Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Earns Broadcaster of the Year Award; Grands go to Abbey Road Phase One and Two and Hunting Warhead

New York, NY – April 21, 2020: New York Festivals Radio Awards announced the 2020 Storytellers Gala award-winners.  

A global crisis could not prevent the Radio Awards Grand Jury from their commitment to judging world-class work. Compelling podcasts and audiobooks, dramas, documentaries, breaking news coverage entertainment and music specials created by storytellers around the globe impressed judges. For the complete list of the 2020 Radio Awards winners, visit HERE.

“New York Festivals also wanted to honor our commitment to honor the men and women of the creative community around the world whose work so impressed the Grand Juries this year by keeping to the original date of the storytellers gala even though we are all at home,” said Rose Anderson, VP/ Executive Director of New York Festivals. 

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was honored with the 2020 Broadcaster of the Year Award. The network ‘s award-winning entries explore News, Entertainment, Sports, and Music. Gold-trophy winning entries from CBC Radio & Audio include: “Tai Asks Why,” “Uncover the Village,” “Alone: A Love Story - Season 3,” “The Band Played On” and “PlayMe.”

“It is truly an honour to be recognized as Broadcaster of the year amongst so many award-winning international colleagues. It is a testament to the level of dedication and depth of talent of CBC programmers across the country and their commitment to producing quality content. On behalf of CBC Radio and Audio, I would also like to express my gratitude to the New York Festival for this incredible recognition.” –Cathy Perry Executive Director CBC Current Affairs and Investigative Programming

Hunting Warhead - News: Reports/Features: Best Investigative Reporting (CBC Podcasts)

The Grand winning podcast series follows the journalists and police on a global mission to expose the shocking darkest corners of the internet. Host Daemon Fairless tracks down the investigators, survivors and criminals themselves. This series is a co-production between CBC Podcasts and the Norwegian newspaper VG.

“On behalf of everyone at CBC Podcasts, I am thrilled that the extraordinary work done by our team has been recognized in such a profound way.  And we are truly humbled by the Grand award for Hunting Warhead. It is an important and underreported story and our hope is that this honour helps it reach more people.” –Leslie Merklinger Senior Director, CBC Podcasts

Abbey Road Phase One and Two - Documentary - Music (Howlett Media Productions Ltd./BBC Radio 2 Beatles and Sirius XM Beatles Channel) Beatles historian Kevin Howlett earned the Grand Award for his musical documentary celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Abbey road. Howlett wrote and produced two documentaries that went deep into the creation of the last album the Beatles recorded together. Himesh Patel star of the movie Yesterday presented.

“It is such an honour to have Abbey Road Phase One and Phase Two recognised in this way by an international Grand Jury of very talented radio people.

Through many years of producing programs, my goal has always been to move the listener by blending great music with inspiring speech. Well, there was undoubtedly great music to feature in this series. I was telling the story of how The Beatles created Abbey Road – the last album they recorded together – and assessing its powerful legacy. And I am so grateful to my interviewees, whose eloquence enhanced the shows. Furthermore, I was privileged to be given exclusive access to archive material controlled by The Beatles’ company Apple Corps and to have Himesh Patel, the star of last year’s hit movie Yesterday, read my script beautifully.

I’m delighted listeners have enjoyed these documentaries. It was such a joy to make them. Thank you, NYF for promoting radio – the most intimate of all media. Thank you, Grand Jury members. Thank you, Sirius XM and the BBC. Thank you, Beatles!” –Kevin Howlett, Kevin Howlett Media Productions.

The National Press Club was honored with the 2020 York Festivals® Storytellers Gala Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Press Club, since 1908, has been recognized as the World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists™.

