New York Festivals® International Radio Program & Promotions Awards, honoring the World’s Best Radio Programs™, celebrated its award winners on Monday, June 20th at the 2011 Radio Awards ceremony. The gala took place at the Manhattan Penthouse in New York City.   NYF’s Art Deco trophy, reminiscent of the classic 1920s radio microphone, was presented to this year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award winners.  This year’s Grand Jury awarded 3 Grand Trophies: KUT 90.5FM Austin, Texas; Pirate Group Inc., Canada; and RTE Radio, Ireland.

KUT 90.5FM Austin, Texas was awarded a Grand Trophy in the Culture & The Arts category for “Piece of My Heart - The Story of Janis Joplin.”  This poignant, seldom told story of Janis Joplin chronicles her middle class upbringing in Port Arthur, Texas and tells the story of a young girl caught in the crosscurrents of cultural change.

“An undertaking like ‘Piece of My Heart’ required hundreds of hours of old-fashioned digging, the kind of journalism that’s usually reserved for so-called “hard news.”  The fact that our managers are willing to devote considerable resources to this kind of reporting speaks volumes about KUT’s commitment to long-form storytelling and its unique ability to enrich the lives of listeners.  As radio producers--as storytellers--we’re grateful to the New York Festivals for its recognition of these efforts.” – David Brown, Executive Producer, KUT Austin 90.5FM Austin

Pirate Group Inc. earned a Grand Trophy for “Age of Persuasion Goes to the Movies” for the CBC, winning in the Business/Consumer Issues category.  The entry explores great movie marketing, discussing the way Hollywood sold its films.

RTE Radio, Ireland was honored with a Grand Trophy for “Documentary on One - Don't Go Far,” taking home the Grand in the Profiles/Community Portraits category.  This entry tells the odyssey of two young Dublin boys whose wanderlust finds them stowing away onto a flight at London’s Heathrow bound for New York’s JFK International Airport. 

RTE Radio also earned the Broadcaster of the Year Award.  Richard Downes, RTE Radio Washington Correspondent accepted the award.  In addition to the Grand Trophy, RTE also took home 8 Gold Awards, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze, and 2 Finalist Certificates for their distinguished entries.

“For 54 years the New York Festivals Awards has recognized the world's best programmes. This year, not only have RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Gold won a total of 16 awards, but the Grand Jury, comprised of top-level industry professionals from five continents, have crowned RTÉ Radio as the Broadcaster of the Year,” said Clare Duignan, Managing Director, RTÉ Radio. “It is a real achievement: seven awards plus a Grand Award for Radio 1’s Documentary on One; six awards for Radio 1’s Drama on One; one award for RTÉ lyric fm and one award for RTÉ Gold. Not only do these awards confirm RTÉ Radio’s excellence in public broadcasting, they place RTÉ Radio among the greatest of our public broadcasting peers internationally. When you look at the breadth of the wins, from drama to documentary, music to history, sport to health, you get an insight into the variety of genre offered by RTÉ Radio.”

For the first time, a new award was launched for NYF’s Radio Awards, Production Company of the Year.  Pirate Group Inc. was honored with this prestigious new award, work taking home, 1 Grand Trophy, 1 Gold Trophy, 2 Silver, and 1 Bronze. Terry O’Reilly, Pirate Radio Co-Founder accepted the award.

“Winning the Production Company of the Year at the New York Festivals was incredible news for us at Pirate. We're so passionate about radio that to be recognized at a competition where 27 countries compete at the highest level is a dream come true,” said Terry O’Reilly, Pirate Radio Co-Founder & Host of CBC Radio’s Age of Persuasion. 

The award segments were presented by prominent industry executives, including: Katrina Bolton of the Australian Broadcasting Company; Richard Durkin & Victoria Etchells of Real Radio Yorkshire; Farshid Manafi of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Mary Owens of RTE lyric fm; and Mark Travis & Elliot Forrest of On the Music: The New York Philharmonic Podcast. In addition, Alexis Gordon, Andrea Lee Torres, and Rayon Wright of WNYC Radio Rookies also presented.

Each year the New York Festivals, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Public Information Award, appoints a panel to select work that exemplifies the aims and ideals of the United Nations. Their selections are awarded the United Nations Department of Public Information Award.  The 2011 UNDPI Awards were presented by Juan Carlos Brandt, Chief of Advocacy and Special Events in the United Nations' Department of Public Information.  UNDPI Award recipients include: WNYC Radio Rookies entry “Flushing Series” was recognized with the Gold UNDPI Award in the Profiles/Community Portraits category; Radio Television Hong Kong, received the Silver UNDPI Award for “Mandela and South Africa” in the History category; and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation earned the Bronze UNDPI Award for “The Sunday Edition, Habtom’s Path” in the Profiles/Community Portraits category.

This year’s international Grand Jury awarded 36 Gold, 42 Silver, and 46 Bronze Trophies.  In addition, 59 entries received Finalist Certificates.  Now in its twenty-ninth year of honoring “The World’s Best Radio Programs & Promotions™,” the competition honors the most original and innovative work in radio broadcasting, with entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from around the world.  For a complete list of this year’s award winners go to: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/.

All entries were judged by the NYF Radio Program & Promotions Awards GrandJury, consisting of radio experts from stations and companies around the globe and promoted by our network of representatives in 75 countries.

International Awards Group 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. Founded in 1957, IAG and their brands now have representation in 75 countries. For more information, go to www.internationalawardsgroup.com.