Public Service Announcement Contest - 2012

League of Women Voters^®
Oakland Area

Public Service Announcement Contest - 2012

Know Before You Go: Be An Informed Voter

About the Contest

Know Before You Go: Be An *Informed* Voter
For this year's Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest, create a PSA that encourages voters to arm themselves with information before going to the polls to vote.

Eligibility
High School students, grades 9 through 12, living or attending school in Oakland County (public, private, home schooled). Students may enter singly or as a team of up to 5 members per submission.

Objective
Create a PSA that urges voters to become informed before casting a vote.

Theme
Know Before You Go: Be an *Informed* Voter
Campaigning for the 2012 elections is heated. It is increasingly difficult for voters to get accurate information. Incivility and polarization in Congress, skewed TV, radio and internet communications, and "issue ads," which promote a particular view and are not always truthful, facilitate "hearing" what fits with one's preconceived opinions.
To become informed voters, citizens need to weigh a variety of viewpoints and seek balanced information from newspapers, news programs, candidate debates, and from non-partisan candidate forums and voter guides (such as those sponsored by the League of Women Voters).
The goal of this PSA is to stimulate voters to become informed before casting a vote.

Categories

Television
Radio
Essay

Judging
Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, clarity and use of the theme.

Awards

The winning entry in each category will receive a cash award, to be evenly divided among members if submitted by a team. The school submitting the largest number of entries will also receive a cash award.
Winning TV and radio PSAs will be broadcast; the winning essay will be published.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 31, 2012.

Printable guidelines.

How to Enter

Students are encouraged to use whatever equipment is available, with permission. Teachers, principals, school audio/visual departments, parents and community leaders are encouraged to share their equipment and lend local support promoting this contest.

Technical Requirements

Television:
    Time limit: 30 seconds exactly
    Accepted formats: .MPEG4, 3GPP, .MOV, .WMV or .FLV; files must be on a data CD, not a DVD
Radio
    Time limit: 30 seconds exactly
    Accepted formats: .MP3 OR .WAV
Essay
    Word limit: 250

Presentation

Must mention sponsorship by the League of Women Voters Oakland area
Must not show names or logos of schools or companies

Required Forms

Submission form must be completed for each entry
Release form must be completed by each individual involved. Note: Multiple release forms for submission by a team.

Deadline

All materials must be received in the LWVOA office by April 20, 2012.
All entries will be acknowledged.
Mail entries to:
     PSA Contest
     League of Women Voters Oakland Area
     725 S. Adams Rd., Suite 292
     Birmingham, MI 48009

Materials submitted

Will not be returned. Making a duplicate is recommended, in case the original is damaged.
May be displayed, duplicated, edited and exhibited for educational or promotional purposes as deemed appropriate by the League of Women Voters Oakland Area.
Submission constitutes entrant's approval for such use by the LWVOA.

Contact
For questions or additional information, please contact
Renate Soulen, PSA Chair
248.642.6568
rsoulen@comcast.net

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: April 29, 2012 19:32 PDT.