Judging Criteria
Entries are judged based on the following criteria:
Impact
Great podcasts change you. They leave an emotional residue, they get under your skin. You quote them. Laugh out loud (or cry out loud) to them. You send them to your friends with an emphatic: “listen to this!” They nourish you, keep you company, challenge you and change how you look at the world. An award-winning podcast has human impact.
Quality of Craft
Craft is a measure of production quality and technical execution relative to the type of show the creator intends to make. An investigative documentary will sound different than a recap podcast. What’s most critical is that the quality of the work produced elevates the creator’s intention. This includes factors such as the caliber of the editing, hosting, pacing, narration, script writing, reporting, on-mic chemistry, sound design, sonic identity and integration of effects.
Category Fit
An award-winning podcast is best judged against its peers. At Signal, we honor the full spectrum of podcasts being made today, and have built specific categories to cater to the opportunities and challenges of that format – from Best Co-Host Team to Best Kids Podcast. Our Judges are asked to consider category fit as part of their assessment of an entry.
Judging Process
Members of The Signal Awards Judging Academy independently evaluate each entry submitted during the Call for Entries, listening and rating based on the category’s respective criteria. Every entry is evaluated by multiple Judges for a cumulative score and designated as Gold, Silver or Bronze based on scoring thresholds. All Finalists as determined by The Judges regardless of medal status are additionally eligible for their work to enter Signal’s Listener’s Choice campaign, a public voting period that culminates in a single Listener’s Choice Award Winner per category.
Disclosure
We understand that conflicts of interest are a potential threat, and we take these conflicts very seriously. We do everything in our power to minimize occurrences of conflicts while ensuring that the best work is recognized.
Signal Awards does not influence the judges in any way. We select a diverse body of judges who we feel are objective, respected, and knowledgeable in their category. Recognized Podcasts are entirely in the hands of these Judges, who select and vote on the entries through an independent process. Jurors are not allowed to participate or vote in a category where they have a conflict of interest.