Judging

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES

Mid-Atlantic Chapter

The Mid-Atlantic Chapter and the Emmy® process relies on using peer judges from other markets across the county. We are a member participation organization and we must have your help. If you enter, you MUST judge.

We appreciate all of our members and entrants and want you to know that we recruit judges from the top markets to view and score your entries. In return, we must do the same for other chapters.

Each ENTRANT is required to judge each awards cycle. If the requirement is not met each year, you will incur a fee of $50 PER NAME/PER ENTRY! If you enter the Emmy® Awards you are required to judge at least every awards cycle to avoid paying the judging fee.

Judging FAQs

How do I judge entries and how often do I get the chance?

Judging is 100% Online and on your own time. It’s easy and you can access your judging account anytime during a judging period. Our Chapter judges approximately 5 to 6 times per year for other Regional Emmy® Chapters across the country.

During a judging period, We send out an email asking for judges. You can also login to your Emmy® Express account and click on "search available panels" to choose your judging, you will then receive an email with judging instructions.

How are Emmy® entries scored?

There are 19 Regional Emmy® Chapters across the country and all entries are judged by your peers in the industry. Meaning, the only way the entries get judged is by other Chapters judging them and in return we judge for other Chapters. This is how ALL entries are scored... so this is why we need your help each time.

If you are judging News or Programming Categories, you are scoring the work on 3 criteria: Creativity, Content & Execution.

If you are judging Craft Categories, you are scoring the work on 2 criteria: Creativity & Execution.

What is mandated judging?

We estimate that judging takes about 2-3 hours of your time per year. But, we have found that many of our members still do not judge and since we are a member participation organization, we need each member to help.

If you do not judge, you will incur a fee of $20 per entry/per person.

Example: If you submit two entries, you will owe an extra $40.

How many time do I need to judge?

If you entered 1 time LAST YEAR, you must judge 1 time THIS YEAR.
If you entered 2 or more times LAST YEAR, you must judge 2 times THIS YEAR.

What if I've never judged before?

The judging process is very easy and 100% online. You are not required to judge all in one sitting, it’s completely up to you. You can judge at anytime of day or night, on your own schedule. Follow these simple steps:

Sign in to your Emmy® Express account.
Click on "search available panels".
Choose your category(s) and click "request to judge".
Once we approve your judging, we will send you judging instructions.
Instructions will have a link for you to go back to your Emmy® Express account and click on "active panels & status" to begin your judging.
Click on the Category you want to start with – click "watch video".
You are required to view a certain percentage of the entry (percentage is determined by the submitting Chapter).
Once your view the entry’s video, you will score the work and click "final vote". Then you will be returned to the Videos page, click on the next video and repeat the process.
Once you have viewed all the videos and clicked "final vote", you can scroll down to the bottom of the videos page and click "submit voter affidavit".
This is the final step in judging, you will then receive a copy of the ballot and so will the Lone Star Chapter and the submitting chapter.

What consitutes a "conflict or challenge" of an entry when judging?

CONFLICT

Station ownership does not constitute a conflict.

Example: If you work at a station owned by Gannett, you can still judge an entry submitted by someone at a Gannett station.

Only you know if you can judge fairly and impartially. If you cannot judge impartially, please submit a Conflict of Interest. Once you do this you will not be allowed to judge that entry.

CHALLENGE

We welcome challenges to an entry. As a peer judge, you are an important part of the Regional Emmy® Awards process. If you feel an entrant has broken a rule or that an entry is in the wrong category please say so! First, go ahead and score the entry based on content, execution and creativity and then issue a Challenge via the Emmy Express judging system. The submitting Awards committee will see your challenge and make a determination.

How to check judging status on your Emmy® Express account

You can log in to your Emmy® Express account to see if you have met your requirements:
Green = You have met your requirement
Yellow = You are almost there
Red = You have not met your judging requirement

NATAS Judging Requirements

The success of the Emmy® Awards process depends on the willingness of qualified professionals to serve as judges. Peers in other NATAS Chapters are serving this Chapter’s entrants. This Chapter will judge other Chapter’s entries. By entering, you agree to serve as a judge when asked.