Judge not, that ye be not judged - unless you already have an RTS Award

Oscars? Who needs all the razzmatazz when we've got the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards.

I was there ... on the judging side.

Last week, 18 grateful recipients went away with a plastic trophy. Many did not.

But just how do you get an RTS?

First, it pays to have talent and ability; whether you're a reporter or a producer. It shines out from an early age - look at John Irvine on ITV News or James Reynolds at the BBC. But talent plus hard work is the winning combination. Laziness shows on screen.

Second, make sure your best work gets entered for the awards. Persuade your bosses: surprising how many do not. If all else fails, pay for your own entry (as at least one I judged this year did!).

That's all you can do.

Then you are at the mercy of the judges: people like me (also the proud recipient of an RTS, which sits unnoticed on my shelf).

We get a parcel with all the entrants on a couple of DVDs and we have to watch them all. (In my case, seven hours solid on Christmas Day and Boxing Day ... how sad is that?) As a judge, it pays to score and shortlist for yourself.

The great judging day comes at RTS Towers and, as a (nearly) humble judge, you are in a room with the TV Great and Good. Biscuits and coffee and polite chit-chat first, but then down to business, which is surprisingly formulaic and transparent.

We lay (or semi-lay) members of the jury, making up about half the number, get first dibs - so we can set the tone for each entrant. 

The broadcasters come after us, championing their entrants. Usually, they are gung-ho, but sometimes they read the tea leaves and get very lukewarm about their own boys or girls!

Any horse-trading is not open. Everyone is polite about each other's entrants, with only the odd aside displaying their true views. 

Finally, after two hours, time for the secret ballot to decide the shortlist.

And after that, the choice of the winner from the shortlist.

But who is that? We don't know until the big night when the envelope is opened on the podium. It really is a surprise for the judges, too. 

Me? I've done my RTS duty. Off to another jury: for the Regional Press Awards. Am I a juryoholic?

John Mair is a senior lecturer in broadcast journalism at Coventry university. He is an RTS journalism winner and was a judge for the RTS Journalism Awards this year.