MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
There are 12 different prizes up for grabs at this year’s Games Media Awards, and here’s how you can put yourself forward for consideration.
Below, we’ve written a breakdown for each award – who is eligible, how to enter, the criteria and the judging process.
Throughout we’re also asking for samples or links to work, because our improved judging process will require panels to read/listen/watch and digest the efforts of the UK games media before debating who should win.
As a reminder, the categories this year are:-
News Writer
Features Writer
Games Critic
Best Coverage by a Newspaper
Video Team
Youtuber
Streamer
Best Coverage by a Mainstream Media Brand
Radio/Podcast Team
Rising Star
Editorial Team of the Year
Journalists’ Journalist
ENTRY GUIDE
NEWS WRITER
Who is eligible?
Any writer that produces news content and information-oriented writing/media about video games (across any platform: radio, TV, video, online or print). You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply up to five examples of your best news writing as part of your entry. These can be links to work published online, scans or PDFs, or plain text documents. An optional personal statement (250 words MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about exclusive content, context and the aims of your writing. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including accuracy, quality of reporting, originality, writing style and reputation.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
FEATURES WRITER
Who is eligible?
Any writer that produces in-depth reporting, coverage or analysis writing about video games (across any platform: radio, TV, video, online or print). You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply up to three examples of your best feature writing as part of your entry. These can be links to work published online, scans or PDFs, or plain text documents. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about exclusive content, context and the aims of your writing. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including variety, quality of reporting, originality and writing style.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
GAMES CRITIC
Who is eligible?
Any writer that produces opinion-driven writing about video games, be that reviews or critiques about games or the medium as a whole (across any platform, radio, TV, video, online or print). You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply up to three examples of your best news writing as part of your entry. These can be links to work published online, scans or PDFs, or plain text documents. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about the intent of your critiques, context and the aims of your writing. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including tone, content, topicality and writing style.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
BEST COVERAGE BY A NEWSPAPER
Who is eligible?
Any national or regional newspaper covering games regularly. The newspaper editorial team must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please provide a statement of the coverage that you have worked on over the past 12 months (400 words maximum). Please supply links or PDFs of examples of this work. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider quality and key criteria including overall quality, content vs target audience, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
VIDEO TEAM
Who is eligible?
Any in-house or external editorial team that produces video content about video games, either pre-recorded pieces (published on editorial sites or via third-party platforms like YouTube, or livestreams). The whole team must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support its entry. A ‘team’ constitutes two or more staff and can include permanent staff, freelancers or a mix of both. Work must be predominantly independent and not client-supported.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply links for up to three examples of your best videos. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about your work or history. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality versus budget, content, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
YOUTUBER
Who is eligible?
Any individual that produces video content about video games which is pre-recorded. You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry. Work must be predominantly independent and not client-supported.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply links for up to three examples of your best work. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about your work or history. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality versus budget, content, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
STREAMER
Who is eligible?
Any individual that produces video content specifically as livestreams. You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry. Work must be predominantly independent and not client-supported.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply any links or archived footage for up to three examples of your best work from the eligibility period. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about your work or history. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality versus budget, content, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
BEST COVERAGE BY A MAINSTREAM MEDIA BRAND
Who is eligible?
Any editorial team outside of the traditional specialist games media covering games regularly. The media brand can be focused on print, online, radio, TV or video, but the editorial team must be predominantly based in the UK.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply a 400-word statement on the coverage you offer videos complete with supportive material/evidence (links, PDFs and so on). The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider quality and key criteria including overall quality, content vs target audience, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
RADIO OR PODCAST
Who is eligible?
Any person or persons that produces radio or podcast content about video games. You must be based in the UK and have work from across the last 12 months to support your entry.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply links for up to three examples of your best shows. An optional personal statement (250 words – MAXIMUM) can be provided to support this material if you wish to elaborate about your work or history. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality versus budget, content, style and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
RISING STAR
Who is eligible?
Any person or persons that has been working professionally in the games media – either full-time, part-time or freelance – for less than 36 months (across any platform, radio, TV, video, online or print). You must be based in the UK.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please supply links for up to three examples of your best work, a brief background document (250 words – MAXIMUM) of career highlights so far can be provided but is not compulsory. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality of writing, progress, and originality.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
EDITORIAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Who is eligible?
Any team that produces regular content for a print magazine, newspaper, website and/or video show that is dedicated to video games or which regularly includes video games as part of a wider remit. A ‘team’ constitutes two or more staff and can include permanent staff, freelancers or a mix of both. You must be based in the UK.
How can I enter?
Click here to complete the entry form. Please send either examples of your two best issues (ideally as PDFs) or multiple examples of your website’s coverage, or examples of your video content (for cross-platform brands, please send a combination of examples across all three).
Please also supply a brief background document (400 words – MAXIMUM) of team highlights from the last 12 months, plus a list of all the editorial team members. The deadline for all entries is August 26th.
What are the awards criteria?
Judges will be asked to consider key criteria including quality of writing overall, originality, output versus budget/size and industry standing.
How is the award judged?
The Games Media Awards committee will organise specific panels for each award. The judges will hail from across the games business – mainly journalists but also key personnel that we are confident are well versed in the games media. The judges will read the longlist and vote for the winner and the shortlist. Votes are secret, and the winner is named on the night of October 11th. Judges will not be named until the evening of the Games Media Awards ceremony itself.
JOURNALIST’S JOURNALIST
This special award is voted for by GMA ceremony attendees from a shortlist we announce at the start of October. Any journalist/vlogger working in the UK video games business can enter for consideration as a finalist. Suggestions or entries for finalists can be lobbied here [http://www.gamesmediaawards.com/award/]. The various judging panels for the main awards will be asked to shape the shortlist for this prize, which will be announced on the days leading up to the Games Media Awards ceremony on October 11th. On the night itself, we will ask those games media personnel attending the awards to vote for the winner in a private ballot. They will be asked to consider key criteria including quality, industry standing and integrity. We will count and verify the votes and announce the winner later that night.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When is the Games Media Awards 2016 ceremony?
October 11th
Where is it held?
Sway Bar, London
How do I enter??
The full guide above gives you a good breakdown of each award. Please note the requirements for supplying copies of your work. Other bits of housekeeping: Media nominees must be based in the UK – their work can be self-published, or published by an outlet based outside of the UK, but UK must be their primary residence. All content must be English-language. If you have any further questions contact lisa.carter@mimrammedia.com.
What’s the eligibility period?
All work submitted must have been published between August 1st 2015 and July 31st 2016, except for the Rising Star award, where we are looking at work for the prior 36 months/three years.
How do I attend??
The event has a strictly controlled invite-only guest list. Finalists and other invited media can attend the GMAs for free. Free attendance is also offered to our sponsors.
How can I be a judge?
Judging this year is conducted by panels of media experts working in video games. We already have a longlist of ideal judges, but if you’ve got what it takes feel free to throw your hat in the ring, and let us know via lisa.carter@mimrammedia.com.
