WHERE SHOULD
I START?
​
You are a reporter with the assignment to feature the person you’ve selected with an article and photos and/or a video. The story you tell must be true, including quotes from your interview with the person, or from others who knew that person, and research to verify the facts (names, dates, locations, historic background, etc).
THE GUIDELINES
ELIGIBILITY
Students in grades 7-12 residing in and/or attending school in Rappahannock County. An entry may be developed in or out of school.
CONTEST PERIOD
The contest will begin on January 16th, and entries must be submitted through the online Google Form no later than midnight on March 16th.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
All stories must be true and drawn from the experiences of people you interviewed or research you conducted in family or county historic archives.
AI / PLAGIARISM
Entries will be disqualified if they are found to have been generated by artificial intelligence or plagiarized.
Each entry must be the original work of one student. An adult may not alter the creative or substantive integrity of the student’s work.
AWARDS
A panel of 15 judges will select 15 story winners, 5 from each grade grouping. One winner will be awarded the new $500 Brooks Prize, named in honor of Stephen Brooks, Foothills Forum Emeritus Board Member and the contest’s founder, which will be awarded to the entry that most exemplifies the fulfillment of local journalism objectives.
Contest awards include:
CASH PRIZES -- $3,000 in prize money. The Brooks Prize will also include an opportunity to see how a real newspaper is produced.
PUBLICATION – Your piece will be printed in the Rappahannock News, and published on their website.
7-8th Grade
First Place: $200
Second Place: $150
Third Place: $100
Honorable Mentions: $50
9-10th Grade
First Place: $300
Second Place: $225
Third Place: $150
Honorable Mentions: $75
11-12th Grade
First Place: $400
Second Place: $300
Third Place: $200
Honorable Mentions: $100
The Brooks Prize
$500