It's Back!
It's time to showcase your BEST work in serving Maine communities!
2023 CALL FOR ENTRIES!
WILL YOU WIN a “MABBY AWARD”? You can’t win if you don’t enter!
- Again this year, the ENTRY FEE is $0!
- NEW THIS YEAR: There is NO “Best Newscast Day”. There is no specific day for submitting “Best Newscast”, “Best Weathercast” or ANY Programming/On-Air categories. Submit your best stuff from the ELIGIBILITY PERIOD!
- ELIGIBILITY PERIOD: All entries must have aired between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
- Again this year—ALL entries to be submitted to: RockOurAwards.com
- DEADLINE FOR AWARD ENTRIES IS 5:00PM on FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2023!
Once the deadline has passed, you will no longer be able to upload entries! Please plan ahead!
MAB NEWS AND CREATIVE AWARDS ELIGIBILITY
- The MAB News and Creative Awards Program are open to all radio and television stations which are current members of the Maine Association of Broadcasters.
- All entries must have aired between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.
- Stations that simulcast more than 50% of the time are considered ONE STATION.
- Award entries must be written and produced by paid employees at an MAB member station and aired on the station for which the entry is being submitted.
- Not eligible: outside production such as “news packages” or VNRs, feeds of regional or national events produced and/or anchored by third parties. Agency-supplied scripts and outside production.
- Entries must not infringe upon copyright laws for recorded music. If you use copyrighted music, you must submit documentation (by mail or email directly to MAB) showing the rights for material used was legally authorized or the entry will be disqualified.
- Each entry may be submitted in ONE category only.
- No awards will be awarded if there are only one or two entries received in any category.
Save the Date!
The MAB Annual Meeting and Awards Gala is Saturday, October 14, 2023 at The Sheraton at Sable Oaks in South Portland, ME.
Bigger and better than ever, we’ll have cocktails, great food, entertainment to be announced and we’ll award the BEST of the BEST!
CATEGORIES FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION
BEST NEWSCAST: A single newscast aired during the Period of Eligibility. Only ONE entry per station. A time limit of 30 minutes (may be scoped)
SPOT NEWS: Coverage of a breaking news story, covered within a 24-hour period
ENTERPRISE: Original reporting that is not generated by a news event or press release
FEATURE: A story aired as relief or contrast to serious reporting
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Single program or series showing in-depth coverage of an event or issue. Entries may be “telescoped” and not exceed 30 minutes in length.
CONTINUING COVERAGE: Coverage of an issue or event that continued for more than 24 hours. Entries may not exceed 15 minutes in length.
ELECTION COVERAGE: Sampling of a station’s primary or general election coverage. Entries may not exceed 15 minutes in length
SPORTS FEATURE: A feature story other than play-by-play or sportscast
SPORTS PLAY-BY-PLAY or PROGRAM: A sports program, such as a highlights show or live broadcast of a sports event. May use network or other non-local clips, but must be produced by the station and hosted/announced by station employees. Entries must be continuous (not edited or scoped) and not exceed 15 minutes.
LOCALLY PRODUCED PROGRAM: An entertainment, public affairs, or informational program-length show produced by the station. Entries may be scoped and may not exceed 15 minutes.
BEST SPOT: An individual commercial, :60 or less that sells a product or service
BEST CAMPAIGN: Up to three (3) commercials, :60 or less each, for an individual advertiser
SELF PROMOTION: An individual spot, :60 or less, designed to promote your station, programming or events, aired on the station it was intended to promote
SELF PROMOTION CAMPAIGN: Up to three (3) spots, :60 or less each, designed to promote your station, programming or events, aired on the station it was intended to promote
PUBLIC SERVICE: A Public Service spot or campaign (sponsored or unsponsored) designed to heighten awareness of community problem or public issue or to promote a non-profit organization or event. Entry may consist of up to 3 station-produced PSAs and/or up to 10 minutes of airtime from a remote or live or taped broadcast (may be telescoped)
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY AWARD: Each year, the MAB will present the Commitment to Community Award to (1) Radio station and (1) Television station that has gone the extra mile to support and highlight a nonprofit organization, charity or community cause. Each award will carry with it a $500 donation from the MAB to the organization that is the subject of the broadcast. This award will be granted to the First Place Winner of the Public Service Award. Once a station has won the Commitment to Community Award for a particular organization, it will be prohibited from entering the same organization for a period of three years
STATION OF THE YEAR: NEW THIS YEAR! Stations may submit audio and video up to 15 minutes total time and any supporting photos, documents and narrative detailing the station’s programming and community service during the Period of Eligibility. Entries will be judged on overall community service, staff engagement, and comprehensive excellence in programming.
