Logies shakes up voting process
Voting for the Logies will now be entirely online, with other changes including the addition of Community TV and opening voting earlier.
- Published by David Knox
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TV Week has announced major changes to its Logie Awards voting processes following consultation with the industry, viewers and TV Week readers.
Amongst the changes are:
– All Popular Awards voting will now be conducted online.
– Popular Awards voting will begin on December 6, two months earlier, running for 12 weeks instead of the previous five.
– Outstanding Awards will now be chosen by a judging panel of independent industry experts. The previous system included a mix of appointed TV executives and independent judges.
– Community TV shows are now eligible.
The change to voting process is a significant move from the magazine’s traditional value of providing a voting form, but the magazine says almost all of the 2010 voting was conducted online.
Editor Emma Nolan said: “Moving to 100 per cent online voting for the Popular Awards at the TV Week Logies in 2011 makes the voting process easier and allows us to include more shows and stars for readers to choose from. Removing the voting coupon from the magazine also allows us more space to focus on editorial, which our readers love.
“The Outstanding Awards have always represented an important and valued portion of the TV Week Logie Awards each year and we believe this evolution in the way that judges are chosen will better reflect the peer nature of these awards.”
Online voting will be conducted by Roy Morgan with links to network websites.
TV Week is yet to indicate if it will reinstate the blank “Other” category to its voting to allow viewers to add favourite shows and performers to those who are not present on its Preliminary voting list.
The 53rd Awards will be held at Crown in Melbourne on Sunday May 1st 2011.
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27 Responses
I’m just wondering where the online system asks for a name are they asking for a name with a surname or just a name?
I want Stefen Dennis to be nominated next year for his 25 years in Neighbours
today’s new TV Week magazine (on page 6) mentions the above article from here, with one extra bit of info – the Gold Logie Award will go from 8 nominees to 6 nominess in 2011.
Thanks Jimbo. Pretty sure it used to be 5 before it was boosted to 8.
The Logies taking five months to decide? I’d prefer a return to a mid-March Logies ceremony in 2011, with the Race for Gold, happening from the middle of February. The only logistical issue will be guaranteeing that the entire East Coast can see a mid-March ceremony live.
There are some great suggestions here – Andrew is right – videos of the actors would be great, and would hopefully allow even the popular votes a little more cred – make it similar to the Emmys where actors can submit an ep or scene “for your consideration”.
And dave – supporting actor/actress would be great. In recent times, it annoys me that Jessica Marais has no chance of winning because she will forever be up against Rebecca Gibney. And too add to that – why not try being more specific with the acting categories too – could we try drama and comedy? We separate hosts to actors – there are entirely different skills involved in acting in drama as opposed to acting in comedy. I think if they allowed this in the popular vote too, it would again (hopefully) add more credibility… May be wistful thinking – but even if not happening 2011, it could be something they work towards.
@Pete Only if the logies bring back peer voted supporting actor/actress categories – they dropped them in the mid 80s and i reckon it has been missing from the awards ever since – there are lots of great character actors and soapie stalwarts who never get a look in. Judith McGrath was in All saints for 11 years, and A country practice for several – 1 logie nom! It’s time they brought it back – fans would love to see the supporting players get recognition
Finannly, It gives actors such as Tom Oliver and Jackie Woodburne a chance to be recognised for a change.
Good decision,i have not entered in the past due to having to pay to submit my vote.On-Line that will now change good decision TV Week.Look forward to next years award night.Best TV Award night going around,as more often than not the awards going to the most popular programs,or actors/actresses as it should be
This is bad, but unsurprising news for the magazine and its declining sales,as it essentially only exists for the Logie Awards.
way to make it even more of a joke then before.
I hope 4chan finds a way to exploit the online voting :3
Also.. TV Week will be gone in a few years as a publication IMO.
And two years from now we can quietly get rid of the Popular awards, right? Please???
These are welcome changes altho’, as already noted, the move to on-line only won’t make a lot of difference. I agree with Andrew about jazzing up the presentation with some pics, but more for reasons of enhanced clarity rather than simple glam.
The Logies are mostly ‘popular’ awards so nothing’s going to change there, and if the voting demographics are skewed, then the results will be too.
With the voting now starting in December, I would have liked to see the actual award ceremony move forward too. The first Sunday of May is when the Logies are on (as it will be in 2011) and i think that’s too late. Over 4 months between New Year’s Eve and The Logies.
Would have liked to see it at least some time in March
It’s not the voting that’s the problem. Well it is kinda when 40 year old women or 12 year old girls are the one’s voting for Home & Away every year. The ceremony itself is just a bogan p**s up. And there’s too much emphasis on the popular and not on quality. And the fact that our television awards is labelled with a magazine shows how tacky it is. Not prestigious at all.
It seems that most people commenting have forgotten the fact that online voting has been an option for several years, and that, according to the editor of TV Week, almost all of the voting for this year’s Logies was done online anyway, so the difference is going to be minimal. What I’d really like to see is the publication of a book outlining the nominees and winners for every single awards ceremony since its inception, with pictures articles, facts and figures etc. That would be an amazing read and a brilliant historical work.
We need Two New Awards, Most Popular Sports Personality and Most Outstanding Community Program or Special.
Online voting could work but only if you have to register to do it otherwise it will turn into a farce.
Now all they need to do is offer a complete/consistent list of names and programs in their voting forms.
Oh, and also, ‘tizzy’ the voting up a bit. Throw in some pictures or better still some videos, so we can recognise the people we are supposed to be voting for. Sometimes it’s hard to recognise people from name alone. Glam it up a bit!
Did they sense they were quickly losing their cred?
Nice work Logies. If you can get the outstanding categories to be fairly judged, they’ll become more prestigious and give the Logies more clout!
All I ask for is for the ballot to include everyone’s name! It pi**es me off when the entire cast of a show is eligible and they leave out certain names!
In the 2009 ballot, Big Brother was not even on the Reality Show list – probably because it was the last season, but that shouldn’t matter.
For a ‘national’ television awards, The Logies is pretty dodgy.
I really hope that the changes mean that anything other than Home and Away will get a chance to win.
I dont think the voting is the problem but its the fact that their are no categories for music tv shows and as a fan of music and music tv shows its very disapointing. Australia has a long and successful history of music shows ie Countdown, rage, Video Hits & also the shows which are on pay tv. The Logies are ignoring the music shows which really stinks. I thought that the logies were supposed to represent all of Australian tv not just the prime time. Music shows are not light entertainment they are music shows other genres get their own categories why doesnt music, this is a disgrace.
I think the changes are also a reflection on the declining sales of TV Week itself.
Even though my family have purchased it for many decades, I’m quite suprised it’s still published given the plethora of TV guides in papers, online, etc.
I assume if TV Week were ever to fold the name ‘TV Week Logies Awards’would just be ‘The Logies”? – unless some other company swoops in to sponsor it.
It’ll be interesting to see if the online system will have safeguards to avoid rigging of votes. In the past newsagents around Artarmon and Epping would mysteriously sell out of copies of New Idea for weeks leading up to the Logies!