Hume Award honors young political reporters

Up-and-coming political reporters should enter their best work from 2015 in the competition for the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism.

This award honors excellence and objectivity in political coverage by reporters 34 years old or younger. It is named in memory of Sandy Hume, the reporter for The Hill who broke the story of the aborted 1997 coup against House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The Hume award is one of many offered in the National Press Club journalism contest.

The winner gets a $750 prize.

The Club, a national leader among journalism organizations, encourages eligible reporters who write about politics to enter the contest.

The deadline is April 1. Details on the different awards categories and how to enter the contest can be found online.

Entrants are encouraged to enter online, but if you prefer, the Club will accept entries mailed in the traditional way as long as they are postmarked before the deadline.

No matter how you enter, the most important thing is to make sure you submit your best journalism.

The awards will be presented at an annual awards dinner at the National Press Club this summer.

The contest includes awards for political reporting, regional reporting on Washington, the news industry, international reporting, consumer reporting and online journalism.

It also includes a group of awards for areas as diverse as reporting on the welfare of animals, the aviation industry, problems facing the elderly and humor writing.