Yahoo News College Contributor Contest

Yahoo News College Contributor Contest

Call to all college students!

On November 12th, Yahoo News is hosting a live-streamed conference - Digital Democracy: The Yahoo Conference on Politics and Technology - that will explore how technology has changed elections and politics with some of today’s most important political operatives and policy makers.

Watch the on demand clips from our November 12th live event starting November 13th and create 1 (one) original piece of reporting based on what you viewed.  You must watch at least 1 full panel.  Beginning November 12th, all content will be viewable at: http://yahoodigitaldemocracy.tumblr.com/#agenda.  Submissions may be be in the form of an essay (no longer than 1,500 words), photo essay (no longer than 1,500 words and 20 photos), or video (no longer than 3 minutes in length).

Submissions should be emailed to CollegeContributor@yahoo.com along with your full name, date of birth, college, major, and school e-mail address. For large files a free file sharing site such as DropBox may be used. All submissions must be received before midnight EST on December 1, 2015.

Yahoo will choose 5 winners who will receive:

1. Compensation for every piece that is published 
2. Placement of their original reporting published on the Yahoo Politics Tumblr throughout the 2016 election cycle
3. Mentorship opportunities with Yahoo’s top-tier editorial team
4. A trip to shadow one of Yahoo News’ best-in-class journalists

 

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The Yahoo! News College Contributor Contest

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Contest may only be entered in or from the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and entries originating from any other jurisdiction are not eligible for entry. This Contest is governed exclusively by the laws of the United States. You are not authorized to participate in the Contest if you are not located within the United States and/or if you are not an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled and in good standing, with a minimum of a 50% average full-time course load, in a nationally or regionally accredited two- or four- year U.S. college at the time of entry.

To be eligible, Essay(s) contained in the Submissions may not have been previously published. For the purpose of this Contest, “published” means that the Essay(s) have not been published or distributed for profit or non-profit purposes, in part or whole, in electronic format or in any other medium, including self-published works. The decision of the Contest’s Judges as to whether or not a Submission qualifies for entry and/or has been commercially released will be final and binding in all respects.

1. How to Enter. To enter the Yahoo! News College Contributor Contest (the “Contest”): (a) Log onto collegecontributor.yahoo.com (the “Site”) on November 12, 2015 at 9:00AM Eastern Time to view the essay prompt(s) from Sponsor in connection with the live stream of Digital Democracy: The Yahoo Conference on Technology and Politics (the “Conference”); (b) watch the Conference at http://yhoo.it/digitaldemocracy; (c) respond to the prompt(s) by creating one (1) piece of essay content, either written essay, photo essay or video essay in compliance with the Guidelines and Restrictions below (“each, an Essay”); and (d) submit your Essay to CollegeContributor@yahoo.com during the Contest Period (defined below) along with your full name, date of birth, college, major, and school e-mail address. You must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a nationally or regionally accredited two- or four- year U.S. college, and in good standing, with a minimum of a 50% average full-time course load, at the time of entry.

All entry information and the Essay(s) shall be collectively referred to herein as the “Submissions” or each as a “Submission.” All Submissions shall be at entrant’s sole cost and expense and Sponsor is not responsible for reimbursing entrant for any such costs and/or expenses. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify this Contest (including by awarding less than five (5) prizes) in the event an insufficient number of Submissions are received that meet the minimum judging criteria, and in the event of cancellation, shall be under no obligation to award the prizes. Submissions must comply with the Guidelines and Restrictions set forth below. Providing a Submission constitutes entrant’s consent to give Sponsor a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, and display such Submissions in whole or in part, on a worldwide basis, in perpetuity, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, for any purpose whatsoever, including for promotional or marketing purposes.

By entering, each entrant warrants and represents the following with respect to their Submission: (a) entrant is the sole and exclusive owner of any Essay contained within the Submission; (b) the Submission is entrant’s own, original creation; (c) the Submission will not infringe on any rights of any third parties; (d) any third parties participating in the creation of the Submission and/or referenced in the Essay have given entrant all appropriate consents in connection with the Submission and the future use of the Submission as set forth hereunder; and (e) entrant has exclusive rights in and to the Submission and full authority to grant all future permissions to the Submission.

The physical embodiment of the Submissions shall become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned; however, the copyrights in and to the Submissions shall not become the property of Sponsor as a result of entry into the Contest. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the winning Submissions (subject to winner confirmation), including any copyrights therein, shall be solely and exclusively owned by Sponsor. Only fully completed Submissions are eligible. Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor. By entering the Contest, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor and Judges, which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Contest.

