The New York Festivals® Radio Program & Promotion Awards, recognizing the World’s Best Radio Programs™, announced the Finalists for the 2012 Radio Awards. Established in 1982, the competition honors the most innovative work in radio broadcasting, with entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from around the globe. This year’s GrandJury selected 196 entries representing 22 countries as Finalists.

The following prominent international companies took the lead in the preliminary judging round:  RTE Ireland with 22 Finalists; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with 12 Finalists; Australian Broadcasting Corporation 10 Finalists; ESPN USA 8 Finalists; and Radio Netherlands Worldwide with 7 Finalists. American Public Media USA, Reliance Broadcast India, and Wise Buddha Creative UK were each honored with 5 Finalists. In addition, O’Reilly Television Inc Canada, Radio Free Asia USA, and TBI Media UK each earned 4 Finalists. All Radio Finalists go on to the medal round of judging to determine Gold, Silver, and Bronze award winners.

Selections from this year’s Grand Jury Finalists include: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for “A Woman in Berlin”; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for “The Current”;  EDI Media Inc for “Muhammad Ali - The Greatest”; ESPN USA for “E:60 Angel in the Outfield”; Fresh Air Production UK for  “Beyond Disability: The Adventures of a Blue Badger”; Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) for “Dialogue in the Dark”;  NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) for “Children’s Hour”; Radio France for “Clash the Classics! Voltaire's Candide”; Radio Free Asia USA for  “Unification of North Korea: In Search of Answers”; Radio Mango India for “Mimicry Jingle”; Radio Mitre S.A. Argentina for “10 Years After the Fall of The President”; RTÉ lyric fm Ireland for “Jazz Alley - Louis Armstrong "Pops is Tops!"”; Sirius XM Radio/Howard Stern USA for “SNL on Stern”; Ten Alps Radio UK for “Mr Mojo Risin”; and Wise Buddah Creative Limited UK for “Satchmo By Satchmo: The Louis Armstrong Tapes.”

“I love the truly international nature of the Radio Awards and what excited me this year was the high quality of entries from countries around the world with thought provoking and often moving content. Foreign language is no barrier to entry to these awards so I was delighted to be able to listen to and appreciate the fine skills of radio producers from many countries,” commented John MacCalman, NYF Radio Awards Advisory Board, Broadcast Producer/Consultant, Scotland.  “The manner in which broadcasters have come to grips with the digital technological age never fails to impress.  The creative talent shone through whether the broadcasting organisations had vast resources or it was just the efforts of a small team.”
 
“New York Festivals continually updates the competition with categories attuned to the evolving creative environment in the broadcast community,” said Rose Anderson, Executive Director, New York Festivals Radio Program & Promotion Awards.  “This year’s new categories designed to showcase those emerging trends include Program Open, Best Regularly Scheduled Sports Program, Best Sports Special, and Best Student Documentary.” Student Documentaries earning Finalist status include: 107 Spark FM, UK for “A Tale of Procrastination” and “The Zombie and You”; The Audio Orchard Ireland for “The Fear of 9/11”; RTE Radio One Ireland for “My Dad's Depression”; and WSOU-FM, USA for “WSOU 25 Years of Metal: Documentary.”

Two categories were launched within the Podcast group: Sports & Recreation, and Culture & The Arts.  Entries in those categories achieving Finalist status include: BBC WM, UK for their entry “Flaps Podcast - September 2011” in Sports & Recreation; and MBM Digital Inc, Canada for their entry “Electric Pow Wow” in Culture & The Arts.

Trophy winners will be honored at a gala awards ceremony, to be held on Monday, June 18th at the Manhattan Penthouse, located at 80 Fifth Avenue (14th St and Union Square).   For more information or to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/Events/

All entries were judged by the NYF Radio Program & Promotion Awards Grand Jury, consisting of radio experts from stations and companies around the globe. The jury represents the most recognizable voices and experienced programming producers in the medium of radio.

Each entry is judged on its own merits.  All entries are judged on their production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of medium.  Each jury member listens to and scores entries via the NYF online judging website.

A complete list of the 2011 NYF Radio Program & Promotion Awards Finalists are featured at http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/main.php?p=2,7,4 at www.newyorkfestivals.com.

All press inquiries are welcome and should be directed to Gayle Mandel: gmandel@newyorkfestivals.com.  Ph: 1 212 643 4800

International Awards Group, founded in 1957, organizes advertising and programming competitions for the following brands:  AME Awards for Advertising Marketing Effectiveness; Midas Awards for Financial Services Communications; The Global Awards for Healthcare Communications; NYF Advertising Awards; NYF Television & Film Awards; and NYF Radio Programs & Promotions.  Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries. For more information, go to www.newyorkfestivals.com.