Fed: Logies noms show what people really like this year: expert

AAP General News (Australia)
04-11-2008
Fed: Logies noms show what people really like this year: expert

By Katherine Field, National Entertainment Writer

SYDNEY, April 11 AAP - Take one look at this year's Logie nominations list and you
could be mistaken for thinking that TV viewers have suddenly changed what they like to
watch.

The nominations for the 50th Logie Awards were announced this week and were very different
to previous years.

There was a sharp move away from actors in big dramas to a focus on comedy and ABC programs.

Of the eight nominations for this year's Gold Logie for Australia's most popular personality,
three are comics and three are from the ABC - an unprecedented showing for the public
broadcaster.

Television expert, Jason Sternberg, from Queensland University of Technology (QUT),
says this year's nominations are actually a better reflection than ever of what people
like to watch.

He said that's largely due to the method of voting this year.

For the first time, voting for the nominees was opened up to the internet and not confined
to TV Week magazine.

Mr Sternberg said that having voting confined to TV week had skewed the Logies in the
past in line with what older people liked.

ABC Television's Andrew Denton, Chris Lilley and Adam Hills, and Network Ten's Rove
McManus will vie against former winners Kate Ritchie and Lisa McCune for this year's Gold
Logie.

Neighbours star Natalie Blair and All Saints veteran John Howard round out the nominees.

In previous years, the category has been dominated by actors or talk show hosts - with
the last few winners being Home and Away actor Ritchie, Blue Heelers star John Wood, talk
show host McManus and former All Saints actor Georgie Parker.

This year, there is a mix of the old and the new personalities and shows, he said.

Sternberg said internet voting had allowed the younger personalities such as Lilley
to be included.

He said it was also interesting to note that the Gold Logie nominees were generally
personalities who had ventured outside their traditional TV role.

He said that in particular Lilley, Hills, McManus and Denton had strong online presences.

Their shows had been quite interactive, with sites and features.

Lilley, in particular. His mockumentary Summer Heights High was able to be seen on
the internet and was expanded into a brand.

"Chris Lilley getting nominated through Summer Heights High that's really a multi-media
phenomena," he said.

"Adam Hills from Spicks and Specks is the same, and Rove certainly has a strong online
presence as well as involvement in other areas."

One of the other trends in this year's Logies nominations is the increase in nominations
for pay TV.

Pay TV programs such as the sports program Inside Cricket, the wine show Stuart McGill
Uncorked and dramas The King, Satisfaction and Love My Way are among nominees.

Sternberg said pay TV and the ABC allowed for much more innovation and were making
big inroads in programming.

"Australian commercial TV is so revenue driven that it's not really a space for innovation
any more," he said.

The ABC had the second most nominations of any network, behind Seven.

The Logie Awards will be announced at a ceremony at Melbourne's Crown Entertainment
Complex on May 4.

AAP kaf/jec/cdh

KEYWORD: VIEWER (AAP TV FEATURE)

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