Tips for Success
- Designate ONE person from your Production or Programming staff to be the coordinator for your station’s entries.
- Make a LIST of all of your entries—and which category they will compete in
- Go to: www.rockourawards.com and create your account:
- Click on REGISTRATION in Upper Right and Fill in your info
- Proceed to LOGIN Page and log in using your new Username and Password
- You will be taken to your company’s homepage.
- To Submit your entry, click on the “SUBMIT ENTRY” button
- Choose CATEGORY and fill out the Title of Entry. THIS IS WHAT WILL APPEAR ON YOUR AWARD, so be careful of spelling!
- UPLOAD any files that go with your award category.
- Acceptable file formats are: .png,.jpg,.gif,.mp3, .mp4,.avi,..mov, .wmv, .doc, and .pdf. YouTube and other web links are also acceptable and in some cases may be necessary.
- In COMMENTS section, add any additional info/explanation of the entry-these will be seen by the Judges
- CREDIT-Tell us who should get credit for this submission-CHECK SPELLING CAREFULLY!
- Click SUBMIT
- You can VIEW your entries at any time from your Company Homepage—you can also EDIT from here.
- Please don’t wait until the LAST DAY to upload files—add files as you go along
- If you have a RockOurAwards account and cannot remember your password, email info@rockourawards.com to reset it
- PLEASE avoid special characters in FILE NAMES for upload. Dashes, dots and underscores are OK, but # and apostrophes in particular will be rejected
CATEGORIES FOR RADIO ONLY
MORNING SHOW OR TEAM: NEW THIS YEAR! Maximum 30 minutes of aircheck from one show airing from 5am-10am. Only one (1) entry per team or individual on a team. Stations simulcasting more than 50% must consider themselves as one station for the purposes of entry. Must be local-network or syndicated programming will not be accepted. Recorded comedy bits are OK-and clips from non-local sources. This award will be judged on entertainment value, originality, production value and community engagement
AIR PERSONALITY: Maximum 15 minutes of aircheck from one show outside of AM Drive. Only one (1) entry per team or individual on a team. Stations simulcasting more than 50% must consider themselves as one station for the purposes of entry. Must be local-network or syndicated programming will not be accepted. Recorded comedy bits are OK-and clips from non-local sources. This award will be judged on entertainment value, overall flow of show, production value and community engagement.
BEST ON-AIR CONTEST: Entries may consist of up to three (3) promo spots, :60 or less and no more than 5:00 minutes of live broadcast (i.e. contest winner) Entries judged on originality and execution and entertainment value.
CATEGORIES FOR TELEVISION ONLY
MORNING SHOW OR TEAM: NEW THIS YEAR! Maximum 30 minutes of aircheck from one show airing from 5am-10am. Only one (1) entry per team or individual on a team. Stations simulcasting more than 50% must consider themselves as one station for the purposes of entry. Must be local-network or syndicated programming exceeding :60 will not be accepted. Recorded comedy bits are OK-and clips from non-local sources. This award will be judged on entertainment value, originality, production value and community engagement
BEST SPORTSCAST: A sportscast, as aired within a newscast. Only one entry per station. Must be locally produced and use on-air personnel who are paid employees of the station. For this category, submit only the sportscast segment (not entire news program) Entries may not exceed 10 minutes.
BEST WEATHERCAST: A weathercast, as aired within a newscast. Only one entry per station. Must be locally produced and use on-air personnel who are paid employees of the station. For this category, submit only the weathercast segment (not entire news program) Entries may not exceed 10 minutes.
PHOTOJOURNALISM: A single story, aired within a news program, not longer than 10 minutes
DIGITAL CATEGORIES
BEST WEBSITE: Stations should submit the URL of the Home page of the station’s website. The website may be hosted on a broadcast-network or other third-party server but must contain at least 50% locally produced content. Sites will be judged based on layout, organization, ease of navigation, and usefulness of content. One entry per station.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA-NEWS FOCUS: This award recognizes a station’s use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms along with blogs, apps, and other tools to inform the public. Criteria include the frequency and quality of updates, use of station-created content and use of audio and video. Stations should submit a .pdf file, not more than 5 pages, containing a narrative and examples of social media use.
BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA-ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS: This award recognizes a station’s use of Twitter, Facebook Instagram and other platforms along with blogs, apps and other tools to connect with its audience. Criteria includes the frequency and quality of updates, use of station-created content and use of audio and video. Stations should submit a .pdf file, not more than 5 pages, containing a narrative and examples of social media use.