Feb. 28, 2006 -- The 68th annual Journalism and Broadcasting Day at Arkansas State University will be Saturday, March 4, in the College of Communications, according to Dr. Joel Gambill, chair of the Department of Journalism.

Students from high schools throughout the state will compete in seven writing contests: news, broadcast news, feature writing, editorials, sports, headlines and radio-TV commercials. Other contest categories are web site design, photography, editorial cartooning, public relations, advertising copy and layout, radio-TV announcing, and newspaper copy reading.

Medals will be given to all first place winners in the individual contests, and certificates of merit will be given to other contest winners, Gambill said.

A sweepstakes plaque will be awarded to the school scoring the most points in the various contests. Plaques will also be given to schools winning second, third and fourth place in the sweepstakes competition. Also, school newspapers and news videos will be judged.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the contests start at 9 a.m. The awards ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the television studio of the Communications Building. All Arkansas high schools are welcome to participate.

The event is sponsored by the College of Communications and seven student organizations within the college: Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Student Society of America, American Advertising Federation, National Broadcasting Society, Association of Women in Communications, National Press Photographers Association, and the Undergraduate Research Club.

For more details, contact Gambill at (870) 972-3075.