1 for All

‘Free to Tweet’ Contest

The “Free to Tweet” contest (the “Contest”) is a contest judged by experts in the area of First Amendment and freedom of expression. A prize is awarded to the best five (5) eligible entries. The contest is administered by the American Society of News Editors (“ASNE”).

• How to Participate: Contestant entries must be submitted via Twitter between the hours of 12:00:00 AM EST on December 1, 2012, and 11:59:59 PM PST on December 15, 2012, as follows: Entries must be submitted via a “Tweet” on the social networking site Twitter.
• Each Tweet must focus on one of the five freedoms of the First Amendment.
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of the press
• Freedom of religion
• The right of assembly
• The right of petition
• The judges have the sole authority for determining the freedom addressed by each entry. The judges will then select one scholarship winner for each of the five designated freedoms.
• It must contain the hashtag #FreetoTweet (not case sensitive).
• Tweet must be self-contained; links will not be considered.
• Multiple entries are allowed via multiple Tweets.
• There is no limit on the number of entries from one person but each entry must be unique.
• All entries must be original creations by the submitter. Any quotations or copyrighted material contained in any submission must be properly identified as such. Failure to properly identify non-original materials will result in disqualification.
• There is no cost to enter the contest.
• Eligibility: All entrants must be at least fourteen (14) years of age and currently legal residents of and residing in the United States of America. The entrant will be required to sign an agreement confirming that he or she will use the Prize to pay for some form of secondary or post-secondary education (including graduate school programs) prior to claiming any Prize in the event that the entrant becomes a Winner.An entrant will be disqualified and any prizes awarded will be forfeited if an entrant is found to be using an assumed name or alias (0ther than a Twitter handle) or if the entrant is not yet fourteen (14) years of age.
• Ineligible Individuals, Duos, Groups and Teams: Employees (including current interns), principals, officers, directors, agents, and representatives of ASNE, the American Society of News Editors Foundation or the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, First Amendment Center, Freedom Forum and their family and household members are ineligible to participate in the Contest. All entries must be the work of one person. No duos, groups or teams will be allowed to enter together.
• Winner Selection: Judging will be completed by two panels of qualified judges. An initial panel of judges will select twenty-five (25) finalists. A second panel will select the five (5) awardees and the order of alternate winners. The judging criteria shall be identical for each round. Entries will be judged on (1) The quality of the First Amendment message, including an understanding of the amendment’s principles and (2) Presentation, which includes originality, creativity, and clarity. The two criteria will be valued equally in the scoring process.The decision of the judges is final. Any protest in the conducting of the contest, the selection of the winners or the awarding of the prizes must be made immediately; the resolution of any protest shall be in the sole discretion of the Executive Committee of the American Society of News Editors, whose decision shall be considered final.Winning entries will also be featured on the 1forall.us web page and related media and any other locations authorized by ASNE.
• Odds of Winning: The odds of winning vary. They depend on the number of people entering.
• Winner Notification and Prize Claim: Winners will be notified via a Twitter direct message sent to the account from which the entry was submitted. Entrants are also advised to follow the @FreetoTweet2012 Twitter account for updates. A Winner must notify ASNE to verify his or her eligibility and claim his or her Prize within fourteen (14) days from the date on which he or she was notified by ASNE via Twitter direct message. Failure to do so will result in the Prize being awarded to the highest-ranking alternate winner. A winner must contact ASNE via telephone, e-mail or first class mail or come to the ASNE offices in person to claim his or her prize as follows:

  American Society of News Editors Free to Tweet Contest
  Reynolds Journalism Institute
  Missouri School of Journalism
  Suite 209
  401 S. 9^th St.
  Columbia, MO 65201
  Phone: 573/882-9854
  E-mail: freetotweet@1forAll.us

  Prizes will be awarded only to a Winner presenting his or her own positive, government-issued or school-issued identification at the time of claim. A Winner must complete and sign an ASNE-issued waiver, acknowledgment and release forms and government-issued tax forms including, but not limited to, IRS Form W-9, if applicable.After these forms are completed and after other verification measures are completed, ASNE will ship the Prize to the winner’s address. This will likely occur in January 2013. The Prize will be delivered only to the winner, who will be required to sign for the Prize at the time of delivery. In the event that a Winner is a minor child who has not reached at least eighteen (18) years of age, these identification, signature and delivery requirements can be fulfilled by the presentation of the required identification and signing of the required forms by the Winner’s parent or legal guardian.

• Prizes: Five (5) scholarships in the form of checks in the amount of FIVE THOUSAND US dollars ($ 5000.00) each will be awarded to the highest-ranked entries who also meet all other rules and regulations governing the Contest, including eligibility.All Prizes must be accepted as awarded. Prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable and are not redeemable for cash or other prizes. ASNE reserves the right to substitute a Prize with another similar prize of equal or greater value in the event the originally Prize offered is not available due to circumstances beyond ASNE’s control. All costs of claiming the Prize must be borne by the winner.
• Technical Failures: ASNE is not responsible for technical errors, problems or delays of any kind, including but not limited to those involving switched, mobile or cellular telephone systems or the Internet, that may prevent entries from being delivered, recognized, recorded, maintained, cached or judged or Prizes from being claimed or delivered.
• Participant Agreements: By entering the contest, each entrant agrees to the rules established by the contest sponsor: the American Society of News Editors. By participating or attempting to participate in the Contest, submitters grant ASNE, its affiliates and assigns, their affiliates and assigns, permission to retweet, repost or otherwise reuse the submission and/or use his or her name, voice and/or likeness for promotional purposes in any medium of communications.
• Release and Waiver: In exchange for the right to participate in the Contest, each participant agrees to release and indemnify ASNE, and its officers, directors, agents, representatives, parent companies, subsidiaries, assigns, employees and investors (the “Released Parties”), from any and all claims, demands and/or causes of action of any nature or kind whatsoever, whether presently known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, that arise out of the participation in the Contest. The Released Parties are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the material, equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the contest and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to a phone line used in conjunction with a Contest.Winners should expect that they will be required to sign a separate Waiver, Acknowledgment and Release upon collection of a Prize.
• Choice of Law: The laws of the State of Missouri shall govern the Contest. This explicit choice of Missouri law is made without regard to Missouri rules governing conflicts of law.
• Severability: Should any of the Contest rules, or any part of those rules, as herein stated, become unenforceable either by operation of law or by order of a court or other tribunal with competent jurisdiction, all other terms and conditions shall remain in full force.
• Printed Rules and Winners Lists: To obtain a printed complete set of rules, send a letter request and a stamped self-addressed envelope to:

  ASNE Free to Tweet Contest
  Reynolds Journalism Institute
  Missouri School of Journalism, Suite 209
  401 S. 9^th St.
  Columbia, MO 65201

• The Free to Tweet Contest is subject to all Federal, State and local regulations and laws and is void where restricted or prohibited by law.
• ASNE retains the right to amend these rules and regulations at any time for any reason but will advise the public of such changes promptly after they are made.