Terms & Conditions

By submitting an entry to the Utah Headliners journalism contest (“Contest”), each entrant agrees to the following Terms and Conditions.

1. Eligibility

• The Contest is open to journalists, freelancers, and students who reside in Utah or whose submitted work primarily reports on Utah.
• Entries must have been first published during the applicable contest year.
• Entries must be original work created or substantially produced by the entrant.
• Entrants must have authority to submit the work and to agree to these Terms.

2. Entry fees and payment terms

• Entry fees are:
  • $15 for SPJ members and students
  • $20 for non-members
• Payment must be made online by credit or debit card at the time of submission.
• Entries will not be considered complete until payment is successfully received.
• Entry fees are non-refundable once submitted.
• Duplicate or erroneous payments may be refunded upon written request and verification.
• Refund inquiries can be directed to utahspj@gmail.com.
• The Contest organizer reserves the right to modify fees for future contests.

3. Submission requirements

• Entrants are responsible for submitting complete, accurate, and reviewable materials before the deadline.
• Utah SPJ is not responsible for late, lost, incomplete, corrupted, misdirected, or technically defective submissions.
• Utah SPJ is not responsible for entrants’ failure to provide login information to review materials if a login is required.
• Printed materials submitted for judging will not be returned.

4. Deadlines

• All entries must be received by the published contest deadline to be eligible.
• Late submissions may be rejected without refund.

5. Judging

• Entries will be judged by volunteer journalists from outside Utah.
• Judging criteria may include reporting quality, originality, impact, ethics, clarity, and public service.
• Judges’ decisions are final.
• The Contest reserves the right not to issue an award in any category if judges determine entries do not meet standards.

6. Intellectual property rights

• Entrants retain copyright ownership of their submitted work.
• By entering, each entrant grants Utah SPJ rights to:
  • review and judge submissions;
  • identify finalists and winners;
  • reproduce excerpts, headlines, thumbnails, or limited portions of entries for promotional, educational, archival, and award-related purposes;
  • display winning entries or excerpts on websites, social media, programs, or event materials with attribution where practical.
• Entrants represent that submitted work does not infringe the rights of any third party.

7. Acceptable use and prohibited conduct

Entrants may not:

• Submit false, misleading, plagiarized, AI-generated misrepresentative, or unauthorized work;
• Interfere with the submission platform or judging process;
• Harass judges, organizers, staff, volunteers, or other entrants;
• Attempt to manipulate results;
• Use automated systems to spam submissions;
• Violate applicable laws or professional ethics.

8. Consequences of violations

The Contest may, in its sole discretion:

• Disqualify entries;
• Revoke awards;
• Refuse future participation;
• Remove published promotional materials;
• Seek reimbursement of improperly awarded prizes or benefits;
• Take legal action where appropriate.

9. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Utah SPJ, its officers, directors, members, volunteers, judges, sponsors, and agents are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from participation in the Contest.
• Liability for any claim relating to the Contest shall not exceed the amount of entry fees actually paid by the claimant.
• Utah SPJ is not responsible for website outages, payment processor failures, internet disruptions, data loss, unauthorized access, or other technical issues beyond its reasonable control.

10. Indemnification

Entrants agree to indemnify and hold harmless Utah SPJ and its affiliates from claims arising out of:

• breach of these Terms;
• infringement claims related to submitted work;
• misconduct or unlawful acts by the entrant.

11. Dispute resolution

• The parties will first attempt to resolve disputes informally through written notice and good-faith discussion.
• If unresolved, disputes may be submitted to mediation in Utah.
• If mediation fails, disputes shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Utah, unless otherwise required by law.

12. Governing law

These Terms and the Contest shall be governed by the laws of the State of Utah, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

13. Privacy

Information submitted in connection with the Contest may be used for administration of the Contest, payment processing, communications, judging, and announcement of finalists or winners.

14. Changes and cancellation

Utah SPJ reserves the right to modify these Terms, extend deadlines, suspend categories, or cancel the Contest when reasonably necessary, including for technical, legal, or operational reasons.

15. Contact

Questions regarding the Contest or these Terms should be directed to the Contest organizer through the official Utah SPJ contact channels.