The following categories for television will be judged based on market size. Please reference the market size reference in this packet prior to submitting your entries.
T1. Best Station Produced Promo
Category Description: Recognize the best short-form “spot,”promoting a station. The entrant stations must have had total conceptual and creative control of the locally produced announcements which must have been designed for the local community/audience. Spots containing music must have used music in the public domain or used copyrighted music with permission.
Judging Criteria: Original writing, production, use of video and sound as well as compelling delivery.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 1 minute.
T2. Best Feature Story
Category Description: Recognizes a locally produced feature story that is not part of a series, franchise, breaking news or general assignment reporting.
Judging Criteria: Writing, production, use of video, pictures, graphics and sound, as well as compelling delivery.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 5 minutes.
T3. Best General Assignment Reporting
Category Description: Recognizes the best reporting of news, which is not considered breaking, feature, or investigative. Entries should feature general news stories generated daily, not ongoing coverage that might be considered in another category.
Judging Criteria: Writing, production, use of video and sound as well as compelling delivery.
Entry Requirements: Entry must not exceed 5 minutes.
T4. Best Investigative Reporting Series
Category Description: Recognizes the best investigative reporting series aired by the station between January 1 and December 31, 2020.
Judging Criteria: Writing, production, use of video and sound, compelling delivery, cohesiveness between each aired segment, and a demonstrated commitment by the reporter(s) to see the story through to the end.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 15 minutes.
T5. Best Team Political Coverage
Category Description: Recognizes the most outstanding political coverage during the 2020 Election Cycle (Note: Entries may include coverage of either the US Presidential Election or the Georgia Special Election. Because the latter ended on January 6th, we will consider content that aired through that date, but not beyond).
Judging Criteria: Writing, production, use of sound, and compelling delivery.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes.
T6. Best Team Weather Coverage
Category Description: Recognizes the most outstanding team weather coverage broadcast predominantly to a Georgia audience.
Judging Criteria: Compelling delivery, use of technology, and usefulness of the forecast to the audience.
Entry Requirements: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes.
T7. Best Newscast (Choose from one of four predetermined dates)
Category Description: Recognizes the best regularly scheduled newscast airing between January 1st, 2020 and December 31st, 2020. Entrants are encouraged to pick a newscast from an ordinary day and avoid those newscasts that are heavy in breaking news or severe weather coverage.
Judging Criteria: Content, performance, technical aspects, opening and style.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 30 minutes.
T8. Best Program (Non News or Sports)
Category Description: Recognizes locally produced programs on the station outside of news and sports coverage. Entries can be of a one-off production or part of a regularly scheduled or multi-part series.
Judging Criteria: Writing, use of sound, and compelling delivery.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 30 minutes.
T9. Best Sports Program
Category Description: Recognizes locally produced sports programs. Entries can be of a one-off production or part of a regularly scheduled or multi-part series.
Judging Criteria: Writing, use of video and sound, as well as compelling delivery.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 30 minutes.
T10. Best News Anchor
Category Description: Recognizes the best Georgia-based television news anchor. Talent must be a station employee or contract employee aired on the submitting station. Judges will consider entertainment value, compelling delivery, and community involvement of the talent.
Judging Criteria: Compelling delivery, Ability to juggle anchor responsibilities while also getting out in the field to produce features, series and general assignment reporting, and overall community involvement of the talent.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes
T11. Best Sports Anchor
Category Description: Recognizes the best performance by an individual television news anchor. Entry must have been developed for the local community/audience. Entrants must submit a video montage representative of the their on-air performance.
Judging Criteria: Compelling delivery, entertainment value, ability to juggle anchor responsibilities while also getting out in the field to produce features, series and general assignment reporting, and overall community involvement of the talent.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes
T12. Best Reporter
Category Description: Recognizes the best performance by an individual reporter of local news events or stories. Entry must have been developed for the local community/audience. Entrants must submit a video montage representative of the their on-air performance.
Judging Criteria: Significance, presentation of facts, delivery and/or creativity, entertainment value, and effective use of video and audio.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes
T13. Best Meteorologist
Category Description: Recognizes the most outstanding local meteorologist presenting daily weather segments, severe weather coverage and weather related stories.
Judging Criteria: Compelling delivery, use of technology, and ease of translating technical meteorology terms and concepts to a general audience.
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 10 minutes
T14. Best Videographer
Category Description: Recognizes the most outstanding videographer in their ability to convey news in a visual form as demonstrated in a compilation video.
Judging Criteria: Creativity, continuity, lighting, and technical production.
Entry Requirements: Entry must be a compilation of work that best represents the talent’s capabilities. Entry must not exceed 10 minutes.
T15. TV Station of the Year
Category Description: Recognizes a TV Station that demonstrates overall excellence in their local communities, regardless of market size.
Judging Criteria: Judges will consider programming, promotions, community relations and service, public affairs/public service programming, and station awards and recognition. It is recommended that entries include a list of boards/organizations in which station personnel are actively engaged; estimates of how much money was raised for charitable purposes; estimates of how many hours of public service were performed by personnel and how many public service campaigns aired on the station.
Entry Requirements:
- a) Edited audio and/or video entry which describes/highlights the efforts of the station from January 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2020, incorporating the factors listed above
- b) Detailed narrative which must specifically correlate with the audio entry. Up to two pages of narrative describing why your station should be named Radio Station of the Year incorporating the factors above
- c) Up to three attachments from verifiable outside sources, such as letters from the mayor or community organizations or page(s) from Nielsen Audio, etc.
Documents can be uploaded as you complete each individual entry. You may include photos and/or video (upload online) to support your entry.
T16. Best Team Pandemic Coverage
Category Description: Recognizes the most outstanding team coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 calendar year. Entries should include a compilation of newscasts and reporting that best showcases your station’s coverage of the government response to the pandemic at one or more levels (national, state, county, city, or a combination), as well as the impact of the virus on local businesses, non-profits, and citizens.
Judging Criteria: Writing, production, use of sound, variety of storytelling, and compelling delivery
Entry Limit: Entry must not exceed 20 minutes