Wisconsin high school journalists will soon have the opportunity to showcase their best work as the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) High School Newspaper Contest opens Dec. 8, 2025. The annual contest recognizes excellence in student journalism and culminates with an in-person celebration at the WNA Annual Convention in Madison.
The submission deadline is Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, with all entries due by 10:59 p.m. CST. Eligible work must have been published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 7, 2025.
Contest entries are open to students enrolled in any Wisconsin public, parochial or private high school. Publications compete in two divisions based on enrollment: Division A for schools with more than 500 students and Division B for schools with fewer than 500 students. Categories with three or fewer entries will be merged into the next highest division.
This year’s contest features 12 categories, including General Excellence, General Reporting, Public Affairs Reporting, In-Depth Story, Feature Story, Sports Story, Editorial Writing, Column Writing, News/Feature Photography, Sports Photography, Infographic/Illustration and Best Use of Multimedia. Newspapers may submit unlimited entries in most categories, though individual staff members’ names may not appear on more than two entries per category.
Entries must be submitted online through the Better Newspaper Contest website. Most categories require full-page PDFs or URLs, with photography entries also requiring individual JPG files. Each entry costs $7.50, with payment due by the contest deadline.
All entries will be judged by experienced newspaper professionals from the Colorado Press Association. Winners will be recognized during the Branen Family Student Luncheon at the WNA Annual Convention on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Madison.
The two-day WNA Annual Convention, held March 5–6 at the Madison Concourse Hotel, offers students and advisers the chance to attend sessions, connect with professional journalists and celebrate student work from across the state. Student registration for the convention is free, making it an accessible opportunity for journalism programs to extend learning beyond the classroom.
The contest is supported by the Branen Family Fund, which awards $100 to each first-place winning entry and supports student journalism through its sponsorship of the convention’s student luncheon.
Additional contest details, category descriptions and submission instructions are available at
