Breakfast radio duo Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller have been crowned the Best On Air Team (Metro) at the 34th annual Australian Commercial Radio & Audio (ACRA) Awards.
It is the fourth time the WSFM stars have won the award, taking it home in 2012, 2014 and 2019.
The ‘Kyle & Jackie O Hour of Power’ has been named as Best Networked Program.
And Kyle Sandilands received the inaugural Individual Talent of the Year Award (Metro), from a highly competitive field including his on-air partner Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, Christian O’Connell, Jase Hawkins, Ray Hadley, Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neill.
3AW's retiring Neil Mitchell has won Best Talk Presenter (Metro) for the eighth time, as well receiving the award for Best News Event Coverage for the Victorian floods.
2GB’s Ben Fordham was named Best Current Affairs Presenter for a second time.
All the winners HERE.
“The ACRA Awards recognise the talent, commitment and passion that goes into making radio the enduring and influential medium that it is, and I thank our winners and finalists for their outstanding work,” says Commercial Radio & Audio CEO Ford Ennals.
Two legends of Queensland radio have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at tonight’s ceremony: Laurel Edwards (4BC, Nine Radio) and Steve ‘Pricey’ Price (Triple M Townsville, SCA).
Laurel Edwards has been Brisbane’s Queen of Breakfast Radio for more than 30 years. At 4KQ she became the longest serving female announcer of the same program in Australian history, before moving to breakfast at 4BC with Gary Clare and Mark Hine in 2022.
Pricey has been on-air in Townsville for more than five decades, including 32 years on breakfast radio at 102.3 Triple M Townsville (originally 4TO). In May this year he announced his retirement from breakfast radio and will leave his studio for the final time on Christmas Day.
Australia’s love of podcasts was recognised with five podcast awards, including the first Podcast Host of the Year Award, won by Abbie Chatfield (It’s A Lot, LiSTNR, SCA) and ‘The Children in the Pictures Podcast’ (LiSTNR, SCA) as Podcast of the Year.
“The commercial radio industry is growing and evolving in a very exciting way – with new audio forms and new digital platforms,” says Ennals.
“Podcasts and audio streaming are being embraced by listeners and the ACRA Awards recognise not only the potential of this market, but the superb Australian content being produced right now.”
The 2023 Awards marked the first ‘Gudinski’ Australian Music Champion Award, presented to Triple M’s Homegrown with Matty O by 2018 Hall of Fame inductee Lee Simon, who was a close friend of the late Michael Gudinksi, the founder of Mushroom Records in Australia.
Peking Duk’s I Want You featuring Darren Hayes was named the inaugural Most Played Australian Song, presented by Australian music legend Jenny Morris.
The inaugural ‘Brenno’ Best New Talent On Air awards, name in honour of the 2002 Hall of Fame inductee, the late John Brennan, recognised Laura O’Callaghan, Triple M Adelaide SCA (Metro), Gina Jeffreys, Star 104.5, Central Coast, NOVA Entertainment (Provincial) and Isabella Roldan, Chill FM, Launceston, ARN (Country).
Other winners include:
• Best On Air Team (Provincial) – Jimmy & Nath (Hit100.9 Hobart, Tas, SCA)
• Best On Air Team (Country) – Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi, (Colac, Vic, ACE Radio Broadcasters)
• Station of the Year (Metro) – KIIS 1065 (Sydney, ARN)
• Station of the Year (non-Metro) Mix 106.3; Canberra, ACT, ARN/SCA
• Best Sports Presenter (Metro) – Gerard Whateley (SEN 1116am, Melbourne SEN)
• Best Podcast by a Radio Show – Biana, Ben & Lakey, Lift the Lid Podcast, SeaFM, Qld SCA
• Podcast of the Year – The Children in the Pictures Podcast, LiSTNR, SCA
• Most Innovative DAB or Podcast Format – TikTok Trending, iHeart, ARN
• Best News Presenter AM – Amie Meehan (2GB, Nine Radio)
• The ‘Glenn Daniel’ Award, Best News Presenter FM – Patrina Jones (Gold 104.3, Melbourne ARN)
• Brian White Award for Radio Journalism (Metro) – Clinton Maynard (2GB, Nine Radio).
• Brian White Award for Radio Journalism (Non-Metro) – Katie Woolf, Mix 1049 NT, ARN
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