Official Rules

Contest Calendar

All work entered must have been originally published, broadcast, aired or posted online between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.

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

All contest account, registration and entry forms must be submitted with payment as required for a complete contest entry.

A journalist may self-submit to the contest or an editor or producer or other professional associate may enter the contest on a journalist’s behalf.

The entrant is identified as the journalist whose byline appears on the work and to whom an award is given.

In the case of a series entry, the primary journalist should be the named entrant and their name must appear on the byline of all articles from the series submitted to the contest for consideration.

Contest submission requirements are governed by an entry category.

No more than four entries may be submitted by or for one journalist (entrant).

Contest Entry Guidelines

Entry guidelines are provided, as well as entry category descriptions.

It is up to the entrant to comply with contest rules and requirements outlined throughout contest documentation and forms.

English Language

All work must have been originally published, printed, broadcast, aired or posted online in the English language.

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 3 p.m. EDT Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Entry Materials File Formats

PDF file for each article – all text media.

• Text with article graphics is acceptable.

• Text only (Format Simplified) pdf is acceptable. Please include header information for easy identification of publication URL.

• PDF (preferred) without ads or links to ads.

• Text must be legible and properly aligned on pages for crisp and easy reading.

MP3 file for audio media.

MP4 file for video media.

JPG (preferred) or PNG for visual image media

Journalist Headshot

A recent headshot for each journalist named on an entry is requested.

The image should be no smaller than 600px X 600px.

This will be published on the MRE website with a winning submission.

Journalist Biography

A brief 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 post date.

Publisher

All work must have a publication name or name of media outlet, website listed on the content(s).

Links

Original publication URLs (web addresses) are required for all entry submissions originally published online.

When a link is provided 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.

A limit of one free article a month or limit of three 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 to the MRE Journalism Contest – 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.