There had been plenty of gold for Australian audio creators at the 2025 New York Festivals Radio Awards.
The AFP won for its Search Among the Sunflowers podcast, about the decade-long investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014 and the role the AFP played in the search and pursuit of justice for the families left behind.
The AFP assisted in identifying victims and finding evidence the plane had been brought down by missile attack. Then Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC recorded the introduction to the podcast, while Foreign Minister Penny Wong read out the names of the Australians lost in this tragedy.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier, who led the investigation said:
“I want to thank the families who participated in the podcast. While time can numb grief, it will never dilute the deplorable way their loved ones were taken from them.
We do amazing work at the AFP, but what always humbles me is how Australians pull together during times of tragedy and say to one another: share some of your pain with us, so you don’t have to shoulder it all by yourself.”
In a similar vein 9Podcast‘s The Ultimate Sacrifice also won Gold Award for Best Narrative Documentary Podcast. Presented by 9News Queensland’s Melissa Downes, with Jessica Lodge executive producer, sound design and editing by Adam Buncher, technical production by Matt White, and creative direction by Sam Stove, The Ultimate Sacrifice explored the harrowing events of Australia’s first Christian terrorist attack, an ambush that led to the murder of two young police officers and an innocent civilian. That team had also won the previous year for Hannah’s Story.
In a joint statement, Downes and Lodge said:
“On behalf of the team, we are incredibly proud and humbled to have had the opportunity to tell this story.
In a media landscape that often moves quickly and forgets too soon, we poured our time and care into crafting a detailed, emotionally sensitive and comprehensive account. To see this being recognised on a global stage is an incredible honour.”
Actor Guy Pearce and audio producer Des Shaw, who worked at 96fm Perth won Gold for Jeff Buckley Forever in the Best Documentary: Culture & The Arts category.
Pearce said:
“I was one of those people who was immediately transfixed when I first heard Grace – and it’s no exaggeration to say that the album literally changed my life.
It’s a stunning work of art that continues to amaze and inspire new generations of fans excited by Jeff’s incomparable talent. At the core of my admiration for Jeff lies an extremely personal and profound feeling that he’s not singing or speaking to me, but that he is speaking for me.
“I’m lifted and floored every time I listen to Grace in a way that no other music has ever done to me.”
UTS Impact Studios won gold for Best Children’s Program for their Hey History! podcast. Professor Anna Clark OAM accepted the award.
The University said on LinkedIn:
“?Congrats to our producers Jane Curtis, Dr Britta Jorgensen, Co-Executive producer Professor Clare Wright OAM, host Axel Clark, as well as Kyla Slaven, John Jacobs, Sarah Gilbert, Tamson Pietsch, and all the historians, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, experts and curators we interviewed, and our supporters theNational Museum of Australia, La Trobe UniversityandHistory Teachers’ Association of NSW. ? Thank you to Liz Giuffre and 2SER for broadcasting Hey History! episodes on the radio.
? And most of all ✨the students and teachers✨ of Princes Street Primary School Sandy Bay, Marrickville West Primary School Sydney, Westbourne Grammar School Melbourne, Preshil Primary School Melbourne, La Perouse Primary School Sydney, and Yirrkala Bilingual School at Yirrkala, NT.”
Other Gold winners included the ABC in the documentary category for Expanse: Spies in the Outback, News Corp Australia for their involvement in Cocaine Inc, NZME for Heaven’s Helpline and German companies Major Label, Zweitausendeins and Radio Bremen for their audio book recording of Nick Cave‘s The Sick Bag Song.