Official Rules

"Miami.com Insider Contest" Official Rules

1. DESCRIPTION: The Miami.com Insider Contest (the "Contest") begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on July 13, 2012, and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET August 29, 2012 (the "Contest Period"). By participating in the Contest, you unconditionally accept and agree to comply with and abide by these Official Rules, the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Websites, and the decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding in all respects. To the extent the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Websites and of these Official Rules conflict, the terms and conditions of these Official Rules shall prevail.

2. ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open to persons 18 years of age or older as of the start date of the Contest who are legal United States residents of Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or Palm Beach, Florida counties who have internet access and are registered users of Miami.com (“Contestants”). This Sweepstakes is sponsored by Miami Herald Media Company, One Herald Plaza, Miami, Florida 33132 (“Sponsor”). Employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, representatives of Sponsor, The McClatchy Company, or the promotion and advertising agencies of any aforementioned entity, and their immediate family members and those living in their household, and each person or entity connected with the production, administration or judging of the Contest (“Promotion Parties”), and each parent company, affiliate, subsidiary, agent and representative of any aforementioned entity are not eligible.

3. HOW TO ENTER: Online entries only. Only one (1) Submission per natural person. Are you the person your friends call or email to know what is going on? Always know of a great deal at a local restaurant or shopping mall? Do you have tips to share, that makes social life in Miami easier? Here is how to enter:

Write an essay of 200 words or less telling us, in a personal, coherent and compelling way, why you should be a Miami.com insider (“Essay”).
Write three essays of 500 words or less each telling us about cool tips or great deals in South Florida (“Insider Tips”). Insider Tips must be valid, interesting, current and relevant to Miami.com readers. Insider Tips can cover many topics such as shopping, family activities, hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs and other fun activities in South Florida.
Then go to Sponsor’s Contest web page (“Website”) located at www.miami.com/contests and follow the link to the Contest entry form. Complete the online entry form in its entirety, including all required contact information, along with your Essay and Insider Tips and submit it according to the on-screen instructions (”Submission”). Your Submission can be as fun and creative as you like within the Submission Guidelines described below in these Rules. Registration to the Website is required to enter; registration is free.

All information provided, including contact information, must be truthful, current and valid. Incomplete Submissions, including but not limited to those Submissions that do not meet the requirements specified in these Official Rules, will not be eligible for the next round. Submissions will be deemed to have been submitted by the Authorized Account Holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of Submission (each, a "Contestant"). "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (such as a business or educational institution) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. In the event of a dispute over the ownership of an e-mail address, prize will be awarded to the Authorized Account Holder of the designated e-mail address. You agree that once you submit your Submission, it becomes the property of Sponsor. Proof of submitting any Submission is not considered proof of delivery to or receipt of such Submission. Furthermore, Sponsor shall have no liability for any Submission that is lost, intercepted or not received by the Sponsor.

All Submissions must be received by the Contest end date and time according to the computer time on Sponsor’s server. No hand or mail-in deliveries will be accepted. None of the Promotion Parties are responsible for late, incomplete, void, corrupted, garbled, misdirected, or otherwise unintelligible Submissions and for any problems, bugs or malfunctions Contestants may encounter when submitting their Submissions. Incomplete, garbled, corrupted or otherwise illegible Submissions are void and will not be accepted. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Contestant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or violating these Official Rules. Entries generated by a script, bot, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

4. SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES: Submissions must be entirely your own work. Submission must be an original work of authorship created by the person who makes the submission. Contestants may not copy or otherwise plagiarize the Submission from any source. Submission may not have been previously published, may not have won previous awards, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If the Submission contains any material or elements that are not owned by the Contestant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the Contestant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submitting the Submission, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Submission in the manner set forth in these Official Rules and the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Website. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of any permissions or licenses you may have received, in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any Contestant at any time. By submitting a Submission, Contestant warrants and represents that he/she consents to the submission and use and exhibition of the Submission in the manner set forth in these Official Rules and the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Website. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Submission for any reason, in its sole and absolute discretion. If, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, your Submission constitutes copyright infringement, the Submission will be disqualified. Contestants agree to indemnify Sponsor, Sponsor and its officers, directors, employees and agents against any and all claims from any third party for any use of Submission by Sponsor.

Submissions must be appropriate for a broad audience of potential readers since the winning Submission may be posted on the web. Any Submission that is considered by Sponsor in its sole discretion to be obscene, libelous, inapposite to the reputation of Sponsor, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate, or which otherwise does not comply with these Official Rules will be disqualified. We reserve the right to exclude any Submission that we believe doesn't meet the above criteria, at our sole discretion.

