iHeart Radio 2020 Podcast Awards Under Fire
Author: Ona Oghogho
iHeart Radio recently released their nominees for their 2020 Podcast Awards and there’s been some criticism from the podcast community.
Background
Across their 27 categories and 156 nominees, iHeart nominated 18 of their shows and only 19 independent shows. According to iHeart, they enlisted a panel of organizations that made these decisions with them. Among those organizations are Adswizz, Slate, Wondery, Podnews, ESPN, IAB, Megaphone, and Luminary.
On Friday, November 15, 2019, Podnews founder James Cridland released the below statement about the nomination and voting process:
“There was no audio to listen to; no rubric of the category, no assistance in terms of what made for a winning podcast. In an email inviting us to “help us decide the winners of our key categories”, we were simply given a list of preselected podcast names and asked to tick a box. The list of podcasts that we were asked to tick were, in every category, exactly the same as the nomination list that was published two weeks later. There was no discussion with fellow judges.”
Our Assessment
I’m disappointed in the lack of diversity and find it alarming that iHeart did not see a conflict of interest in nominating their shows. Their process brings into question the overall validity of this award show.
Issue 1: The Selection Process
Per the statement released by Podnews founder, there are several issues with how iHeart went about selecting their nominees. Sending judges a preselected list with no metric to how that list was developed or providing the judges with a rubric to follow, questions the basis in which these nominations came to be.
I would have expected a submission process, where shows that met certain published criteria had the opportunity to submit their show for review.
Issue 2: The Voting Process
iHeart has put out a voting process via Twitter for the Podcast of The Year category. This is something that should have been incorporated across all categories. Not saying that it should determine the winner, but instead, be included as part of a show overall metric.
Issue 3: Independent Podcast
Of the 157 nominees, 137 were backed by a major brand/network. This is by far my biggest concern. As more brands continue to create podcast I think it’s overshadowing the work of independent content creators.
Overall, I think the premise of a Podcast Awards Show is great. I merely hope that as iHeart moves forward they engage the podcast community more inclusively. This means reaching out to big brands and small platforms to ensure that everyone has a chance to shine. Next year I hope they open up an application process, have a more diverse panel of judges and exclude their shows from applying.
Share your thoughts
What are your thoughts on the categories and nominees?
Do you think that iHeart radio should exclude their shows?
What would you like to see done differently with the selection process?