Oregon Media Insiders

"Nominations" are a sham, actually. NATAS knows the winner in each category already.

Folks from other markets view all the entries and score them. Each entry above a certain score qualifies as a "nomination," and the highest score is the winner.

It does cost money for each entry -- sometimes the station picks up the tab, sometimes reporters enter on their own.

And as for 30 minutes vs. 3 hours: quantity doesn't necessarily equal quality. If you can shoot an award-winning story in a half hour, more power to you. It's also possible the story had other elements shot earlier or later in the day, and very likely the story had additional research done from the station. The phone is often a better tool than door knocking.