The 2014 "SNAP-IT" PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
STURGIS JOURNAL
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MAKING A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
PHOTO SUBMISSION PERIOD
The photo submission period for the 2014 "Snap-It" Photography Contest (the "Contest") begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on June 26, 2014 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 2nd , 2014 (the "Submission Period").
VOTING PERIOD
The voting period for the Contest begins at 12:00 midnight ET on July 7th 2014 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11, 2014 (the “Voting Period”)
ELIGIBILITY
The Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who physically reside in the counties of St.Joseph, Branch or Cass in the state of Michigan or LaGrange in the state of Indiana and who are thirteen(13) years of age or older at the time of entry (the "Entrant" or "Entrants"). If you are a minor in your state of residence, you must obtain the prior permission of your parent and/or legal guardian, who must agree to these Official Rules (the “Rules”) on his/her and your behalf before you can enter this Contest. Employees, contractors and interns of GateHouse Media, LLC. and GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc. (together, "GateHouse Media") and each of their respective divisions, affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies (including immediate family members) are not eligible to enter the Contest. For purposes of this Contest, “immediate family members” is defined as spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren, whether as "in-laws", or by current or past marriage, remarriage, adoption, co- habitation or other familial extension, and any other persons residing at the same household location, whether or not related.
In order to enter the Contest or win the prize, the Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) must comply fully with these "Rules" and by entering agrees to be bound by these Rules and the decisions of GateHouse Media, whose decisions shall be binding and final in all respects.
The Contest is open only to amateur photographers (individuals who directly or indirectly receive no more than 5% of their personal annual gross income from selling their original photos).
HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST AND SUBMIT A PHOTO
Online:
To enter the Contest electronically, Entrants (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) visit HYPERLINK www.tinyurl.com/journalsnapit
www.tinyurl.com/journalsnapit (the "Website") during the Photo Submission Period and follow the instructions to enter and upload Photo)s). The Fee is not required for any Photos submitted through the Website.
Postal Mail or Hand Delivery:
The entry fee for the Contest (the “Entry Fee”) is $ 5.00 for up to five (5) photos (debit or credit card or check or cash).
1. Postal Mail: Entrants should mail the check (made payable to: Sturgis Journal) and photo(s) to the Publication at the following address: P.O. Box 660, 209 John St., Sturgis, MI 49091. For Print Entry Materials submitted through postal mail, the only acceptable method of payment of the Entry Fee is a check. Credit card information and cash should not be sent through postal mail, and GateHouse Media will not be responsible for the security and receipt of cash or credit card information sent this way.
OR
2. Hand-Deliver: Entrants should hand-deliver the check (made payable to: Sturgis Journal) and photo(s) to the Publication located at 209 John St. in Sturgis, MI 49091. The offices of the Publication are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. ET, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Entries for the Contest will not be accepted through e-mail or via facsimile.
GateHouse Media will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage due, misdirected or illegible entries and will not be responsible for credit card information or cash sent through the postal mail.
PHOTO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Photo must have been originally taken on or after January 1, 2013, and must not have been published or be under consideration for publication or prizes elsewhere. Photos submitted in previous photography contests sponsored by the Publication will not be considered for any prizes in this Contest and will not be returned to the Entrant.
Photos that have been altered, manipulated or enhanced using computer software programs will not be accepted except as expressly provided below. Minor adjustments to the image such as removing dust spots, lightening or darkening areas of the Photo, slight contrast or color adjustments and cropping are acceptable. If the judges determine an image has been altered, manipulated or enhanced, they reserve the right to disqualify it.
By entering the Contest, the Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) represents, acknowledges and warrants that the submitted
Photo is an original work created solely by the Entrant, and that, unless the Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) has permission, the Photo does not contain copyrighted materials owned by others, including photographs, sculptures, paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media.
The Photo may not contain trademarks, logo or trade dress owned by others, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses. The Photo may not include images of corporate logos, trademarks, identities or other proprietary materials owned by others such as television shows, magazines or Web pages, without permission.
The Photo must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of GateHouse Media, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content. The photograph may not promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of the foregoing), or any activities that may be unsafe or dangerous, or any particular political agenda or message. The Photo may not depict, and cannot itself, be in violation of any law.
