The champagne corks were popping yesterday out at Montrose as RTÉ Radio was named ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ for the second year running at the prestigious New York Festival Awards.
The Boys/Women In Green were up against the heavyweight likes of Radio Netherlands, Radio France, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Company and American Public Media.
Along with the overall broadcaster’s gong, there were 25 individual awards including a staggering 13 for Radio 1’s Documentary On One series. The station also picked up three awards for Drama On One, two for the Curious Ear series and one for the Athena Media-produced Death Of an Empire, which saw Irish Times journalist Seamus Martin explore twenty years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Also getting in on the act were RTÉ lyric fm who received six individual awards for programmes including a silver medal for Piano Keys, an educational podcast series that saw Professor Réamonn Keary, in conversation with Liz Nolan, guide music students through the 2012 Royal Irish Academy of Music Local Centre Piano Examinations.
“It’s true to say that, as a people, we have always taken particular delight in recognition from across the waters, be it the Atlantic Ocean or the Irish Sea,” reflects RTÉ Radio MD Claire Duigna. “And so with this award. To be named Broadcaster of the Year in this awesome international context – among world-renowned peers like the BBC and American Public Media – is important not just for RTÉ, but for Ireland.
“The individual wins, on Radio 1 and lyric, across documentary, drama and music, are to be celebrated in themselves. The overall award points to, in my view, RTÉ Radio’s excellence not simply on FM, but to the strength and accessibility of our online international presence on sites for Documentary On One, Drama On One and of course the new RTÉ Radio Player.
“As broadcasters, we’re only as good as our latest programmes, and these latest programmes are now award winners on the international stage. It’s a timely reminder of the value, relevance and quality of programming across RTÉ Radio. My thanks to New York Festivals. And my congratulations to the producers, editors and staff in RTÉ Radio who work with such dedication, and for whom being best in the world is a daily goal.”
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