Missouri College Media Association (MCMA)

This website is the official portal for MCMA contest entries. The awards honor the best work published by college newspapers, yearbooks and news websites across Missouri in calendar year 2022.

Fees

Dues are $100 per school. Payment of dues entitles the school's publication(s) to enter all categories for which they are eligible, subject the entry limits. Payments for MCMA dues should be sent to Missouri Press Association, which serves as MCMA's treasurer.

• To pay by check, mail payment to Missouri Press Association, Attn: Marcie Elfrink, 802 Locust St., Columbia, MO 65201-4888. Be sure to indicate that the payment is for 2022-2023 MCMA dues.
• To pay by credit card, call Marcie Elfrink at Missouri Press Association at 573-449-4167, Ext. 300.

Eligibility

For the newspaper divisions, all entries must have been published (in print or online) from Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022. For the yearbook division, all entries must have been published in books delivered in 2022, whether spring or fall delivery. 

How to Submit

For print publications, all entries must be submitted as full-page PDFs. For online-only publications, entries must be submitted as URL addresses.

IMPORTANT: Use only one account to submit all of your entries within a given division (newspaper or yearbook). This is an important step that will allow MCMA to enforce the limit of 35 entries per publication in the newspaper divisions and 20 entries per publication in the yearbook division.

Contest Divisions

MCMA offers contests in seven divisions:

• Of the Year (OTY)
• Advertising (AD)
• Yearbook (YB)
• Newspaper Division 1 (NP-D1) (the largest four-year schools)
• Newspaper Division 2 (NP-D2) (the mid-sized four-year schools)
• Newspaper Division 3 (NP-D3) (the smallest four-year schools)
• Newspaper Division 4 (NP-D4) (the two-year schools)

NOTE: During the MCMA business meeting on Jan. 14, 2021, the association voted to realign Divisions 1, 2 and 3. See the new list of division assignments below.

Of the Year (OTY)

These three categories are open to all MCMA members. See the category descriptions below for details. 

The categories are Adviser of the Year, Journalist of the Year and Photojournalist of the Year. For the Journalist of the Year and Photojournalist of the Year categories, entries will be submitted through this site and judged like all other categories; the on-site interviews at the convention have been eliminated. This change was approved at the MCMA business meeting in April 2019 in Springfield. For the Adviser of the Year category, candidates will be interviewed by a selection committee via videoconference.

ENTRY LIMITS: See the category descriptions for a full explanation. In short, each school is limited to one OTY entry per category per publication.

Advertising (AD)

The Advertising Division (AD) includes two categories: Advertising Design and Campus Engagement/Promotions. All schools compete in one division, regardless of school size or type of publication/website.

ENTRY LIMITS: Each school is limited to three entries per category in the AD division.

Yearbook (YB)

Yearbook Division categories will be submitted online in all eight categories. However, each publication should mail a hard copy of its yearbook to MCMA to assist the judges. See the category descriptions for details. Yearbooks should be shipped to:

MCMA Contest (Jack Dimond)

The Standard (MSU)

901 S. National Ave.

Springfield, MO 65897

ENTRY LIMITS: There is no limit on the number of entries in each category, but each school may enter no more than 20 total items across the eight YB categories, including the Overall Theme Development category.

Newspaper Divisions (NP-D1, NP-D2, NP-D3, NP-D4)

Each newspaper division includes 25 categories, plus the Best Overall Newspaper category. Read below to find your school’s division assignment. Online-only newspapers may participate in applicable categories.

Entries in all newspaper categories will be submitted online, including the Best Overall Newspaper category. No newspaper entries are mailed.

ENTRY LIMITS: Each school may enter no more than three entries per category and no more than 35 total entries across the 25 newspaper categories. The Best Overall Newspaper category is a “bonus entry” and DOES NOT COUNT against the 35-entry limit. We want all schools with eligible publications to enter Best Overall Newspaper.

Newspaper Sweepstakes

Within each newspaper division, points will be earned for each award won by each school (4 points for first place, 3 points for second place, 2 points for third place, 1 point for honorable mention). The school that accumulates the most points in each division will win that division’s sweepstakes. Certificates are awarded for first, second and third place in each division.

Best in State

After the Best Overall Newspaper category winners have been determined for each of the four newspaper divisions, a judge will select the Best in State from among the divisional winners. The Best in State winner will possess the Avis Meyer Perpetual Cup for one year.

Questions

For questions about the guidelines or contest, contact MCMA's liaison to MPA, Jack Dimond at JackDimond@MissouriState.edu. Phone: 417-836-8467.

MCMA Convention

The 2023 MCMA convention will be March 31-April 1 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Watch your email and social media for more information.

Facebook

For updates on the contest and the convention, “like” and "follow" the MCMA Facebook page.

Update Your School’s Contact Information

Send an email to JackDimond@MissouriState.edu to make sure MCMA has up-to-date contact information for your school.

Newspaper Division 1 (NP-D1) (the largest four-year schools)

• Missouri State University
• Saint Louis University
• University of Central Missouri
• University of Missouri-Columbia
• University of Missouri-Kansas City
• University of Missouri-St. Louis
• Washington University in St. Louis

Newspaper Division 2 (NP-D2) (the mid-sized four-year schools)

• Lindenwood University
• Missouri Southern State University
• Missouri Western State University
• Northwest Missouri State University
• Southeast Missouri State University
• Truman State University
• Webster University

Newspaper Division 3 (NP-D3) (the smallest four-year schools)

• Avila University         
• Culver-Stockton College 
• Drury University     
• Evangel University  
• Missouri Valley College
• Park University 
• William Jewell College   

Newspaper Division 4 (NP-D4) (the two-year schools)

• Crowder College 
• St. Louis Community College-Forest Park 
• St. Louis Community College-Meramec

MCMA is not responsible for user error in submitting online. Please read instructions carefully and review online submissions.

MCMA officers for 2022-2023 school year

• President: Nathan Gladden, Southeast Missouri State University
• Vice President: Genevieve Tlustos, Truman State University
• Secretary: Caitlin Smith, Evangel University
• Adviser: Tamara Buck, Southeast Missouri State University
• Liaison to MPA: Jack Dimond, Missouri State University