The Broadcast Media Awards were established in 1993, and recognize nonfiction works in English covering food and beverage topics.
Photo: Max Flatow
The 2027 James Beard Broadcast Media Awards will take place on Saturday, June 12th, at the Art Institute of Chicago, and will honor the most compelling and innovative storytelling in food-related television, podcasts, and digital media. Recognizing the producers, hosts, and creators who bring the culinary world to life through sight and sound, these awards celebrate excellence in visual and audio storytelling. From thought-provoking documentaries to engaging series and podcasts, the ceremony highlights the voices and visions that shape the way we experience food in the modern media landscape.
Broadcast Media Awards Categories
This award recognizes food- or beverage-centric audio-first talk shows and/or audio productions. Entries can range from interview-based shows featuring chefs and food personalities to those that delve into food culture, history, instruction, and science.
- Enter one complete episode (audio file only) up to 60 minutes in length.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different programs. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes original reporting, documentary and/or narratives about food or beverage-centric issues in audio-based media, including radio or podcasts. This work is issue- or deadline-driven, investigative, topical, or timely in nature.
- Enter a single piece as one entry. The single piece (audio file only) should be up to 60 minutes in length.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different programs. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes excellence in food- or beverage-related media including video production, audio programming, or other media, that is developed in coordination with a corporate sponsor and/ or partner, and marketed with visual branding or product integration, and/or contains paid advertising.
- The content should be entered in its entirety if it is a singular program or production. If the program is a series, enter the episode in its entirety that best represents the series.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different programs. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes creators who educate and inspire audiences through recipes, cooking and beverage instruction, and culinary techniques, shared across platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, among others.
- Enter a minimum of three and up to five posts from one or more platforms, each totaling no more than five minutes.
- Eligible entries may include: recipe demonstrations; technique-focused programming; baking, pastry, coffee, cocktail, wine, and other beverage education, and skill-building culinary content.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different accounts. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact. Production budget, audience size, or follower count are not considered.
This award recognizes excellence in a food- or beverage-related stand-alone documentary.
- Entry should be at least 15 minutes long.
- The documentary should be entered in its entirety.
- More than one entry per filmmaker/production company may be submitted. Each submission requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category includes the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes excellence in a food- or beverage-related docuseries. Entries can range from interview-based shows featuring chefs and food personalities to those that delve into food culture, history, and science.
- The series must be comprised of at least three episodes, each of which is at least ten minutes in length.
- Enter the episode in its entirety that best represents the series.
- Judging criteria for this category includes the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes creators who use storytelling that encourages discovery and exploration of food, beverage, dining, travel, and the traditions and communities that surround them.
- Enter a minimum of three and up to five posts from one or more platforms, each totaling no more than five minutes.
- Eligible entries may include: restaurant and bar recommendations; food and beverage reviews; culinary travel; food storytelling; ingredient and product exploration; dining experiences and trends; and food traditions and culture.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different accounts. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact. Production budget, audience size, or follower count are not considered.
This category honors excellence in food and beverage-centric talk shows, food competition shows or lifestyle programs that explore food and/or beverage alongside broader societal and cultural themes. Entries can range from interview-based shows featuring chefs and food personalities to those that delve into food history, science, and culture.
- Enter a single piece as one entry. The single piece (video file only) may be up to 60 minutes in length.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different programs. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
This award recognizes excellence in a food- or beverage-related video production with instruction as its primary intent, whether broadcast, streamed, accessed online, or through an app.
- Enter the episode in its entirety that best represents the series. The single episode may be up to 60 minutes in length.
- More than one entry may be submitted, provided they are for different programs. Each entry requires a separate entry fee and application.
- Judging criteria for this category include the entry’s content, originality, execution, and impact.
The Broadcast Media Committee selects the honoree for this category. No entries are accepted for this category. The James Beard Foundation’s Broadcast Media Hall of Fame Award recognizes a visionary individual who has revolutionized the way food is presented and discussed on television, radio, or streaming platforms. This person embodies the Foundation’s core values of Good Food for Good®. They use their platform to not only entertain but also educate and inspire viewers about the vast world of food.
The Broadcast Media Committee selects the honoree for this category. No entries are accepted for this category. This award recognizes excellence in a body of work that could include food or beverage-related video, audio, or social media production whether broadcast, streamed, or accessed online or through an app, produced by a new voice in the medium.
A new voice is an individual that is early in their career or has not been recognized by an awards program or other formal recognition instrument.
Awards Structure
Media Awards Open Call for Entries are conducted and require a fee of $85.00 per entry (waivers provided upon request). Winners and Nominees are selected from the entries.
Click here for information on the Media Awards Voting Process.
- Chair, Stanley Sagner, Founder, We Work For Food, LLC
- Vice-Chair, Andrea Gutierrez, Journalist & Audio Producer, Freelance
- Mariano Avila, Executive Producer; Exponential Narratives
- Monti Carlo, Puerto Rican Chef and Food Media Personality
- Cybelle Codish, Photographer/Producer
- José Ginarte, Creative Lead, Photography, Airbnb
- Eric Neuhaus, Founder and Executive Producer, Neuhaus Creative Group
- Pervaiz Shallwani, Journalist and Trained Chef, Associate Director of Dining & Food Culture, Bon Appétit
- Mia Warren, Director, Feet in 2 Worlds, a nonprofit outlet and training organization for immigrant journalists
The James Beard Awards consist of the following recognition programs: Media Awards (Book, Broadcast Media, Journalism), Restaurant and Chef Awards, and Achievement Awards which include: Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian of the Year and the Impact Awards. The Leadership Awards were retired after the 2024 Awards cycle.
The Restaurant and Chef and Media Awards are administered by independent volunteer members of the media, culinary, beverage, hospitality, and the broader culinary ecosystem.
The James Beard Foundation is introducing beverage awards categories with the goal of acknowledging the beverage industry in a more holistic way.
GOVERNANCE
Awards Committee
Together and in consultation with the Foundation and its staff, the Awards Committee has oversight of and administers the James Beard Awards. The Awards Committee reviews and approves all prospective subcommittee members and judges; votes on the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Award; and reviews and approves all policy, eligibility and criteria changes put forth by the Subcommittees. Members include chairpersons of each Awards program, Board of Trustees members and at-large food, beverage, media and related industries.
Awards Subcommittees + Judges
Each Awards program is administered by an independent volunteer subcommittee, together and in consultation with the Foundation and its representatives. Each subcommittee administers their respective programs; they recommend and select new subcommittee members and judges. Subcommittees’ names are published on this website. Judges are invited to apply annually. Judges’ names are published on the website at the end of each cycle. Assigned categories are not revealed.
The James Beard Foundation and its Board of Trustees has jurisdiction over all Awards programs. Members of the Board of Trustees do not vote, except where indicated. Foundation staff do not vote. As appropriate and based on strategy alignment, the Board may direct the Awards Committee and the subcommittees to include or exclude any Awards category, or to modify, amend or replace the criteria applicable to any Awards category.
Click here to see the Awards structure and governance.