If the Photo contains any material or elements that are not owned by the Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the Photo, the Entrant (or parent/legal guardian id Entrant is a minor) is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Photo, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the Photo in the manner set forth in these Rules without additional compensation. Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) agrees to provide GateHouse with copies of releases or consents upon request. If any person appearing in any Photo is under the age of majority in his or her state/province/ territory of residence, the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.
There must be at least fifty (50) Photos submitted by the Submission Deadline for the Contest to continue. If the required number of photos are not submitted by the Submission Deadline, no judging or voting will occur, and prizes will not be awarded. Gatehouse Media reserves the right to cancel the Contest if the required number of Photos is not received by the Submission Deadline.
VOTING PHASE; JUDGING AND PRIZES; ODDS OF WINNING
All Photos submitted during the Submission Period and approved by the Publisher of the Publication will appear on the Website beginning June 26th 2014.
Each Photo submitted to the Publication must be approved for posting on the Website by staff of the Publication. Only those Photos that are approved for posting by the Publisher of the Publication will be deemed eligible to win the Contest.
VOTING PHASE
Members of the general public will be invited to view the Photos by going to the Website beginning at 12:00 a.m. ET on July 7th 2014 and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11th, 2014 (the “Voting Phase”), and vote for their favorite Photo (the “Vote” or “Votes”). Voting ballots will also be available at the Publication’s office during regular business hours. Each ballot is counted as one (1) Vote. There is no fee to Vote in this Contest. Voting is limited to persons thirteen (13) years of age or older (the “Voter” or “Voters”).
Voting results for the Final Photos will not be displayed on the Website during the Voting Phase.
GateHouse Media will not be responsible for misdirected Votes. The use of robotic or automatic devices to submit Votes is prohibited and GateHouse Media reserves the right to nullify any and all such Votes and to disqualify the responsible individual from voting. Entrants are prohibited from obtaining Votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, as determined by GateHouse Media in its sole discretion.
For purposes of this Contest, the Vote must be cast on the Website by a “unique” Voter. A “unique” Voter is an individual person: (a) who has registered to vote on the Website, (b) with unique registration information (i.e. e-mail address) that is not duplicative of another Voter’s information. A unique Voter may vote no more than five (5) times per day for a Photo. If GateHouse Media determines, in its sole discretion, that an abuse of the “unique” Voter rules has occurred, GateHouse Media may disqualify votes cast by such Voters or Entrants, including if more than five (5) of such Voters or Entrants registered from the same residential computer “IP address”.
Use of E-mail Addresses
By participating in the Voting Phase of the Contest, Voters (or parent/legal guardian if Voter is a minor) are agreeing to opt-in to receive e-mail communications from GateHouse Media or the sponsors. If Voters choose to opt out of such future communications from GateHouse Media or the sponsors, they will be able to do so by following the instructions on any electronic communications sent by GateHouse Media or the Sponsors. Upon opting-out, GateHouse Media or the sponsors will no longer send e-mail.
The Entrant's Photo receiving highest number of Votes will then be judged by a panel of judges from the Publication a at the conclusion of the Voting Phase. The fifty (50) Photos to receive the highest number of Votes will be declared the Contest finalists (the “Finalists”). In the event of a tie for 50th place, a random drawing among the tied Photos will be conducted at the offices of the Publication to determine 50th place.
Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible Photos submitted and eligible Votes received.
All decisions of Gatehouse regarding the Contest are final.
JUDGING PHASE
The Finalists will then be judged by a panel of judges from the Publication. The Photos will be judged on originality (40%), technical excellence (20%), composition (20%), overall
impact (10%) and artistic merit (10%).All decisions by the judges will be final and binding in all respects.
The judges will select the winners from the Finalists (the “Winners”) and award six (6) prizes in the Contest as follows:
(1) Grand Prize Winner $500.00
(1) First Runner-Up $200.00
(1) Second Runner-Up $100.00
(3) Honorable Mentions $20.00
All prizes will be awarded in the form of a check.
WINNER NOTIFICATION
Gatehouse Media reserves the right to take more time to determine the winners as it deems necessary in its sole discretion.
