A well-deserved award?

To the editor,

The TV awards shows around the world including the Emmys and BAFTAs are often a source of amusement, fake celebrities and some surprising winners but Australia has raised it to a new level.

The Gold Logie, named after John Logie Baird, the inventor the TV, is the ultimate Australian prize and as the voting is done by the public the TV networks spend fortunes on promoting their particular nominee. The winner was Grant Denyer, a pleasant young man who smiles a lot.

He has been nominated for various categories 22 times before without a single win and has a very practised smile and a “they’re wonderful” speech but this year he won!

The part that makes his story different is that although this is a popularity award his quiz show was not so popular and the show was cancelled mid-season. A comedian, on an opposing channel, known for sarcasm decided to run a subversive campaign to get the fired presenter the big award and it worked. He also won the most popular presenter award — it’s a bit like painters who only sell paintings after they die.

The Australian media image is not helped by Gogglebox, a TV show with people sitting on couches watching TV being the most popular entertainment show.

No wonder streaming services are becoming so popular when TV awards that are ridiculous reflect the poor quality of material being shown.

Regards,

Dennis Fitzgerald Melbourne, Australia