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TV Week defends blokes in Gold Logie backlash

"What a surprise – people are bagging out the TV Week Gold Logie list!" editor Emma Nolan protests.

TV Week has taken the unusual step of responding to critics who have questioned the lack of female representation in the Gold Logie category.

On a Bauer Media blog, editor Emma Nolan defends the 5 males and 1 female as being the choice of readers who have responded in record numbers (although there is no disclosure on just how many).

“We have the usual bunch of media picking apart the final list and throwing insults left, right and centre at the contenders,” she wrote.

“What a surprise – people are bagging out the TV Week Gold Logie list! But let’s just clarify a few things. TV Week doesn’t pick this list. The initial, longer list is submitted by the TV networks, and viewers voted at the end of last year to give us the final nominees.”

Jessica Marais is the sole female nominated for Gold this year alongside Waleed Aly, Rodger Corser, Peter Helliar, Grant Denyer and Samuel Johnson.

“Yes, they’re blokes. But they are obviously loved by TV viewers, and what a shame if their big moment was to be questioned or tarnished by this whinging,” Nolan wrote.

“Sure, it would have been nice to have some more women among the Gold nominees. But please don’t let that take away from celebrating Gold nominee Jessica Marais’ achievements.

“She’s starred in two primetime dramas, is one of our hardest-working and most talented actresses and has three nominations to her name. Let’s also not forget that 11 out of past 20 Gold Logie winners have been women. A pretty even split!”

Feedback on the low representation in the Gold follows previous conversations about Diversity in awards shows, including the Emmys and the Oscars. Last year’s Gold category was arguably its most diverse on record.

Of course, knocking the Logies is also an Australian sport (along with whinging about practically everything at one stage or another). Whether nominations, fashion, drunken speeches, confused international stars, sorry dance routines, unfunny hosts or Karl being blotto next morning…. these are what make the Logies in the same way that we love the smorgasboard of Eurovision.

Make no mistake, no awards show in Australia comes close to matching Logies in size or history (sorry ARIAs, AACTAs, Brownlow etc).

Embracing this odd dichotomy with true affection is not always understood.

“For some in the media and industry, who are perhaps jaded by this whole process, the easier option is always to find the negative angle,” Nolan writes.

But the Logies nominees list is also now at the mercy of aggressive social media campaigns.

With numbers limited in each category, there are some big names who weren’t even in the running this year. Having online voting has increased voting from being reliant on magazine coupons, but if social media campaigns hijack the Gold it will only open it up to more left-field nominations and wider criticism. How do you make Popular voting genuinely fair?

For better or worse, we kinda get the Logies we deserve.

22 Responses

  1. I don’t have an issue with the lack of women for the gold logie, it’s basically a ‘homecoming king or queen’ competition anyway, I do take issue at the picture up top though. How come the blokes get to stand around all casual in great suits looking like they are having a great time but the only female has to wear a low cut/high split dress and draped through the middle in some sultry pose looking like she is the prize, not an equally respected nominee? Just sayin’

  2. Logies are a joke full stop! Should be chosen by peers not the social media fools, I’d be happy to never see them again especially considering they are boring as watching paint dry

  3. These logies categories don’t make sense. What is the difference between ‘best drama’ and ‘most outstanding drama’? ‘best actor’ and ‘most outstanding actor’? ridiculous.And besides it is people choice award so it is all about rating and popularity not quality and talent.

  4. David, I need to have a retrospective whinge about Logies sexism. This is a very serious issue.

    Go back to 1999 and poor John Wood was the only male in a list that had KAK, Lisa McCune, Belinda Emmett and Georgie Parker. I did try to arrange a protest rally for John, but I forgot at the time.

    2001, they were at it again. John was the only discriminated male up against the line-up of Lisa, Georgie, Ada Nicodemou and Sigrid Thornton. Thank God social media wasn’t alive then as I am sure we would have melted it with this appalling sexism. Poor, poor John.

    Then looking at the Gold Logie winners of the past 20 years, women have won 11 times while the discriminated men were only winners 9 times. Such sexism! I am calling Alan Jones now to remind him.

    And across almost every one of those years, there were more Gold female nominees than men – and why there was never an outcry is a…

  5. What about the Best New Talent, as voted by the public, there is only one man. Where is the backlash there? The public will be swayed by those with the best campaigns & Social media presence. The Best categories should be renamed Most Popular.

    1. and don’t forget that there are 6 nominations for Most Outstanding Actress, but only 5 nominations for Most Outstanding Actor. No backlash there either?

  6. I voted for the first time this year, and of the nominees.
    I agree with Samuel being nominated (such a shame he is no longer acting, very talented)
    I am of the belief that the winner of the previous year should be ineligible to make it fair for the others.

  7. I think the social media campaigns definitely skew the results. But each are well deserved as a nominee for Most popular Personality as voted by the viewing community!

  8. How to make popular voting genuinely fair? Maybe attach the form at the next general election and make it compulsory?

    Seriously, it is very difficult. Like US elections, if only some people vote it will never be truly accurate. Some transparency in the voting process would be nice. Probably the best option is to diminish the importance of the popular votes, and elevate the peer-awarded ones. Make the gold determined by a combination of popular and peer votes.

    I’d like to see the Gold and Silver have some qualifications set on them. To be nominated by the networks, they must have been in more than two shows, and have a clear resume of comprehensive service to television.

  9. I mean, I didn’t vote for any of these. I love Jessica. Peter is funny but is he deserving? Samuel was great as Molly I do agree with that one. But the others I think there are more deserving people. People who have acted their buts off rather then joke around with the news or game show.

    1. I thought the same too. Here’s one for the political correctness aficionado – FYI, I researched on the past Gold Logie winners in the last 20 years since 1986, and a woman had won 11 times!! ( including Lisa McCune 4, Georgie Parker 2, Kate Ritchie 2). And did any male entertainers ever question Lisa McCune’s run of Gold Logies? So maybe it’s not about the gender or quantity but rather it’s about the quality/talent.

      1. I do question the current Gold Logie nominees though – a tad ‘Ten heavy’ and from non-top rating shows. Is it coincidence or sheer desperation?

      2. “I researched on the past Gold Logie winners in the last 20 years since 1986, and a woman had won 11 times!!”

        You could’ve saved yourself some trouble & just read the article 😉

        Of course, the fact that women are typically under-represented in Logie nominations yet fairly equally represented in winners might be taken as proof that women are just more likeable, more popular, or better actors than men… 😉

    2. >> I thought it was based on talent

      No, it’s based on popularity.

      If you want talent you’ll need to look at the ‘Most Outstanding’ categories.

      Better still, wait for the AACTAs at the end of the year.

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