For many Wisconsin broadcasters, 2026 begins with a thorough look back at 2025 as part of finalizing entries for the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards for Excellence. The process can feel like both a blessing and a curse. It’s inspiring to revisit the best work your team produced. But finalizing your entries can sometimes feel like choosing your favorite child.
Let’s resolve to make the contest entry process more organized and less time consuming in 2026.
Here are 10 suggestions that may help.
1-Create an internal system to identify and save contest worthy content daily rather than an end of the year hunt for compelling entries. Ask your team what they consider to be your best effort/memorable moments from today or yesterday. Could this be wrapped into the show debrief or the daily story meeting with your team?
2-Build team culture by making sure station colleagues understand what they do is important. They each impact our ability to deliver a quality product to our consumers every day. Poor quality audio or a misspelled graphic erodes consumer confidence in our professionalism and are a contest entry killer.
3-Minimize contest entry deadline stress by establishing internal quarterly deadlines for some of the categories. Set yourself up for success all year long.
4-Volunteer to judge other contests to expose staffers to new ideas and help them understand what makes for a winning contest entry. Recruit your staffers to work together as a small team to judge entries over pizza (you’re buying!).
5-Ask departing staffers to identify stories they’ve produced that may warrant a contest entry. You can’t enter what you can’t remember.
6-As you review entries, ask whether any of your “best of” stories are worthy of an update.
7-Encourage reporters to contact people featured in their stories to let them know their story is under consideration for a statewide award. It’s good practice and good will. Thank them for sharing their story and trusting us to tell it.
8-Be mindful of who is not making the contest entry cut. Schedule time to review their story entries and explain areas where they can make improvements, so they are in the running next time around. Turn disappointment into a valuable teaching moment.
9-Having a tough time deciding on your best entry? Don’t let newsroom think rule your decisions. Ask other department leaders for their opinions. Get buy in to build station culture.
10-And last but not least, make sure your team understands awards are awesome but contests do not guide our daily decision making. A good story is always worth the effort regardless of whether if falls into a specific contest category 2026 is full of promise and stories that need telling. Remember to celebrate the everyday victories along the way with your team before you get to the Gala in May.
Anne Paape
WBA Awards Committee
