Joey Magidson
Let me be the first to welcome you to Awards Radar, a true labor of love. Those of you who know me and are kind enough to follow me on this new adventure, thank you so much for being a reader all these years. For those of you who don’t know me from Adam, it’s great to have you as well. Who am I, you might be wondering? Well, for almost a decade and a half, I was a writer for Clayton Davis and The Awards Circuit (even going back to when the site was just called The Oscar Igloo). Over the years, my work has also been seen on First Showing, Hollywood News, and several other places. Now, Awards Radar is not just my new outlet, but my new home.
For the first time, I’m running the show. However, I won’t be doing it alone. So, if you like what you see, remember that my talented staff of writers, who you’ll meet in the coming days and weeks as their inaugural articles go up on the site, deserve as much credit, if not more. I certainly hope that the decade-plus spent learning under Clayton has put me in a position to lead, but this is most definitely a group effort.
What will you see on Awards Radar? You’ll see articles on the awards season (Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar, SAG, etc), interviews, news, reviews, and all manner of essays/features. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too. The staff has myriad interests and aren’t shy about shouting them from the rooftops, so as you get to know what the writers like, you’ll begin to anticipate their takes on various new releases.
Obviously, the raging dumpster fire that is 2020 complicates things somewhat (for example, all of the awards season events I usually attend that put me in contact with Oscar voters are likely not going to happen), so following the Academy buzz and what members are thinking will be more difficult. Likewise, the contenders will be campaigning in such a new way, it’s hard to tell how that will impact the race. Still, nearly 15 years worth of experience makes this a challenge I’m ready to tackle head-on. Plus, considering the state of the world, it’s a comfort to be even able to do this, in any form.
Mostly, we hope to be a resource and a site that cinephiles can rely on. Predictions will be regularly updated and will reflect what I/we think will happen, not what should happen. It can be a fine line, but it’s important to be objective, especially at a time where so many put an agenda first and foremost. That’s a far cry from championing works from underrepresented artists, which should always be something a platform like this seeks to do. Above all, we want to reflect an accurate depiction of the state of the race. I know I’ve made it my mission for over a decade to do this, so I have no doubt my staff will do so as well. It’s going to be fun, hard, exciting, and unique, perhaps even all at the same time.
Thank you for reading Awards Radar and I can’t wait for you to see everything that we’re cooking up! Be sure to follow the site on Twitter, at @awardsradar. Feel free to reach out to me at AwardsJoe@gmail.com with any comments, concerns, or questions you may have. I’d love to hear from you, and I look forward to continuing the conversation I’ve been having with you all for years…
Joey Magidson (Editor-in-chief and Owner of Awards Radar)
Welcome one and all!
Site looks really good! Glad its up and running. One question I had is do you think you will do podcasts eventually? I know maybe not right away, but are they something you and some of the writers might do at some point?
Definitely in the works. Just only so many hours in the day to get the site up and running, and wanted to focus on that. I’d say sometime next month, look out for a podcast to start up!
Awesome to hear, will definitely be looking forward to it and tuning it when they start up!
Appreciate that. Just be a little patient as we keep working out the kinks and continue to hit the ground running.
Love the new site and I have been a fan your writing since the early days of Awards Circuit. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, so much!