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JEA Write-off Competitions

Journalism Education Association National Student Media Contests

On-site journalism contests held at national conventions across news, feature, sports, design and photojournalism.

Run by Journalism Education Association

Official website Reviews and tips

Key facts

Eligible grades
High school for the National Student Media Contests. Journalist of the Year requires the applicant to be a high school senior, or the equivalent for international schools. A separate Junior High/Middle School National Media Contest runs each spring for middle school students, whose work may not come from a high school publication.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Eligible ages
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.
JEA sets eligibility by school level, not age.
Individual or team
Individual · Varies by category; team contests require every member to be separately registered and paid.
Where it runs
In person · United States
Entry cost
National Student Media Contests: $30 per entry for the Fall 2026 convention and $20 per entry for Spring, one entry per student. In team contests every student must be registered and paid. The separate SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest is $10 per essay.JEA's own pages show different NSMC prices for different conventions, so check the figure for the specific convention you are entering. Convention attendance, travel and lodging are separate and much larger costs.
Registration deadline
Journalist of the Year: state winners' national applications are due 15 March at 11:59 p.m. CDT, after each state's own earlier deadline. SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest: 21 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. CST. National Student Media Contests: advance registration by the deadline listed for each convention. 172 days leftNo late entries are accepted for NSMC, and students who miss the online upload deadline are disqualified.
Competition dates
The JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Conventions are 19 to 22 November 2026 in Orlando and 15 to 18 April 2027 in Los Angeles.
Difficulty
Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.
Prizes
Superior and Excellent ratings, and national recognitionCertificates and medals for NSMC. Journalist of the Year carries scholarships, including the Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht Scholarships, and the SPJ/JEA essay contest gives scholarship awards to its top three. Amounts were not confirmed on the pages checked.

What JEA Write-off Competitions is

The Journalism Education Association runs national student media contests, commonly called write-offs, at its twice-yearly national conventions. Students compete on site in categories spanning news writing, feature writing, sports writing, editorial writing, newspaper and yearbook design, photojournalism, broadcast and digital media, usually working against a live prompt and a deadline.

How the competition works

Fifty NSMC categories across writing, design, photo and broadcast, split between on-site and online contests. Every category, including the online ones, has a required in-person component: students must attend the on-site critique session at the convention to keep award eligibility. Ratings are Superior, Excellent and Honorable Mention, with medals for Superior. Journalist of the Year is a portfolio contest judged first at state level.

Eligibility notes

Entry runs through a school journalism programme with a JEA member adviser attending the convention.

Is JEA Write-off Competitions right for you?

Experience needed
Some. Students on a school newspaper or yearbook staff are the natural entrants.
Time commitment
The convention itself, plus practice on your school publication through the year.
What you actually do
In most categories you are handed a scenario or sent to cover something at the convention, and you have a few hours to produce publishable work.

A good fit if

  • You already work on a school publication
  • You want to test yourself against a real deadline
  • Your school can fund convention travel

Probably not for you if

  • Students without a school journalism programme, since entry runs through an adviser

Compare this against competitions matched to you

Common mistakes

  • Preparing content rather than process. On-site contests give you a prompt on the day, so what you practise is writing fast and cleanly.
  • Entering too many categories at one convention and doing none of them well.

How to register

  1. Your journalism adviser must be a JEA member and register the school for a national convention.
  2. Choose categories from the published contest list. Read the descriptions carefully, since on-site and carry-in categories work very differently.
  3. For on-site categories, practise writing to a deadline from a cold prompt, which is the actual skill tested.
  4. Compete at the convention.

Register on the official site

What skills you need

  • News and feature writing
  • Interviewing under time pressure
  • Editing and headline writing
  • Design and layout
  • Photojournalism
  • Working to a hard deadline

Recommended resources

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

Can I enter without a school newspaper?

Entry runs through a school journalism programme with a JEA member adviser, so in practice you need a school publication or an adviser willing to register. If your school has none, the New York Times Learning Network contests are open to individuals and free.

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StructureDivisions by grade or level
  • FormatEither
  • WhereOnline
    • 133 days left