5. JUDGING ROUNDS AND NOTIFICATION: There will be three (3) rounds of judging. All entries will be prescreened to insure the entries have correctly met the Submission Guidelines and meet with Sponsor’s general standards and practices prior to any judging. (“Qualified Submissions”).

At any time before, during or after the Contest Period, Sponsor may, in its discretion, chose to post or distribute one (1) or more Submissions, their creator’s name and profile information online (including on our website, our Facebook page(s) and third-party websites) or in its publications. Posting of this/these Submission(s) will not mean that said Submissions are eligible to win or are a Finalist or Selected Contestant.

Judging Round:

Starting on or around August 30, 2012, all Qualified Submissions will be reviewed and scored by a panel of qualified judges, according to the following criteria, on a 100-point scale:

Clarity of message and relevancy; effectively communicates topic (30 points)
Validity of deals written about (30 points)
Originality (30 points)
Grammar and spelling (10 points)

Up to three (3) Qualified Submissions with the highest score will be selected as Finalists to move to the online voting round (“Finalists”). In the event of a tie, the tying submissions will be rescored in order to determine a Selected Contestant.

Online Voting Round:

The Finalists’ Submissions will be posted at Miami.com for review and voting by the public from about September 3 to September 14, 2012, dates subject to change (the “Voting Period”). You must register on the site to be able to submit a vote. Only one vote per natural person. Registration to the site is required to submit a vote; registration is free. Use of bots, devices and other programs to increase views or votes is prohibited.

Sponsor reserves the right to distribute or display the Finalists’ Submissions in any media and on any website, including on its website and social media pages. Contestants understand that users of these sites may share, comment on (including negatively) and re-post links to their Submissions during and after the Voting Period.

Final Round: Judging

All Finalists’ Submissions that were submitted to public voting will be reviewed and scored by a panel of our qualified judges, taking into consideration the result of the public voting and the following criteria:

? Writing Skills (40 points)

? Compelling nature and enthusiasm (30 points)

? Relevance to Miami.com readers (30 points)

The top-scoring Contestant will be deemed the potential winner of the Grand Prize (“Selected Contestant”). In the event of a tie, the tying entries will be re-scored and a final decision will be made by the Qualified Judges.

Selected Contestant will be notified by phone or email at the sole discretion of Sponsor or Sponsor’s representative. Selected Contestant will be required to respond (as directed) to a phone and/or e-mail notification within 72 hours of attempted notification. The failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the prize; and, in such case, Sponsor may choose the next highest scoring Submission from among the remaining eligible submissions. Selected Contestant may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release ("Affidavit") and any other documents Sponsor may require within 72 hours of receipt of the Affidavit. Failure to timely return a signed Affidavit or other required documents or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable will result in Prize forfeiture. An alternate Selected Contestant may be selected from the next highest scoring Submissions (up to 3 times), if a Selected Contestant: (i) cannot be reached; (ii) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iii) cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason. Assumed notification by caller ID and any subsequent returned calls do not constitute a winner.

Winner may be announced on Sponsor’s website, affiliated web pages and/or publications (date subject to change).

6. PRIZE: If eligible under these Rules, one (1) Selected Contestant will receive one (1) five hundred dollar ($500) Visa® gift card. Subject to card issuer’s terms and conditions. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $500. Selected Contestant may also be given an opportunity to contribute one or more Insider Tip(s) to the Miami.com website and affiliated sites and publications, at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Prize is not an employment contract.

Selected Contestant is not entitled to any surplus between actual retail value of prize and stated ARV and any difference between stated ARV and actual value of the prize will not be awarded. Federal and state income taxes may apply and are the sole responsibility of the winner. Contestant may be issued an IRS Form 1099 for the ARV of any awarded prize. Prize must be redeemed in its entirety and may not be redeemed in portion(s). If a Selected Contestant is unable to participate in or accept the prize or any portion of the prize for any reason, Prize shall be forfeited and Sponsor shall have no further obligation to the Selected Contestant. No assignment, transfer, cash redemption or substitution of Prize is permitted, but Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize for one of comparable or greater value should Prize become impracticable to award or unavailable for any reason. In the event of noncompliance with the foregoing requirements or if prize notification is returned as undeliverable, prize will be forfeited and, at Sponsor’s discretion, an alternate Selected Contestant will be chosen. Prize will be delivered by first class mail or overnight carrier (such as Fed-Ex or UPS), in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, misdirected, stolen or undelivered Prizes. Prize will only be mailed to addresses in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or Palm Beach, Florida counties.

