"We believe that transparency in the adjudication of awards is essential if The Radio Awards is to maintain its credibility as the South African radio industry's most important recognition event," says Taryn Westoby, head of events at Arena Holdings.

"One of the most notable changes to the 2020 programme is the determination of the Station of The Year Award. It is one of the most prestigious accolades, and an early understanding of how the winner will be decided is therefore imperative," adds Westoby.

"Stations that wish to be in the running need to ensure they submit high-quality entries for as many categories as possible. We have engaged with our advisory panel — which includes members of the NAB — and determined that the Station of the Year needs to be based on more than awards performance and that it's imperative that the needs of the listening community are also met," Westoby says.

The Station of the Year in the Campus, Community, PBS and Commercial categories will be decided in 2020 based on the following process:
  • Stations will be short-listed for Station of the Year based on the number of times they appear as a finalist across all general categories of The Radio Awards.
  • Stations will be notified if they are in the running for Station of the Year, and they will then be required to motivate why they should win, based on a series of motivating questions that will be posted to all stations that are up for consideration.
  • The Radio Awards advisory board will review the station motivations in conjunction with the overall performance of the station, and then vote independently on which station they believe should be awarded as the Station of the Year in the Campus, Community, PBS and Commercial categories.
  • Fifty percent of the final score will be based on the station's performance in the overall awards (number of wins, number of finalist nominations) and the remaining 50% will be based on the supporting motivation.
  • The winners will be announced at The Radio Awards gala dinner on Saturday, 18 April.
Event dates:
  • 24 January 2020 — general category entries close
  • 27 January 2020 — My Station competition opens
  • 3 February 2020 — Station Manager's Choice nominations open
  • 18 April 2020 — The Radio Awards gala dinner
For inquiries about The Radio Awards 2020 entries, contact [email protected].

For more information, visit www.radioawards.co.za or contact [email protected]. You can also follow The Radio Awards on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.