Limit one (1) Submission per person regardless of method of entry. Duplicate Submissions by the same entrant will be subject to disqualification. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same e-mail account. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that entrant's entries and that entrant may be disqualified. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. All entrants must have a valid email address. In the event of a dispute as to any account, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register on the platform will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

2. Start/End Dates. Contest begins at 12:00:01 PM (noon) Eastern Time on November 12, 2015 and ends at 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time on December 1st, 2015 (the “Contest Period”).

3. Eligibility. Participation open only to legal residents of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia who are 18 or older as of date of entry and the age of majority in their state of residence, that are currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student in a nationally or regionally accredited two- or four-year U.S. college, and in good standing at the college with a minimum of a 50% average full-time course load, as of the time of entry. Void outside of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, and where prohibited or restricted by law. Employees, officers & directors of Yahoo! Inc. (“Sponsor”) and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. You are not authorized to participate in the Contest if you are not located within the United States or the District of Columbia and/or if you are not currently enrolled and in good standing, with a minimum of a 50% average full-time course load, in a nationally or regionally accredited two- or four-year U.S. college as of the time of entry. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

4. Submission Guidelines and Content Restrictions. By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that entrant’s Submission conforms to the Submission Guidelines and Content Restrictions as set forth below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove any Submission and disqualify an entrant from the Contest if it believes, in its sole discretion, that the entrant’s Submission fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions.

Submission Guidelines:

· The Essay, if written, must be no longer than 1500 words; if a photo Essay, consist of no more than 20 photos with accompanying captions no longer than 75 words per photo; if a video Essay, must be no longer than three (3) minutes in length.

· The Submission must be in English.

· Essay may not have been previously published, or submitted as part of any contest.

Content Restrictions:

· The Submission must not contain material that violates or infringes any rights of any other party, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or any other intellectual property rights (provided that entrants have a limited license to use content in the prompt provided by Sponsor solely for purposes of their Submission);

· The Submission must not disparage Sponsor or any other person or party;

· The Submission must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;

· The Submission must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;

· The Submission must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations of the United States or of any jurisdiction where Submission is created;

· The Submission must be consistent with the image and values of Sponsor and be consistent with and satisfy the purpose of the Contest.

Each entrant acknowledges that other entrants may have used ideas and/or concepts in their Submission that may be similar in idea or concept to what is included in entrant’s Submission. Each entrant understands and agrees that he/she shall not have any claim against any other entrant or Sponsor arising out any such similarity or be entitled to any compensation because of any such similarity.

5. Judging/Judging Criteria. Between December 2, 2015 and January 15, 2016, all Submissions will be judged by a judging panel, comprised of the Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo News and/or her representative(s) (collectively, the “Judges”), each with the required knowledge and experience to apply the Judging Criteria (defined below). All Submissions will be judged based on the following equally-weighted judging criteria: (i) accuracy and completeness; (ii) enterprise and ingenuity; (iii) adherence to high journalistic standards; (iv) significance and effectiveness; and (v) clarity, insight and respect (the “Judging Criteria”). The top-scoring five (5) Submissions will receive prizes as described below (subject to verification). By entering the Contest, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Judges, which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Contest. In the event of a tie, the Judges will determine the winner (subject to confirmation) using the Judging Criteria. By entering a Submission, each entrant acknowledges that Judges shall have the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any Submission that Judges deem to be inappropriate for any reason, including without limitation, for failure to comply with the Guidelines and Restrictions set forth in these Official Rules.

Note that no critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by Sponsor or the Judges except that the Sponsor or Judges may offer evaluation or commentary if, in their sole opinion, evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of an Essay or other content submitted by a verified winner being considered for publication.

 

6. Prizes. Five (5) Prizes: Sponsor will offer each verified winner the opportunity to enter into a freelancer agreement with Sponsor for the placement and publishing of at least one piece of content per month to the Yahoo Politics Tumblr page for a one-year term, subject to winner following Sponsor’s standard editorial procedures, and with the potential for eventual publication on Yahoo! News and/or Yahoo! Politics. For clarity, Sponsor does not guarantee that the winning Essay will be published in any form, in any manner, nor is any compensation for such Essay included within the prize. The agreement offered will be Sponsor’s standard-form agreement, which provides for a winner compensation of $200 per accepted monthly freelance article. Any terms not specified herein or in the text of Sponsor’s standard agreement will be determined by Sponsor at its sole discretion. The winner may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but Sponsor shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. All winning Submissions (and the names of the winners) may also be featured in Sponsor advertising, marketing and promotional materials in any and all media including on the Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Politics and Yahoo Politics Tumblr pages.