Podcasts dominated, compelling stories in diverse genres engaged listeners. Podcasts earning Gold trophies include “30 for 30 Podcasts: Season 6“  and “The Sterling Affairs “ both for (ESPN Films), “Dolly Parton's America” (OSM Audio), “Bad Batch” (Wondery), “The Last Voyage of the Pong Su” (The Age newspaper, Melbourne, Australia), “The Shrink Next Door” (Bloomberg),  and “Stardust” (Journal Media) and “GIANT - A Spotify Original” (Spotify Studios, “The Little Match Girl” (Almost Tangible), “To the infernal Rhythm of the Bomba” (ASCR), “Rose:  An Inspiring New Musical” (Soulpepper), “Mobituaries” (CBS News Radio) “What happened to Annie?” (Sky News), “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: The Podcast” (Rebel Girls) and Gertie’s Law” (Victorian Supreme Court).

Podcast Silver trophy winners include: “Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith” (Spotify Studios, “It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chilli” (Audible) “Voices in the Hall” (BMP), and “Altamont - All Told Podcast” (The Washington Post). For a complete list of 2020 Radio winners, visit: HERE.     

Documentaries captivated listeners showcasing engaging stories and diverse points of view. Gold trophy winners include: “1939: America on the Eve of War “ (Westwood One), “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky” (ORF - Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), “Escape From Iran” (ABC National Radio),” Mother's Blood, Sister Songs” (Athena Media), “The Case of Majella Moynihan “(RTÉ Radio 1), “China’s Great Famine:  Sad Songs of Peasants in a Food War” (Radio Free Asia), “Journey to Jazz And Human Rights” (JAZZ.FM91), “The Space Race” (B7 Media/Boffin Media) and “The British Black Panthers”(Brook Lapping Productions).

Leading entertainment entries were recognized with Gold including “Blockbuster: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg & the 1970s Movie Revolution” (Epicleff, ) “The Ash Tree” (Bafflegab Productions), “The Brothers Lionheart” (Swedish Radio) and “Laura Whitmore's Sunday Session” (TBI Media). Silver trophy winners include Ricky Gervais is Deadly Sirius” (SiriusXM) and “Sound and Vision” (BBC  6 Music).

Music entries scored Gold including: “The Story of Prince's 1984 Single "When Doves Cry” (BMP Audio), “Absolute Radio Stories” (Absolute Radio), “Music Alive: Christchurch Symphony Orchestra Phoenix” (Radio New Zealand)  and “Soundtracking With Edith Bowman” (Elbow Productions). 

Sound Art trophy winners include: “ZENScapes | Stadt, Land, Fluss” (Götz Naleppa), “The Skewer” (Unusual/BBCFour) and “Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith and Werner Herzog - The Peyote Dance” (Soundwalk Collective).

Engrossing Audio Books engaged listeners and earned Gold trophies: “The Handmaid's Tale” narrated by Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress Elisabeth Moss and “The Secret Commonwealth” (Penguin Random House) and “Wizenard Book Series” (Granity Studios). “The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, read by Timothy and Samuel West” (Harper Collins) was honored with a Silver Radio Award.

News, Investigative Reports and Talk/Interview Gold trophy winners include: “Exodus in Hong Kong- Arduous Escape from the PolyU” (Radio Television Hong Kong -Chinese News and Current Affairs) and “Getting Better, Not Bitter” (Ocean FM). Additional trophy winners include: Christchurch Terror Attacks (Radio New Zealand) “El Paso and Dayton Mass Shootings” (Westwood One) “Post Reports“ (Washington Post), “Forgotten Men of a Forgotten War“ (Radio National -Australian Broadcasting Corporation), “Breaking Kids News” (Swedish Radio) and “Fireflies in the Dark” (Radio Television Hong Kong).  

New York Festivals Radio Awards Grand Jury honored content creators across all platforms and in all genres and awarded in total of 2 Grand Awards, 51 NYF Gold Radio trophies, 52 Silver and 55 Bronze.

For a complete list of the New York Festivals 2020 Storytellers Gala Radio Awards 2020 winners, please visit HERE.

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