SmallTownPapers Releases New Version of Contest Platform

Oct. 9, 2012 - PRLog -- SmallTownPapers, Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the latest version of its intensely popular journalism contest platform, BetterBNC. With new tools to customize a contest, version 4.3 can significantly expand the number of journalism contest participants.  New features include allowing a contest to accept freelance entries and an online scrapbook so contestants can save and quickly retrieve entries for future contests.
“Our entire process is user-driven with new features proposed by contestants, judges, and contest administrators who provide feedback on ways the platform could be improved for them,” said Paul Jeffko, president of SmallTownPapers.  “We are excited about the direction of these latest features which not only enhance the platform itself but make it possible for a contest to engage more people.”
Contestant Scrapbooks
Contestants have indicated that they often find themselves scrambling before a contest deadline to locate a piece they’ve done which would be an appropriate entry.  The new scrapbooking feature allows contestants to save their work in their own scrapbook account then simply upload it directly into an entry when the time is right.
Contestant Manager
With Contestant Manager, an organization’s senior managers and editors control who and what entries are made for a contest.  They have the ability to manage entries themselves, assign someone else to manage the process or authorize employees to create entries for their respective departments.  
Open Call for Entries
Contest administrators can use the Open Call feature to invite unaffiliated journalists to enter their contests.  Freelancers and contestants who enter on their own behalf rather than through a media organization can create their own account with BetterBNC, then enter an Open Call contest.   With the ability to expand a contest beyond a membership group or to different levels of participants, contest administrators can also create up to four independent entry fee structures for a single contest.
BetterBNC continues to provide contest administrators with new features and improvements – building upon its totally integrated contest management experience. Since it was launched in 2007, BetterBNC has helped more than 100 organizations move their journalism contests, once managed manually using physical tear sheets, to an online platform with easy management, entry uploads and online judging.  The result has been a more efficient and easy process for all involved with the added benefit of giving more creative professionals a new venue for promoting their work.
“I haven’t entered many journalism contests in the past because you have to work for a newspaper or magazine to qualify for many of them,” said Seattle-based freelance magazine writer David Hanson who just completed a book project, Breaking Through Concrete, which documents 12 urban farms across the country.  “Having one place where I can have an account and see contests my work qualifies for is really great.  Putting my work in front of new audiences across the country is a great way to market myself as a writer and identify organizations I’d like to work with in the future.”
BetterBNC 4.3 is now available. For more information, visit www.betterbnc.com or contact Carter Cheston at carter@smalltownpapers.com or call 360.427.6300.  

##
About BetterBNC:  Working with press associations who wanted to streamline their antiquated process of running a manual “Better Newspaper Contest,” SmallTownPapers developed the first all-digital online contest application where contestants enter their articles as document or image files and judges review online from their own desktop. The BNC contest administrator can now deploy and manage the entire process online from the BNC Administrative Console. BetterBNC is currently being used by 100+ journalistic organizations representing more than 20,000 journalists and tradespeople in newspaper, magazines, web, television and radio. Visit BetterBNC for more information.
About SmallTownPapers:  SmallTownPapers is a leading solution provider for publishers of America’s 5000 small market newspapers. Working with publishers nationwide, the Seattle-based company digitally preserves current and archive editions and provides searchable online access to the newspapers. Additionally, SmallTownPapers provides millions of news consumers across the country with access to real-time news and information from small town America.  www.smalltownpapers.com.