Muckety will award a lifetime server license to the journalist or media organization with the most imaginative proposal for presenting interactive relationship maps on a news web site or online news project.

Eligibility
The competition is open to journalists and news organizations maintaining Web sites with original content. The focus of the site must be information, rather than marketing or product sales. The winning project will be chosen for ingenuity, creativity and likelihood of robust data and relationship mapping.

How to enter
Submit a written entry of up to 1,000 words describing how your project will implement Muckety mapping technology. Include your name, organization, web site, professional email and address.

Entries need not target a specific story, but can address larger subject areas or projects. The entry form includes a synopsis section, so entrants don’t have to release details of specific investigation before they’re ready for publication.

Deadline
The deadline for submissions is Dec. 15, 2009.

Judging
Muckety staff will choose the winner. Muckety reserves the right not to select a winner if no submission meets the contest requirements or quality standards.

Award
The winner will be announced on Jan. 18, 2010.

The winning entry will receive a lifetime server license for Muckety database infrastructure and mapping, along with support for server setup, data upload and web site integration. The winner must sign a Muckety licensing agreement before installing the technology. (The technology requires a Linux server with MySQL and Java.) The winner’s data will not be displayed, shared or owned by Muckety. The winner will not be required to purchase any Muckety products, upgrades or services.

The technology is not limited to the project outlined in the entry, but may also be used for other stories and news projects within the parameters of the server license. (As an example of the ways other publishers can use Muckety maps, see Crain’s Chicago.)

Copyright and right of use
By participating in the contest, you grant Muckety the right to reproduce, distribute, and publish the brief synopsis you provide with your entry.

Recognizing that this is an unusual journalism competition – with the winner chosen before publication, Muckety will not release project details provided in the longer section of the contest entry.

Go to the entry form.