Newspaper Contests: An Inside Look

[M-axis 589]

Newspaper Contests: An Inside Look

 

 

Welcome Tankers and thanks for reading this article! Newspaper Contests. What are they? Every month, in every publication, there are various contests, where if you have some special talent, you may be the lucky someone who wins crystals. But how are they judged and how are they run? Today, we shall find out!

 

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First of all, I'd like to welcome today's guests, Savage and Blackdrakon30! Would you like to give a short introduction to our audience? How old you are, and when you joined the paper, for example?

 

BD30: Hello, I'm... well, pretty much everyone here knows me already.   :ph34r: I'm a professional mult from the United States,  and joined the reporter team back in December this year. I don't play Tanki Online much anymore thanks to some complications, but in my spare time I am an avid fan of competitive Pokemon, soccer,  and I'll soon be playing Overwatch often too. I'm currently 16 years old.

 

Savage: Hello there! I'm Jason, a 17 year-old hy6 mult from the United Kingdom, specifically Northern England. Outside of Tanki (about the only video game I play), I enjoy playing football (soccer), cricket and rock climbing. I joined the Newspaper in February 2017 after spending a lot of time writing for the AWC. However, I quit my role after several incidences which prompted me leave the paper. 

 

Thank you! Now down to business, in last month's issue, @Savage ran a very interesting and unique contest called 'Acting the part', whilst @Blackdrakon30 ran an old favourite, 'Caption This.' How was it decided that the both of you would run them? Are you picked randomly, do you volunteer or take turns?

 

BD30: I always liked the "Caption This" contests, so I decided to resurrect it when we were looking for some more concepts. We essentially let each other just pick out contests until we have enough, so I suppose it qualifies as volunteering.

 

Savage: We tend to volunteer for things like that, though there are times when certain Reporters have been press-ganged into creating contests. It takes a lot of hard thinking to come up with an original contest idea nowadays.

 

How do you decide what contest you will be running? Do you get to pick, mix, and grab? Or does your Savage Flexoo force you to run something?   :ph34r:

 

BD30: We just go to the Bank of Ideas in Conceptville and grab a gallon of Good Thoughts for a price of $50. Well worth the money, although it is a little far away.

 

Heh, in all seriousness, we just brainstorm solo and then pick whatever contest we want. No admin forcing.

 

Savage: Normally they (as Reporters) are allowed the liberty of making their own decisions when such incidences arise, but of course we get (or got) little prods and nudges every so often to make sure we complete stuff in time.

 

During the running of contests, one will always face the occasional cheat or plagairising tanker. What do you do in these situations? Have you met them before?

 

BD30: If there are two identical entries in a contest, I generally would disqualify the entry received later, since they are generally​ the one who plagiarized. It tends to work fairly effectively. I don't run into many people like this: people are usually not too bad about plagiarism in newspaper contests.

 

Savage: I ban them. No questions asked. Usually we don't get many plagiarized entries and I myself have never had to deal with any (haven't run many contests though). The last contest I ran was fairly hard for contestants to cheat in.

 

Twee edit: Plagiarizers are also paid a surprise visit by me. They may or may not catch fire afterwards.

 

Whats your favourite thing about running the contests?

 

BD30: I'd have to say reading all the entries. It's entertaining to read all the possible ideas from all these different people, especially in contests that are like "Finish the Story" or whatnot.

 

Savage: Oh, I enjoy seeing the creativity of different people and admiring their different skills and techniques. I feel that it's also nice to reward people for their talents.

 

We all know Reporters get paid for writing articles. Tell me how much plzz. Do you get paid anything for running contests? Or do you do it out of service for the Community?

 

BD30: My lawyer has advised me to not answer this question.    :ph34r:

 

Savage: For me to know and you to find out or not.

 

 

Reporters may get paid, but the best and winning entries get unlimited crystals! Last month the prizes were unusually big, but there were only three contests; rather than the usual four. Is there like a fund for prizes and you allocate them to different contests respectively? 

 

BD30: I don't know all the exact information about this, and I'd rather not give false information.    ;)

 

Savage: Not sure to be honest. Better to ask people who deal with that kind of thing.

 

 

Prizes are usually given out the following week, but in the previous issue, the rewards for one of the contests was given out nearly a full month late. What your explanation for what happened here? Who is responsible for handing out rewards? 

 

BD30: The delays were for reasons that weren't discussed, and I cannot divulge any more information on the subject or who is responsible for distributing crystals rewards.

 

Savage: As always, I will use the much-cliched expression. "When in doubt, blame the NS".

 

That do? K thx.

 

And now for the judging! Tankers hold their breath, and hope their entry will catch the eye of the critical judges. How is the judging usually run? Does the organizer judge solo? Would this not then be slightly biased? Like the complaint HD members always win the contests. We also saw a new way of judging last month, where a panel of judges judged the 'Make your own event' contest. Any more on that?

 

BD30: It kind of varies based on the contest organizer's preferences. For example, I solo judged the Caption This contest, but in more complicated contests (like best image editing ones or similar things), many reporters opt to make surveys to get in the thoughts and votes of their colleagues.

 

Savage: It depends on the contest and the number of entries. Usually for the larger contests all the Reporters will get their opinions considered, but that's up to the organiser.

 

Blackdrakon30, Caption This is a very easy contest, where people could compete with their alts. Approximately how many entries did you receive? Is this more than other contests?

