Judges will indicate weaknesses and strengths in each category and let editors know why they lost points in a particular category. These categories include the following:
- Scoring Criteria #1: Coverage & Content (20 points)
- News
- Features
- Sports
- Editorials
- Columns & Reviews
- Investigative / In-depth
- Scoring Criteria #2: Writing & Editing (20 points)
- Reporting
- Quality of Writing/Editing
- Headlines
- Captions
- Scoring Criteria #3: Photography & Art (20 points)
- Evaluate Photos for Content and Technical Aspects
- Information graphics
- Illustrations
- Cartoons
- Visuals
- Scoring Criteria #4: Layout & Design (20 points)
- Front page
- Inside News
- Inside Feature
- Inside Sports
- Typography
- Ads
- Scoring Criteria #5: Leadership (10 points)
- News Judgment
- Adherence to Ethics/Press Law
- Editorials
- Opinion
- Interactivity