Thank you for the great response to our call for Judges.  2010 will see the largest number of judges ever, evaluating over 1,200 entries.   This year 135 professionals from across the sector have volunteered their services. The judges represent a broad cross-section of backgrounds, be they presenters, journalists, producers or broadcasting professionals, but all are united in their endeavours by their love of radio.

We are pleased to report that 48% of our judges are ‘newbies’ and the panels are less London centric than in previous years.  Looking at our final list of judges for 2010,  20% currently work within the BBC, 27% have been drawn from the Commercial sector and 53% are independent consultants or professionals working in other fields; journalists, academia, publishing, television, digital media, the Arts, sports and literary circles.

Our judges have been carefully selected across each of the panels to ensure that their particular expertise relates directly the genre of radio they have been asked to assess. Each category is judged by a separate panel, and the judging process takes place simultaneously across all categories, with no panel ever aware of the decisions reached by other panels.

For those of you who we were unable to place on a panel this year, we would like to publicly thank you for volunteering.

So what happens when a judge receives their Sony Walkman and supporting paperwork…

Judges have four weeks to listen to the entries, under the guidance of their Panel Chair (it is a pre-requisit that all Chairs have previous experience of judging our Awards). All panel members are asked to evaluate your entry as the listener would be hearing it, based purely on the extracts you have submitted, taking account of the rubic definition for the category, and your written submissions.

Depending on the level of submissions received in each category, the size of panels vary between 3 – 7 judges.  We encourage all panels to organise a face to face meeting before agreeing their final list of nominees and consensus on the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.

To view a full list of the 2010 Judges please visit the Judges section of this site.

On Wednesday 27^th the door bell at Chagford Street rang constantly, with a stream of entries for the Awards.

Thank you so much for continuing to support the Awards.  Hope it all went smoothly for you…. or that we have been able to help you iron out any queries you had along the way.  We are always looking for ways to improve, so please let us have your feedback on how the entry process was for you.

So, what happens next?

We are now processing your entries and checking that we have everything we need.  Simultaneously, your audio is being downloaded onto Sony Walkman players and will wing its way across the country into the hands of the judges evaluating the entries in your category.  Entries will journey to places across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Ipswich and Wells in Somerset.

135 judges, the largest number we’ve ever had, are eagerly waiting to listen to the industry’s greatest work, and their results will be announced at the Nominations Launch on Wednesday 7^th April 2010.