The potential prize winners will be notified by phone or overnight mail by August 15, 2014. If a
potential prize winner is found not to be eligible or not in compliance with these Rules, the prize may be forfeited. GateHouse Media is not responsible for any change of e- mail, mailing address and/ or telephone number of the Entrants. The potential prize winners must also agree to submit digital files or negatives for reproduction purposes if requested by the Publication.The prize winners must pick up the prizes at the offices of the Sturgis Journal located at 209 John Street in Sturgis, Michigan by August 31, 2014 or make alternate arrangements with GateHouse Media by August 31, 2014.The potential prize winners (or parent/legal guardian if Winner is a minor) must sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release in order to be eligible to accept the prize. No substitution or transfer of the prizes will be allowed, except at the sole discretion of GateHouse Media. If a prize or any portion thereof, cannot be awarded for any reason, GateHouse Media reserves the right to substitute prize with another prize of equal or greater value. All local, state and federal taxes incurred by accepting a prize will be the sole responsibility of the prize winners.
CONDITIONS
By entering, the Entrants (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) agree to comply with these Rules and the decisions of GateHouse Media, which are binding and final, and release GateHouse Media, and each of its divisions, affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and anyone associated with the production of this Contest, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from any and all liability for any claims, injuries, losses or damages (including attorneys fees) of any kind arising out of their participation in this Contest or resulting from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize. The potential prize winners waive the right to assert as a cost of winning the prize any and all costs of verification and redemption or travel to redeem said prize and waives any liability or claims (including attorneys fees) which might arise from redeeming or seeking to redeem said prize. In the event of non-compliance with these Rules, or if prize notification is returned to GateHouse Media as undeliverable, if prize is refused or cannot be accepted for any reason, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected in a random drawing. Upon forfeiture or refusal, no compensation will be given.
Acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use the winner's name, photograph, likeness, Contest submissions and/or statements attributed to winners regarding the Contest, for advertising and publicity purposes without further compensation or consent. All entries become the property of GateHouse Media and will not be acknowledged or returned. This Contest shall only be construed and evaluated according to the laws of the state of Michigan, without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws and submission of any entry constitutes acceptance of such laws. This Contest is void where prohibited. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.
INTERNET
It is the Entrant's (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) responsibility to enter in the appropriate manner. Each Entrant (or parent/legal guardian if Entrant is a minor) is responsible for all costs or charges involved in accessing the HYPERLINK www.tinyurl.com/journalsnapit web site and warrants that the cost of accessing the site, if any, is part of a larger agreement with an Internet Service Provider or some other means, and that the cost of this access is not an incremental cost. If for any reason the internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of GateHouse Media which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, GateHouse Media reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest.
Should the Contest be terminated prior to July 11, 2014 (the "Termination Date"), finalists will be drawn at 5:00 p.m. ET on the Termination Date from all eligible entries received up to the termination Date. GateHouse Media assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communication line failure, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. GateHouse Media is not responsible for lost, misdirected, illegible, damaged or undelivered entries. GateHouse Media is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, services or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading of any material in this Contest.
CAUTION: Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an
attempt be made, GateHouse Media reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Collection and use of personally identifiable information will be in accordance with the HYPERLINK www.sturgisjournal.com/snap-it
Privacy Policy as posted on HYPERLINK www.tinyurl.com/journalsnapit .This Contest is not intended for gambling. If it is determined that an Entrant is using the Contest for gambling purposes, he/she will be disqualified and reported to authorities.GateHouse Media and its affiliates reserve the right to use any and all information related to the Contest, including information on Entrants obtained through the Contest, for marketing purposes or any other purpose, unless prohibited by law. GateHouse Media and their affiliates reserve the right to change the rules of the Contest at any time.
WINNERS LIST
To obtain the name of the winners, mail a stamped, self-addressed legal size envelope (to arrive by August 31, 2014) or contact the Publication at:
Snap-It 2013
Sturgis Journal
P.O. Box 660
Sturgis, Michigan 49091
Attn: 2014 "Snap-It" Photography Contest SPONSOR GateHouse Media Michigan Holdings, Inc.
d/b/a Sturgis Journal, 350 Willow Brook Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450.
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