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.

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.

The award was newly launched in 2008 to showcase fledgling radio talent.  It seeks to reward the radio stars of tomorrow and is part of Sony’s ongoing commitment to the radio industry which includes the annual Sony School Radio Awards. The Rising Star award is open to those who have been broadcasting on-air for a total of no more than 18 months. (anyone broadcasting prior to 1^st September 2008 will be ineligible for for consideration)

As the award is ‘people’s choice’, it provides a great opportunity to involve your listeners, encouraging them to vote for their favourite broadcaster via our website, www.sony.co.uk/risingstar.  Initially, entries will be reviewed by an expert panel of radio and media professionals with a shortlist then being drawn up and put to the public vote.  The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday  7^th April 2010.

Entries should consist of up to 30 minutes of audio (supplied on CD), a written resume of no more than 250 words in support of your candidate and a recent photograph.  The closing date for entries is Wednesday 3^rd March 2010.

For further details on how to enter contact Jessica Turner at Borkowski on jessica@borkowski.co.uk or call 020 7404 3000.

Each category is evaluated by a separate group of judges, drawn from across the full breadth of the UK Radio Industry. Judging an individual category can involve listening to as many as 60 hours of output from Commercial, BBC, Internet and Community stations.

If you believe you have a broad enough understanding of UK radio and are able to be objective about the work of your colleagues and your competitors, then perhaps you might want to put your name forward for consideration as a judge in the future.

You’ll need to demonstrate substantial understanding of UK radio programming in general and to indicate any specialisms such as feature making, special event coverage or promo production that you believe may be relevant. Judges give their time on a voluntary basis but do receive a complimentary invitation to the awards ceremony in May.

For further information or to put yourself or a colleague forward, please contact Riza Turner at the Secretariat on 020 7723 0106 or email riza@radioawards.org

That’s just a 13% increase across a 13 year period in which inflation is recorded at 32.7%.

This year, the price has been frozen for the fourth year running to £85.00 plus VAT.

The Awards are funded by entry fees, ticket sales and Sony’s sponsorship and organised by an industry-wide Committee whose key responsibilities include the review and introduction of the categories and the appointment of the judging panels.

Since 1998, the Chairman of the Committee has been chosen by the Radio Academy, in conjunction with ZAFER Associates and together they choose each year’s Committee.  Committee members are chosen not as representatives of their own employers, but because of their personal standing within the industry.

The 2010 Committee includes an independent producer, a senior executive from the RadioCentre, a Community Radio director, seven senior programmers from commercial radio and seven senior programmers from the BBC.  As well as its Chief Executive, the Committee also includes five Radio Academy Trustees.

We’ve also extended the entry deadline by a further week to Wednesday 27th January 2010, which gives you almost 12 weeks to get your submissions together.

You’ll also notice that for those categories requiring a compilation of audio extracts from across the year, we’ve reduced the duration from 60 to 30 minutes. We hope this will make the entry process quicker and easier for you and help our judges to manage their listening time.

Please note that the broadcast date for Station of the Year categories is Wednesday 4th November 2009.  Make sure you save your output from this date if you are planning to enter one of Station of the Year Awards.

We’ve also revised the submission requirements for these two categories and you’ll now need to supply us with TWO SETS of AUDIO of up to 30 minutes each – the first, an example of output from WEDNESDAY 4th NOVEMBER 2009 and the second, a ‘best of’ compilation of 4 to 6 extracts from any dates of your choice.

Back then, they recognised just 21 areas of programming. Today, to reflect the changing nature of our industry they celebrate more than 30.

This year, there are 4 new categories:

• Best Specialist Contributor
  
• Best Use of Branded Content
  
• Best Single Promo/Commercial
• Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign

The Sony Radio Academy Awards are organised by a Committee, representing a broad cross section of the UK radio industry, ranging from the BBC Networks, through large and small commercial outlets to community radio stations. Members are invited to serve because of their individual standing as radio professionals, and are appointed by ZAFER Associates who administer, produce and direct the Awards, in consultation with the Radio Academy and with the continuing support of Sony.

The 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards Committee is made up of the following individuals:

Tim Blackmore, Chairman
Steve Ackerman, Managing Director, Somethin’ Else
John Baish, Managing Director, 2CR FM
James Cridland, Head of Future Media & Technology, BBC Audio and Music Interactive
Mark Damazer, Controller, BBC Radio 4
Trevor Dann, Director, The Radio Academy
Clive Dickens, Chief Operating Officer, Absolute
Lesley Douglas, Controller, BBC Radio 2 & 6Music
Graham Ellis, Controller of Production, BBC Audio & Music
Lisa Kerr, Director of External Affairs, RadioCentre
Anne Koch, Deputy Director, BBC World Service English Networks & News
Phil Korbel, Director, Radio Regen
Geoff Muge, Consultant for Sony United Kingdom
John Myers, Chief Executive, GMG Radio Holdings
Andy Parfitt, Controller, BBC Radio 1
Richard Park, Group Executive Director Global Radio
Tim Pemberton, Managing Editor, BBC Radio Bristol
Bob Shennan, Director of Radio, Channel 4
Mark Story, Managing Director National Brands, Bauer Radio
Scott Taunton, Managing Director, UTV Radio
Alison Webb, Executive Producer, Sony Radio Academy Awards at ZAFER Associates
Alan Zafer, Creative Director, Sony Radio Academy Awards at ZAFER Associates

View further information on the members of the 2009 Committee

Full details on how to enter the 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards including a list of award categories, entry conditions and criteria will be available on this site in November.

ENDS.

For further information please contact Riza Turner at the Sony Radio Academy Awards Secretariat:
riza@radioawards.org
T: 020 7723 0106

Sony is a registered trademark of the Sony Corporation, Japan

www.radioawards.org