 

BD30: I actually put all the entries into a spreadsheet, so thank goodness for be not having to make as rough of an estimate.    :P   I had nearly 60 entries in the Caption This contest; I think it was fairly popular, although I'm not sure how many people enter into other contests. I'm pretty sure the contests where it's "Show a picture of you in a DM battle" or things like that get far more entries, while AWC project-of-the-months certainly get much less entries.    :ph34r:

 

 

Savage, last month you ran a very intriguing contest, 'Acting the Part.'  When making this event, what did you expect from Tankers? This was a new event, so there was a lot of new territory opened up. Were the entries as good as you expected?

 

BD30: /me invades yiper's question

 

Savage: I actually originally thought that the quality wouldn't be all that great, but I was pleasantly surprised on this occasion. There wasn't a large quantity of entries, but certainly they were better than I had previously expected.

 

And finally as we round to a close, from a Reporters point of view, how do you think the normal Tanker reacts the the contests? What is the point of the contests? Do you think Tanker's enjoy the contests and encouraging one another's entries, or do you think they grumble at one another and show no sportsmanship?

 

BD30: I think that contests are just a fun extra way for Tanker's to use their creative skills to gain some extra crystals and have some fun. Prior to becoming a reporter I definitely considered it a supplement to the normally measly quantity of crystals obtainable at my rank, and I'm pretty sure most Tankers view it as such or just as a fun challenge. I think they generally enjoy contests and are all pretty civil and good about it, although that might be a question better suited to those who enter contests.    :P

 

Savage: I loved the Newspaper contests before I became a Reporter. They greatly helped me improve my garage and provided me with something to use my writing skills (if any) on.

 

I reckon people are usually pretty decent towards each other, especially so for the AWC members. I remember we all used to give each other constructive criticism and opinions on each others' entries.

 

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That brings this issue to a close, thanks to Savage and Blackdrakon30 for participating and bearing with my first interview. Big shout-out to them! Also thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. 'preciate it   ;) 

What do you think about Newspaper Contests? Which is your favourite? Tell me in the comments   :)

 

 

P.S. Savage I bribed you for 1st place, not second place in  'Acting the part.' What do you have to say for yourself.   :angry: 

 

Savage: I'm not that cheap you know. More cash in the future please.

Edited June 14, 2017 by tweezers

[tweezers 1,034]

Approved.

 

-Corrected grammar and spelling errors here and there.

 

Top job! I like.  

[Magenta 5,165]

It so happens I bribed savage more - a bribe of true artwork, waaay more pleasant to the eye than the cash to the pocket.

 

ps: i am too lazy to read the whole thingy, k :P

nvm i read it

 

^ You still owe me some of it by the way.

who me?

Edited June 14, 2017 by Magenta

[Crip 4,735]

^ You still owe me some of it by the way.

[Tofu 6,773]

Nice article! Inside stuff always makes me hungry ;D

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

Lesson of the day, Savage is in it for the money. ;)

 

Kidding of course, great article! Really enjoyed this interview.

[ASTON-THE-BEST 97]

nice

[Viking4s 10,791]

I can answer the reason for the varying number of Contest per issue. We try to find the right balance between the number of article and the number of contest per issue. Roughly the more article the more contest. You have a ratio of 1 contest for 3-4 articles. Even if it is nice to organize contest, most of the reporters prefer to write articles - it's a Newspaper not a Gamepaper - reporters are selected on their writings skills (not tested on how good they are at Sudoku). Also if only 3 ideas of contest are available then only 3 will be published, higher rewards might be then proposed.
Rules are not set in stone, so you will find exceptions, but we are trying to harmonize the way of working, so you shall see more consistency in the future.

 

Good article/interview ! keep it up.

Edited June 14, 2017 by Viking4s

[REDOUANE78190 836]

What is the but of this contest? TSY creat new PM pls. I can participate in this contest?

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

What is the but of this contest? TSY creat new PM pls. I can participate in this contest?

This isn't a contest. Read the article.

[M-axis 589]

I can answer the reason for the varying number of Contest per issue. We try to find the right balance between the number of article and the number of contest per issue. Roughly the more article the more contest. You have a ratio of 1 contest for 3-4 articles. Even if it is nice to organize contest, most of the reporters prefer to write articles - it's a Newspaper not a Gamepaper - reporters are selected on their writings skills (not tested on how good they are at Sudoku). Also if only 3 ideas of contest are available then only 3 will be published, higher rewards might be then proposed.

Rules are not set in stone, so you will find exceptions, but we are trying to harmonize the way of working, so you shall see more consistency in the future.

 

Good article/interview ! keep it up.

Thanks man! At first i thought it was based upon difficulty of contests, but that explains it ;)

 

Nice article!

 

(Nice poll too, I really wanna see what you are gonna say about my campaign :ph34r:)

I'm seriously groaning you all selected that. I was looking forward to digging into @Ninja and bringing out all his dark Ninja secrets :p

 

Thanks to all! Looking forward to writing the next ones :)

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

Nice! Savage and BD, give me back my money now. I bribed ya guys but i forgot to enter, Gimme my money back!

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

Nice! Savage and BD, give me back my money now. I bribed ya guys but i forgot to enter, Gimme my money back!

I know from firsthand experience. You give us money, it isn't yours anymore. ;)

[M-axis 589]

Yisroli gives me a headache :p

[M-axis 589]

He refuses to be interviewed :p

 

Me thinks I might do that clan one...more scope there.

[stanzhang 3,291]

Nice one ^_^

[REDOUANE78190 836]

Yeah

[quartz-back 7]

yeah again xD

[quartz-back 7]

HD= Happy Dragons, I was in a MOD clan, is that Merchants Of Death?

(I don't understand anything just looking at that and wondering)