Everything about The Logie Award totally explained
The
Logie Awards are the
Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed from by
Graham Kennedy after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours
John Logie Baird who invented
television as a practical medium. Awards are given in many categories, but the most widely-publicised and prestigious award is the Gold Logie, which is awarded to the 'most popular personality on Australian television'.
Home and Away is the most successful programme in Logies history, having won 31 awards since it premiered in 1988.
A Country Practice follows as the second most successful programme, having won 30 awards throughout its twelve year run. Notable achievements then include:
Blue Heelers (25 Logies) and
Neighbours (22 Logies).
History
The first awards, known as the
TV Week Awards, were instigated by TV Week after they released the first voting coupons in TV Week magazine in late 1958, two years after the introduction of television in Australia. With no formal awards ceremony and restricted to Melbourne television personalities only, the first awards were presented on
January 15,
1959 on an edition of Graham Kennedy's
In Melbourne Tonight.
Kennedy later introduced the name 'Logie' after the middle name of John Logie Baird, and in 1960 the awards were renamed the Logie Awards. In the same year, the first Gold Logie, equivalent to the Star of the Year Award presented in 1959, was presented.
In 1962,
Lorrae Desmond became the first woman to win a Gold Logie.
In 1967, three Gold Logies were won.
In 1984 the first Hall of Fame Logie was introduced by TV Week to recognise outstanding and continued contribution to television by an individual or a program.
Nomination and voting procedures
Many of the Logie categories are voted by the readers of
TV Week magazine using coupons in the magazine and online forms. SMS (short message service) was introduced in 2006. Thus, the majority of Logie Awards are
fan awards. The readership of
TV Week is a relatively small proportion of the Australian population, and skews heavily to teenage girls. The 'Most Outstanding' categories are voted on by a jury comprising members of the Australian TV industry and are thus industry awards.
In 2008, internet votes could be cast for the first time.
To be eligible to receive a Logie, a programme must be Australian produced, set in Australia and have a predominantly Australian cast. Although in other years there has been a Logie for Most Popular Foreign Programme, this award wasn't part of the 2007 or 2008 awards.
People eligible for a Logie must have appeared on an Australian-produced show that was broadcast on Australian television in the previous year. It's unknown whether someone who isn't an Australian but appears on an Australian-produced show that was broadcast on Australian television can be eligible for the award.
There are long-held suspicions that network publicists engage in mass voting to rig the results. However, no hard evidence has emerged for this, other than the experiment by the satirical newspaper
The Chaser, who nearly caused low-profile
SBS newsreader
Anton Enus to win the Gold Logie. They did so by getting their small readership to buy copies of
TV Week and vote for Enus for the award. While the attempt failed (narrowly, according to reports), their failure gives some cause for the widespread derision in the industry (particularly the 'quality' end) towards the popular-vote awards.
Award ceremony
The Logies ceremony is televised, and has generally become more elaborate in recent years. The awards are now held in a ballroom in
Melbourne's Crown Casino (rather than a theatre, which is common for the
Emmy Awards and
Academy Awards). Dinner is served just before the ceremony and alcoholic drinks are served during the ceremony.
Bert Newton has been strongly associated with the history of the Logies. As well as winning the Gold Logie several times, he hosted the awards a total of 18 times. He has also performed in well-received guest appearances. One notable appearance was with
Muhammad Ali as co-presenter in 1979. Newton made a comment
"I like the boy!" (in reference to a series of TV advertisements Bert had recently done), that was seen as racist by Ali, although this wasn't Newton's intention. Ali was upset at the comment and a full apology was issued by Newton and the Awards producers. In 1973, American actor
Michael Cole generated controversy after accepting an award while observadly drunk, uttering the word "shit" in a short, incoherent acceptance speech. This was the first time that the word has been said on Australian television.
GTV-9/
Nine Network is strongly associated with the history of the Logies, particularly since the parent company
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited now also owns TV Week. Nine has hosted the awards a total of 35 times. Public voting for the awards begins in early February while the ceremony itself is in late March or early April, depending when
Easter falls any given year.
Award categories
Logies are currently awarded in the following categories:
Gold Logie
Silver Logie
Outstanding Awards
Most Outstanding Drama Series
Most Outstanding Actor in a Series
Most Outstanding Actress in a Series
Most Outstanding Telemovie/Miniseries
Most Outstanding News Coverage
Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report
Most Outstanding Documentary Series
Most Outstanding Comedy Program
Most Outstanding Sports Coverage
Most Outstanding Children's Program
Most Outstanding New Talent
Most Outstanding Factual SeriesFurther Information
Get more info on 'Logie Award'.
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