Close menu
Global Reith Awards
You are in : BBC Global Reith Awards > How to Nominate
Contact: 73794

How to Nominate

If you would like to nominate an individual, team or programme for a BBC Global Reith Award, you need to fill in the appropriate nomination form.



There are separate forms:

Send 4 copies of your completed forms, with 4 copies of any supporting materials, to: Vanessa Scott, Room 700CB, Bush House.

Who can nominate?

Unless otherwise stated, nominations can be made by anyone working for BBC Global News, either directly employed, or supplying output or services to BBC Global News. No individual may make more than 3 nominations overall. The nominee can be based anywhere in the world and work for the BBC full-time, part-time or on a regular freelance basis.

Qualifying period

The activity must have taken place between 1 December 2008 and 30 November 2009 unless otherwise stated.

Translations

All entries in languages other than English must be accompanied by a translation in English, in order for the judges to gain a good understanding of your programme / website / service. Where programmes or items that are submitted are longer than 5 minutes, entries will need to be accompanied by up to 5 minutes (maximum) translated material into English showcasing the best of the piece. The English translation may take the form of either a script or audio recording. You may also provide a full running order in English, together with the summary description in English. The judges reserve the right to request further translated material.

Deadline

The deadline for nominations to be received is 7 December 2009, at midnight GMT. We will not accept any late submissions.

Some Top Tips for completing your nomination

It's really easy to make an application - almost anyone can nominate a person or programme for something. But the key will be to make your nomination stand out with the judges.



We've put together some top tips to help you fill in your submission to give you an idea of what the judges will be looking for.

  1. Read the details and criteria of the awards - make sure you're nominating the right person or programme for the most appropriate award.
  2. Make time to do the entry - the judges really do notice where time and care has been taken on the submission.
  3. Pick your winners! Ask yourself whether the nominee is truly a potential award winner. It feels good to nominate, but there is a difference between routine work, excellent work, and potentially award-winning work.
  4. This is not a lottery - winners are not drawn out of a hat. It's more like a job application. Read and re-read the criteria and make sure you address it in your supporting statement.
  5. Make it short and to the point - explain what makes it different from the rest (but don't exaggerate!) If you have time, show the completed nomination to a colleague - ask them to put themselves in the mind of the judges - does it makes a case for an award? Remember - the judges are doing this in their spare time, so don't waste their time.
  6. Go for impact - the judges have to be attracted in the first few lines of the pitch. Keep it attractive on the eye, attention to detail is key.
  7. Compile your entry from the strongest material only - you don't need to be comprehensive to show diversity, wealth or variety. Put the very best at the front.
  8. If you are including audio/ video - tell the judge what they are going to hear/ see in your written citation - set up expectations that you then meet. A judge will then be listening to your material with purpose and more understanding.
  9. If you're entering programme content for a category and it's not in English - you will need to translate it. Many of the jury members are not from Global News and speak no foreign languages - there is a limit to what they can understand just by listening. Translating or summarising puts you in the place of the jury member - short of time, but interested and hoping to see or hear something amazing, but quickly! In previous years, some services have entered long programmes with no summary, and no translation. How is the jury going to pick out the award winning elements without any help?
  10. You may not need to translate a whole programme - in fact, the effort of translating should help you decide what it is which has turned the piece of output into a nomination, and you can then concentrate on translating and recording just the key sections and summarising the rest.
  11. If possible put in some evidence of success eg: measurables like number of PIs for a web special, press cuttings, impact on stakeholders etc
  12. Check your entry before submission - it sounds obvious but you'd be surprised! Have you included the right materials, are your DVDs/CDs clearly labelled?

We will also be running some Awards masterclasses with more practical tips on filling in your form so please do try to come along to those.



Good luck!