We’re glad to have you on our reporting team. You can pickup your official HotNewz.tv membership card at our office conveniently located at Base Camp #2, Mt. Everest, Nepal.

But before you do, let me run through a few things about our evaluation process.

First of all, it’s important to point out that none of the criteria used in the evaluation is meant to contradict what your faculty is teaching you. The Evaluation Sheet is based on our collective experience as professional TV news journalists.

Your judge de jour will score every item that seems appropriate. This is not a test where the highest number wins. There are too many factors that will differ from one report to another to simply make an apples-to-apples comparison.

As in the real world, there are very few objective standards. You’ll find that while one news director may love your work, another may be under whelmed.

So these evaluations are purely subjective. But then again, so are all the major awards programs. Even the ones where you get to wear a tux or an expensive dress and make a heartfelt speech thanking your mother, your agent and your third grade teacher.

We hope our feedback will speed you on the way to that moment. Maybe you’ll thank us, too!

Also, keep in mind that we’re looking at the entire package, not just the work by the reporter, camera op or editor. If we feel any one contributor deserves special recognition, we will mention it.

Clearly, there are some elements we may not be able to judge just by watching your video. For example, we won’t know if you slept outside the mayor’s house for three days in order to get the exclusive interview.

So feel free to give us any relevant background info when you submit your story.

At the end of the year, those whose work has been judged exceptional will receive a certificate recognizing their excellence.

The three best news stories will each receive a $5,000 scholarship.

And as they always say, the decision of the judging is final.