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07.10.03

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Frank Gillard Awards - ´óÏó´«Ã½'s smaller stations prove small is beautiful

This year's Frank Gillard Awards ceremony demonstrates that size doesn't always matter in the radio industry, with many of the major awards being taken home by the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s smaller stations.

The awards, which celebrate the very best of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio, were presented by the Director-General of the ´óÏó´«Ã½, Greg Dyke, at a special ceremony hosted by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Asian Network star presenter, Sonia Deol, and held at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford last night (6 October 2003).

It was ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby's night at the awards ceremony. The station, which did not achieve a single nomination at last year's awards, took three gold awards this year in the Coverage of a News Story, Breakfast Programme and Sports Coverage categories (see below for a full list of winners).

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Suffolk took the prestigious Station of the Year award and scored gold with its Interactive category entry: Rachel Sloane in the Afternoon.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire, another small station, beat 31 other entries to win gold in the Voices category. New for this year, the category featured the best of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio wide Voices project which encouraged groups and communities seldom heard on the local media to voice their interests and concerns.

Speaking at the dinner after the awards ceremony, Greg Dyke congratulated the winners and said: "Throughout its 35 year history, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio has been an innovator but at last the penny is dropping about Local Radio being a central pillar of the ´óÏó´«Ã½."

He went on to pinpoint areas in which ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio has excelled: "In the last few years, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio has really cemented its reputation as a catalyst for social action broadcasting - both your locally generated projects and your big central campaigns."

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds, which dominated the Awards last year, added to its haul of Gillards by taking gold in the Outside Broadcast category for its live broadcast of the Queen's visit to Harewood House.

The Outstanding Contribution to Local Radio Award was won by the Radioman Training Team which was responsible for training all staff during ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio's transition from analogue to digital radio equipment. Supporting 40 stations they trained 2,500 staff in 6,500 training sessions.

There was a special commendation for Peter Grant, one of the small team from the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s General News Service (GNS) which reported the war in Iraq for all the local stations.

There were 14 different categories in this year's competition, and the judges included past and present local radio broadcasters along with leading journalists, managers and regulators from both public service and commercial radio.

The 2003 Awards attracted a record number of entries from a record number of entrants - 313 entries from 44 ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio stations and services.

The annual Frank Gillard Awards were launched in 2000 in memory of the war correspondent and founder of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio.

Their aim is to recognise achievements and encourage excellence in the programming at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio stations across England.

The following are the Frank Gillard Awards 2003 winners in gold, silver and bronze order:

The Breakfast Programme

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby - Andy Whittaker's Breakfast Show

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Kent - Good Morning Kent

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Gloucestershire - The Breakfast Show – Storms

Programme Presenters

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Newcastle - Ian Robinson and Paul Wappat

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Sheffield - Toby Foster

´óÏó´«Ã½ London 94.9 - Danny Baker

Coverage of a News Story

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby - Royal Pageant Story

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Newcastle - Capital of Culture Bid

´óÏó´«Ã½ Three Counties Radio - The Luton Town Takeover

Interactive Programme

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Suffolk - Rachel Sloane in the Afternoon

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Gloucestershire - The Dozy Parker

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds - It's Your Call

Reporter

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Nottingham - Jeremy Ball

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds - Spencer Stokes

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Merseyside - Shari Vahl

Sports Coverage

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby - Derby's First World Boxing Champion

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Solent - When the Saints Marched to Cardiff

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Oxford - 2003 British Speedway Grand Prix

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Sheffield - Sunday Sport (Ice Hockey)

(Derby won gold, Solent and Oxford joint silver, and Sheffield, bronze)

Social Action Campaign

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Sheffield - ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Sheffield Hospice Appeal

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Suffolk - The Hollies

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Bristol with Special Features Unit - Hitting Home

Radio Feature

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cleveland - The Daisy Chain Dream

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cornwall - Launceston Car Park

´óÏó´«Ã½ Three Counties Radio - Homeless in Bedford

Outside Broadcast

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds - The Queen's Visit to Harewood House

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby - Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Lincolnshire - Dambusters Day

Voices

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire - Woodside

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Lancashire - Voices in Burnley

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Kent - Romany Voices

Diversity

´óÏó´«Ã½ GMR

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Derby

´óÏó´«Ã½ Southern Counties Radio

Radio Promotion

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Devon - The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Devon Chestnut Appeal

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cleveland - Middlesbrough FC Commentary Campaign

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Kent - Radio Kent Charity Appeal

Station of the Year

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Suffolk

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Newcastle

Outstanding Contribution to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Local Radio

The Radioman Training Team

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