At a ceremony in Sydney hosted by ABC 774’s Richard Stubbs, the winners of the 2011 ABC Local Radio Awards were announced. 18 Awards were presented including Station of the Year to 891 ABC Adelaide and Regional Station of the Year to ABC Kimberley. ABC Local Radio Queensland received an Outstanding Contribution award for its flood coverage, and Victorian marketing manager Natalie Muscatt was also recognised for her outstanding contribution.
ABC presenters and content makers gathered at the University of Technology, Sydney to find out which nominees had won the coveted awards. A full list of winners is below.
The Awards were presented by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, Deputy Leader of the NSW Opposition Linda Burney, and the ABC’s Mark Scott, Kate Dundas and Peter Longman.
This year there were two recipients of the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Local Radio’ Award. This award is given at the discretion of the Director of Radio and only presented in years where there is a nominee who clearly meets the criteria. One presentation was made to the entire team at ABC Local Radio Queensland for their outstanding work and dedication during that State’s recent flood disaster, the other to an individual, Natalene Muscat, Marketing Manager, ABC Local Radio Victoria. Nominated by her colleagues, Natalene was acknowledged for her creativity, commitment and passion for Local Radio. Kathy Bedford was named Content Maker of the Year.
Summing up the feeling of all the Local Radio stations, Station of the Year (Metro) winner said, “Adelaide 891 is a serious media outlet, that is not afraid to call it like it is.”
Quoting earlier remarks from ABC Managing Director Mark Scott, Richard Stubbs told the awards audience, “if we do our job right, probably almost everyone will hate us at some time.”
The awards night recognises the talent and hard work demonstrated by Local Radio staff across the country. It is the 11th year of the awards, and this year also marked the first year that ABC Open regional multi-media content producers have been included in the awards. One Open Producer described the multi-media work she does this way: “If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about one thousand pictures. What’s that worth?
“I’d like to congratulate all winners and finalists on their contributions to Local Radio over the past 12 months. Thank you for your strong commitment to the organisation and most importantly to our audiences. The vast range of content showcased this evening was impressive and entertaining, which further reinforces the strong connections audiences have with the ABC no matter where they are across Australia,” said Director of ABC Radio Kate Dundas at the awards presentation.
The Awards recognise the best of Local Radio across 9 metropolitan and 51 regional ABC Local Radio stations around Australia. They are complemented by a daytime forum, offering an opportunity to network with colleagues and workshop some of the issues facing the broadcast industry now and into the future.
ABC702 afternoon presenter James Valentine entertained with music for the night, and new Tasmanian breakfast announcer and stand up comedian Ryk Goddard sang about the trials and tribulations of learning to be an ABC breakfast announcer.
2011 ABC LOCAL RADIO AWARDS – WINNERS
Station of the Year (Metropolitan)
891 ABC Adelaide SA
Station of the Year (Regional)
ABC Kimberley WA (pictured)
Content Maker of the Year
Kathy Bedford – Victorian Regional Drive VIC (pictured)
Rural Reporter of the Year
Sarina Locke – 666 ABC Canberra ACT
Sports Broadcaster of the Year
Quentin Hull – 612 ABC Brisbane QLD
Best use of the Medium – Radio (In Memory of Paul Bodington)
Kelly Higgins-Devine – ABC Local Radio Queensland for Cyclone Yasi Broadcast QLD
Best use of the Medium – Online
ABC Grandstand Sport Online for Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 Website QLD
Local Program of the Year (Metropolitan/National)
Mornings with Jon Faine – 774 ABC Melbourne VIC (pictured)
Local Program of the Year (Regional)
Mornings with Ann Jones – ABC North and West SA
Outstanding Coverage of a Local Story
Jill Emberson – 1233 ABC Newcastle for ‘Refugee Housing’ NSW
Outstanding Coverage of a Local Story
ABC Local Radio Queensland for Flood Emergency Coverage QLD
Community Event of the Year (Metropolitan)
891 ABC Adelaide for ‘Cans for Kids’ SA
Community Event of the Year (Regional)
ABC Rural for ‘Heywire’ NATIONAL
Promotions Producer of the Year
Andrew Taylor – 774 ABC Melbourne VIC
Marketing Campaign of the Year
Carolyn Ludovici – 666 ABC Canberra for ‘FEAST’ ACT
Best New Talent
Robert Mailer – ABC Kimberley WA
Outstanding Contribution to Local
Natalene Muscat VIC (pictured)
Outstanding Contribution to Local
ABC Local Radio Queensland QLD
Congratulations to all the winners.