Contingent on each winner’s fulfillment of their freelance obligations pursuant to the terms of their executed agreement with Sponsor, provided such agreement is entered into, Sponsor will offer each eligible winner the opportunity to participate in a three- (3) day, two- (2) night trip for winner to New York or D.C.. The trip will include roundtrip coach airfare for winner to and from a major gateway airport nearest winner’s primary residence (as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion), single occupancy standard hotel accommodations for three (3) nights at a hotel to be determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion (room and tax only), a per diem of Fifty Dollars ($50) cash, and a check for Five Hundred Dollars ($500). Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of each prize $4700; total ARV of all prizes combined: $23,500. Actual retail value will depend on current market conditions, winner’s place of residence, time of travel and/or air flight fluctuations. Winners will not receive difference between approximate and actual retail value. Any details related to the prizes not specified herein shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.

Prizes are non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions. In the case of unavailability of any prize, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. All federal, state and local taxes and unspecified expenses, including meals, gratuities, travel upgrades, incidentals, fees, service charges, surcharges, and insurance costs are the sole responsibility of winners. Limit one (1) prize per person. Prizes are awarded as-is, with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor.

 

7. Notification. Winners will be notified on or about January 15, 2016 by e-mail and will be required to sign and return, where legal, an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and/or rights transfer document within seven (7) days of prize notification. Additionally, winners may be required to obtain releases from any and all third parties appearing in their respective Submissions. If any winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if any winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Contest Official Rules, such prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to the Submission with the next highest score, time permitting. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

8. Conditions. Sponsor shall not be liable or responsible in the event winning Submissions are not used for any reason. Submissions (including the winning Submissions) may be cut, edited, reformatted, rearranged, combined with other materials and/or otherwise modified, in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion. Participation in Contest and acceptance of prize constitutes each entrant’s and winner’s permission for Sponsor to use his/her name, address (city and state), likeness, photograph, picture, portrait, voice, biographical information, Essay and/or any statements made by each winner regarding the Contest or Sponsor for advertising and promotional purposes without notice or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. By participating, entrants and winners agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its advertising and promotion agencies and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors (collectively, “Released Entities”), from any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in Contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any Contest-related activity and for any claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement or any other intellectual property-related cause of action. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Contest in any way shall be disqualified. Sponsor is not responsible if Contest cannot take place or if any prize cannot be awarded due to travel cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism.

9. Additional Terms. Any attempted form of entry other than as set forth in Section 1 above is prohibited; no automatic, programmed; robotic or similar means of entry are permitted. Released Parties are not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, web site, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Contest, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, extend or suspend this Contest should (in its sole discretion) virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In the case of termination, Sponsor will select the winners from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or web site. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programs) or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrants or Sponsor representatives.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

 

IN NO EVENT WILL THE RELEASED ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE CONFERENCE AND/OR THE CONTEST, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONTEST. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS CONTEST AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.

 

10. Disputes; Governing Law. The Sweepstakes is governed by, and will be construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California, and the forum and venue for any dispute shall be in Los Angeles County, California. If the controversy or claim is not otherwise resolved through direct discussions or mediation, it shall then be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by JUDICIAL ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION SERVICES, INC., in accordance with its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures or subsequent versions thereof (“JAMS Rules”). The JAMS Rules for selection of an arbitrator shall be followed, except that the arbitrator shall be experienced and licensed to practice law in California. All proceedings brought pursuant to this paragraph will be conducted in the County of Los Angeles. THE REMEDY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY PARTY BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES OR OTHER SUCH RELATED COSTS OF BRINGING A CLAIM, OR TO RESCIND THIS AGREEMENT OR SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR ANY OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF.

11. Use of Data. Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy. Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/privacy/index.htm. By participating in the Contest, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.

12. List of Winners. To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by February 28, 2016 to: Yahoo! Inc., c/o Erin Gang, 229 West 43rd Street, Floor 14, New York, NY 10036.

Sponsor. Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089.