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Distinguished Sites

Badges Overview

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The SNO Distinguished Sites program offers journalism programs with outstanding online publications the opportunity to be recognized.

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We offer six different badge areas representing what we believe to be the six components of a modern news site: site excellence, story page design, writing, multimedia, coverage and audience engagement.

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Sites that earn all six badges earn their title as a SNO Distinguished Site.

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The Stats

Over the 2021 - 2022 academic year...

• 62 sites were recognized as Distinguished Sites
• Earned all six badges
• Received a plaque, press release, and letter to the principal in the mail
• Over 200 publications earned at least one badge

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The Basics - Submitting

• Head to the “SNO Badges” dashboard in the back of your site.
• Toggle through the different badges to view requirements and use checklists to track progress.

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• Save Data as you work on the badge, and Submit for review when ready.

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• Keep an eye out for notifications in your SNO Dashboard and in your adviser’s email inbox for updates.

Differences from Best of SNO

• Feedback
• If a badge submission is rejected, our reviewers will provide you ample, personalized feedback to make improvements.
• Unlimited Submissions
• Use the feedback provided to resubmit the badge for approval...as many times as you want! There are no limits.
• Ongoing Process
• Badges are an opportunity to hone your skills! You have all year to work toward earning them.

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Badge Breakdown

Overview of badge requirements

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Writing Excellence

(Best of SNO)

• Have one story published to Best of SNO
• Best of SNO Criteria
• Widespread Appeal
• Diverse Sources
• Tight Editing
• Multimedia
• Attention to Story Packaging

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Audience

Engagement

• Submit two social media accounts
• Updated (posted to) daily for a period of 4 consecutive weeks (posts are not required on weekends)
• Combined total of 1,000 followers between both accounts
• Submit a screenshot of site analytics
• Within one month, site receives 5,000 pageviews from at least 1,000 unique visitors.
• Reflect on what your staff learned from analytics.

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Multimedia

• Submit Videos (3)
• SUMMARY: Well-composed videos that include at least two interviews, a variety of camera angles, good sound quality, and seamless transitions.
• Submit Slideshows (3)
• SUMMARY: Skillfully composed slideshows of 8-15 unique and varying images that include substantive captions and credits.
• Submit Podcasts (3)
• SUMMARY: Interview or discussion based podcasts with an intro/outro, brief description and good sound quality throughout.

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Story Excellence

• Submit eight well-designed and correctly formatted stories utilizing the various Story Page Templates:
• 1 Side Rails Template
• 1 Side by Side Template
• 1 Grid Template
• 1 Long Form Template
• 4 of your choice (any Template)

Make sure these stories include the use of photos or SNO story elements beyond the text and featured image to enhance the content.

Continuous

Coverage

• Developing Stories (3)
• Covering the same event
• Fully developed (including interviews)
• Published over time, but linked together
• Quick Coverage Stories (3)
• Fully developed (including interviews)
• Published within two days of the event
• Categories (4)
• Must publish at least one story per week in each category for a four-week period

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Site

Excellence

• Submit your site’s design for review:
• Design work (graphic header, customized favicon, distinct color scheme, minimal fonts, FLEX Pro conversion, etc.)
• Design Draft with marked differences in the header, footer, and widget areas on your site
• Images (displaying correctly, credited correctly, etc.)
• Content (no spelling errors, updated social media links, current navigation menu items, staff profiles, etc.)

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