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AllSides Student Journalism Contest

Elevating excellent student journalism.

Entries are now closed. 

AllSides, a national leader in balanced news and media bias ratings, is awarding $500 to three student journalists whose work supports the AllSides vision to strengthen our democratic society with balanced news, media bias ratings, diverse perspectives, and real conversation.

Opening Date: September 1, 2025
Closing Date: December 1, 2025
Interviews: January 1 - 23, 2026
Announcement: January 31, 2026

Content should reflect the AllSides mission to help people better understand the world — and each other. Your goal is to objectively present and clearly describe all sides of a given issue, and let the reader decide for themselves.

  Instructions

  1. Choose a category (listed below) and write about something you are passionate about! AllSides focuses on:
    • political news
    • voices often ignored
    • news with contrasting coverage or polarized narratives
    • issues with mutual support or agreement across divides
    • stories on polarization and media bias
    • free speech and civil discourse
  2. Educate yourself on the issue:
    • Define the spectrum of beliefs and ideas
    • Check your bias — what might you be missing/ignoring?
    • Read news & opinion widely across the spectrum
  3. Read and adhere to our Editorial Philosophy.
  4. Read and avoid the 16 Types of Media Bias. Try using the AllSides Bias Checker!
  5. Read and follow our guidelines on using AI.
  6. Cite your sources: Any claim made or fact stated that isn’t otherwise supported should be linked to a primary or secondary source.
  7. Balance your article with feedback: Have someone with a different political bias than you read your article and provide feedback. They can determine their bias by taking the AllSides Rate Your Bias Quiz. At the end of your article, include the name, bias, and an email or phone contact for your reviewer. At the end of your article, include a "Review" section summarizing your reviewer's feedback in a few bullet points.
  8. Submit your article by December 1st. 

  Categories

Bias Alert:

Original research and objective analysis on different types of bias. 800 - 1200 words.

Examples:

Misinformation Watch

Write about an example of misinformation you have seen. 1200 - 1500 words.

Examples:

Under the Radar.

Write about a story you think should be more widely covered. 800 - 1200 words. 

Examples:

  Using Artificial Intelligence

You might not know this, but our full name is AllSides Technologies, Inc. and all three of our co-founders have backgrounds in technology.

At AllSides, we believe in the importance of keeping humanity in journalism, but we are also excited about what AI has to offer, when used responsibly. It is okay to use AI to gather information, additional perspectives, more context and ideation — just make sure the final result is thoroughly fact checked and in your own voice. You are not required to use AI, but if you do, you are required to read and follow our guidelines below for responsible use of AI in the AllSides Student Journalism Contest. 

We are judging the outcome — but the process matters too. Students should be prepared to discuss their work, including sharing queries and responses.

AllSides’ multipartisan team, which also includes several veterans of the tech industry, established these guidelines with input from team discussions and ChatGPT 4*

1. AI Is Allowed — but You’re Still the Journalist

You may use tools like ChatGPT or other AI programs to brainstorm, research, organize your thoughts, or explore different perspectives. But your final piece should reflect your voice, your thinking, and your choices as a writer.

You can ask AI tools to explain complex topics or offer sample outlines, but don’t submit AI-generated writing as your final work. Think of AI as a research buddy — not a ghostwriter.

Even if AI helps you draft or research, you are responsible for:

  • Verifying facts
  • Citing sources correctly
  • Avoiding plagiarism
  • Writing clearly and fairly

You should review every claim and quotation yourself. Don’t assume AI got it right.

Your article should clearly show your own editorial judgment, analysis, and synthesis of ideas.  

2. Be Transparent About Your Process

Transparency is a mark of good journalism. If you used AI at any point, your piece should include a disclaimer at the top or bottom of the piece that  describes:

  • Which AI tool(s) you used
  • A summary or short description of the prompts or questions you asked
  • How you fact-checked and edited any AI-assisted material

(Note our disclaimer at the top and bottom of these guidelines)

3. Try the AllSides Bias Checker (Optional, but encouraged!)

Visit allsides.com/bias-checker to analyze bias in the sources you're using. 

The Bias Checker gives feedback on possible bias in the source material and reveals information from other perspectives that might be missing.

It’s not required, but we think it’s a great tool to build your awareness of bias and create balance. And yes, it is AI-powered! We built a custom AI program that analyzes news articles based on our balanced, multipartisan process and Types of Media Bias guide.

AllSides Bias Checker Screenshot, Center Bias

Prompt given to AI to develop these guidelines: Using this blog outlining how AllSides uses AI for reference, can you create guidelines for students using AI for the Student Journalism Contest? Please emphasize the AllSides Bias Checker as a tool they can use. 

  Other Important Info

  • Students retain ownership of their work, even if published on AllSides.com
  • You may submit up to 2 articles for consideration.
  • Three students will be awarded $500 each.
  • If chosen for publication, you will have the option to include your full name, photo, bias, city and state OR if you would like more privacy, your first name and bias rating only.
  • Contest is open to all K-16 students, but there are no separate age categories
    • Best for ages 13 - 18
    • Public, charter, private, alternative, independent, online, micro, homeschool and unschool students — are all welcome!
  • Relatives of AllSides employees are not eligible.
  • Submissions will be reviewed by the AllSides editorial team. Team members will excuse themselves from judging if there is a conflict of interest.
  • We may review and take your online footprint into consideration.

  Submission Checklist

◻ Take the AllSides Rate Your Bias Quiz and be prepared to share the result with us and readers. AllSides values transparency, and we disclose the bias leanings of all team members and authors.

◻ Write your article! Don’t forget to follow all instructions and guidelines.

◻ Choose a reviewer of opposite bias (ask them to also take the AllSides Rate Your Bias Quiz). Ask them to review your work for any perspectives you may have missed or mischaracterizations you may have made.

◻ Submit your information and upload your completed article using the Google Form. If you have any difficulty with the form, you may email your submission to [email protected] with the subject “Student Journalism Contest.”

 

Enter now