In response to the growth and development of online news since the award’s inception in 2000, the Online News Association this year has made several changes in the competition’s rules and categories. As you prepare your entries for submission, please note that:

• The ONA has eliminated the Features category and established a Specialty Journalism category to recognize Web sites and subsites that focus on a specific area of content, such as entertainment, sports, business, lifestyles, etc.

• The ONA has added two categories designed to honor student work.

• The ONA has eliminated the “Independent” and “Affiliated” distinctions within the contest categories. In prior years, awards were given in several categories to sites that produced content independently of any other media organization and to those with affiliations to other media organizations. Under the new rules, sites will be categorized by size (more than / fewer than 500,000 unique visitors/month), but there will be no distinction made by affiliate relationship.

• Entry fees: In the past, sites have been allowed to enter up to three different stories/packages in several categories for a single entry fee. In response to participant feedback, most categories now allow a single entry per fee (a notable exception is Creative Use of the Medium). Entrants should check the rules for each category carefully.

PERMISSION FOR USE

By submitting an entry to the Online News Association in connection with the Online Journalism Awards, you grant ONA, and its current and future affiliates, the right to republish the entry (including text, graphics, art, photography, video, audio, and any other elements) in any and all media in connection with the Online Journalism Awards and/or any ONA archives of OJA entries, finalists and/or winners, and/or in connection with ONA's educational projects for journalists and aspiring journalists.

By submitting this entry, you further represent and warrant that the entry is original work, that you have the right to submit the work as an entry in the Online Journalism Awards, and that you have the right to grant ONA and its affiliates the rights granted above.