7. LICENSE: By entering the Contest, Contestants hereby grant Sponsor, its assigns and successors a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicenseable (through multiple tiers) and transferable license (with a right to create derivative works) to use, copy, distribute, perform, publicly perform and display their Submission, in any and all media, in whatever form, for any legal purposes whatsoever now known or hereinafter becomes known, without any additional compensation, the term of which shall be the entire life of the copyright. Should any Contestant be unwilling or otherwise unable to enter into license, or provide permissions and or releases or otherwise cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, a Contestant with the next highest score will be chosen from the remaining Qualified Submissions until one who is able to meet all requirements can be selected. Each Contestant irrevocably waives any and all so-called moral rights they may have in the Submission(s) submitted by him or her. Promotion Entities is under no obligation to use, print or post the Submissions. Sponsor reserves the right to edit, shorten, alter or modify the Submission in its sole discretion. Sponsor shall have no liability as to posting of the Submissions.

8. PUBLICITY RELEASE: By participating in the Contest, in addition to any other grants which may be granted in any other agreement entered into between or among Sponsor and any Contestant in or Selected Contestant of the Contest, each Contestant irrevocably grants the Sponsor and their respective successors, assigns and licensees, the right to use such Contestant's Submission, name, photograph, likeness, biographical information, and any individual(s) participating in the Submission, in any and all media for any purpose, including without limitation, commercial, advertising and promotional purposes as well as in, on or in connection with the Website or the Contest or other promotions, and hereby release the Sponsor from any liability with respect thereto, unless prohibited by law.

9. NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP / WAIVER OF EQUITABLE RELIEF: Each Contestant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Contestant and the Sponsor is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the Contestant’s decision to provide the Contestant’s Submission to Sponsor for purposes of the Contest does not place the Sponsor in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the Contestant’s Submission. Each Contestant acknowledges and agrees that the Sponsor does not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the Contestant’s copyright in and to the Submission. Finally, each Contestant acknowledges that, with respect to any claim by Contestant relating to or arising out of any Sponsor actual or alleged exploitation or use of any Submission or other material submitted in connection with the Contest, the damage, if any, thereby caused to the applicable Contestant will not be irreparable or otherwise sufficient to entitle such Contestant to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any way.

10. PRIVACY POLICY: By entering this Contest, each Contestant acknowledges that his or her first name, last initial and hometown may be announced online. Contestant further hereby acknowledges and agrees that: (i) the Contestant has opted-in to Miami Herald Media Company’s privacy policy located at www.miami.com/privacy-policy and (ii) by opting-in, the Contestant has read and consents to Miami Herald Media Company’s privacy policy. Each Contestant further acknowledges that if s/he is chosen as an actual prize recipient, certain of his/her identifying information may be disclosed to third parties (at least as required by law), including, without limitation, on an online page listing prize recipient(s). Any communication or information transmitted to Sponsor and/or the Website by electronic mail or otherwise is and will be treated as non-confidential and nonproprietary.

11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Contest is subject to these Official Rules. By participating, Contestants agree: (i) to be bound by these complete Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which shall be final and binding; and (ii) to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules, except where prohibited by law. By accepting a prize, Selected Contestants agree to release Promotion Parties, including their parent, subsidiary and affiliated entities together with the respective directors, employees, officers, licensees, licensors and agents, and respective advertising and promotion entities and any person or entity associated with the production, judging, or administration of the Contest (collectively, the “Releasees”) from any and all liability, loss or damage arising from or in connection with awarding, receipt and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any prize-related activities. Releases shall not be liable for: (i) telephone system, telephone or computer hardware, software or other technical or computer malfunctions, lost connections, disconnections, delays or transmission errors; (ii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry or other materials; (iii) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind, including death caused by the prize or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of a prize, or from participation in the Contest; or (iv) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Contest. Sponsor disclaims any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participating in, or accessing or downloading information in connection with this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or suspend the Contest, in its sole discretion, should it receive fewer than 20 entries, or receive no entries that have a judged score above 60 points, or due to circumstances beyond its control, including natural disasters. Submissions will not be returned and may be destroyed. Sponsor may prohibit a contestant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten, undermine or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Contest should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control, corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right, in addition to those other rights reserved herein, to modify any date(s) or deadline(s) set forth in these Official Rules or otherwise governing the Contest. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Contest or winning prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such contestant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest in any way by cheating, hacking, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other contestants or Sponsor representatives. Use of automated entry devices or programs is prohibited. Any attempts to access the site, enter the Contest or increase votes or views via a bot script, device or brute-force attack will result in disqualification, including that IP address becoming ineligible for the entire Contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein. This Contest shall be governed by Florida state law. By participating in this Contest, Contestants agree that Florida courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to this Contest.

12. WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES: To obtain a copy of a winners list or these official rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Miami Herald Media Company, Miami.com Insider Contest Winner's List, One Herald Plaza, Miami, Florida 33132. All such requests must be received no later than 90 days from the end of the Contest Period.

Official Rules