The judging of this year’s Station of the Year Award, which is part of the annual Radio Awards, will be done somewhat differently this year.
The award is one of the Radio Awards’ most prestigious categories. The winner will be decided based on more than just awards performance, says head of events at Arena Holdings, Taryn Westoby. “After consultation with the Radio Awards’ advisory panel, which includes members of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), it has been decided that the Station of the Year Awards should extend beyond awards performance to the meeting of audience needs as well.”
Because of this, in 2020 the Station of the Year Awardin the Campus, Community, PBS and Commercial categories will be decided based on the number of times stations appear as finalists across all general categories of the Radio Awards. Stations will be informed if they are in the running for the award and will then be required to put forward a motivation stating why they should win. The motivation will relate to a set of questions that will be sent to every station eligible for the Station of the Year Award.
Motivations will be assessed by the advisory board and will be considered in conjunction with the station’s overall performance. Each member of the board will be given a vote for the Station of the Year Award in the Campus, Community, Public Broadcast Services (PBS) and Commercial categories.
Westoby explains that the motivations submitted by the stations will comprise 50% of the final score, while the remaining 50% will be determined by the station’s overall performance in the awards, including the number of wins and finalist nominations. Winners will be announced at the Radio Awards gala dinner on April 18.
Entries for the 2020 Radio Awards close on January 24.
Stations wishing to be considered for the Radio Awards need to have submitted their entries by January 24 2020. In light of the revised requirements for the Station of the Year Award, stations should aim to submit entries for as many categories as possible, advises Westoby.
Mark these dates!
January 24 2020 – general category entries close
January 27 2020 – My Station competition opens
February 3 2020 – Station Manager’s Choice nominations open
April 18 2020 – The Radio Awards gala dinner takes place
For inquiries about The Radio Awards 2020 entries, please contact Phila Nkanunu on NkanunuP@arena.africa | 011-340-9465.
