- MRE needs unrestricted access throughout the judging period to material for viewing. (E.G. Limit of 1 free article a month or limit of 3 free articles a month, etc. is not acceptable for judges who may need access numerous times for review and reference during the contest.)
- If links cannot be accessed, it is the entrant’s responsibility to set up or arrange an acceptable solution.
LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS
- The use of links to third-party websites and sharing platforms for entry submissions such as YouTube, Vimeo or SoundCloud is permissible.
- Links must remain active for a period of one year.
REPRINT PERMISSION
- By submitting an entry form – including a journalist biography, headshot – permission is granted to Military Reporters & Editors to display winning entries on the MRE website free of any obligations to an individual entrant or parent company.