If your newspaper is sponsoring a local IT CAN WAIT contest,
please let Missouri Press know by sending a brief email to bejones@socket.net
The local contest deadline is Monday, October 19!
The statewide contest deadline is Monday, October 26!
For the third year in a row, the Missouri Press Association (MPA), local Missouri newspapers and AT&T are joining together to host an It Can Wait editorial contest to raise awareness about the dangers of smartphone-related driving distractions. The contest, which began on September 19, 2015, the annual It Can Wait day of action, is open to middle school and high school students from across Missouri and provides students with the opportunity to win a $500 prize for a column or editorial that best answers the question, “Why is it important to take the It Can Wait pledge to keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone?”
“We’ve seen how dangerous texting while driving can be and now we are seeing it with other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving. We want to do our part to help raise awareness and stop this dangerous behavior,” said Doug Crews, Executive Director of the Missouri Press Association. “By hosting the It Can Wait editorial contest with AT&T and our local member papers, the Missouri Press Association hopes to provide students with a meaningful learning experience and help make our Missouri roads safer by reinforcing the message ‘Keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone’.”
This year’s It Can Wait editorial contest is open to students enrolled in any Missouri public or private middle school or high school. Local newspapers have the option to host local contests and will determine which entries are submitted to the MPA in consideration for the statewide prize.
The MPA will announce the winning statewide entries for the middle school and high school categories on November 2, 2015. As part of the contest, the MPA will award the winner of each category a $500 prize, provide a tour of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the MPA Office, and host a dinner for the students and their parents with the leadership of AT&T, the MPA and their local newspaper publisher.
To take the pledge and see a list of supporters, visit www.ItCanWait.com. For additional information and resources, visit www.att.com/itcanwait.
To view the current It Can Wait information form, please click here.
