You have to be at the judging to begin to understand the complex process. The general judging uses four judging groups in large rooms working with 200 long tables for entries, color cups to keep the judging secret until the last minute and color chips representing each judge.

Judges study each entry and decide if it is "in" or "out" by placing his or her chip in the proper cup. They follow a process that works well to get the judging done over three long days.

Translators are available for international judges and entries so the judging is as fair as possible for non-English publications.

Some categories have too many entries to have all entries out on the display tables at the same time. If this is the case a preliminary cut is done by having judges carry cups and place them on pages they'd like to see make the first cut. It only takes one cup to stay in the competition at this point. Depending on the number of entries in the category this process may be repeated several times.

 

Once cupping (if necessary) is completed and all entries can be laid out at one time, the actual voting begins. Each judge has a single chip color to cast his or her vote. The judge must vote "yes" or "no" for every entry (the sole exception, conflicts, is described below). Placed in front of each entry are two cups, one red, the other blue. To vote "no," the judge drops a chip into the red cup. To vote "yes," the judge drops a chip into the blue cup. The cups have slits cut in their tops so once the chip is dropped in the cup other judges cannot see how a judge voted until the final vote is revealed at the end of the judging round. The sole exception to this is when a judge has a conflict. In this instance he or she places a yellow cup on the entry rather than voting with a chip.

 

A conflict occurs when a judge comes across an entry from his or her publication, a publication he or she has done recent consulting work for (recent is defined as an 18-month period immediately prior to judging) or a publication with which he or she directly competes. In this case the judge places a yellow cup on the entry signifying to the Team Captain that a conflict exists. When a yellow cup appears on an entry, the Team Captain is responsible for notifying a "floating" judge to vote on the entry. A number of qualified "floating" judges are available on the judging floor to perform this duty.

 

It takes three or more "yes" votes to get into the show. Once in the show a winner may not be eliminated from the awards list. Entries receiving two or less votes are out of the show.

The First round

• Entries receiving two or less votes are out of the competition.
  
• Entries receiving three votes will receive an Award of Excellence.
  
• Entries receiving four or more votes in the first round will go directly into medal round discussions.

The Medal round

• Any entry receiving five votes (unanimous vote of the judging panel) earns a Gold Medal.
  
• Any entry receiving four votes during the medal round is awarded a Silver Medal.
  
• Any entry not receiving four votes in the medal round will receive an Award of Excellence.
  
• In very rare occasions during the medal round, it is possible for a judge to request that an Award of Excellence winner be moved up for Silver Medal consideration. However, this normally does not happen.
  
• At the end of the judging, judges will re-examine all Silver and Gold medal winners as edited for The Best of Newspaper Design™ book. Medal winners can be renegotiated up or down the award scale at that time.
  
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