Monday, May 9, 2011

Sony radio awards: Ronnie Wood and Frank Skinner lead lads' charge

Rolling Stones guitarist and comedian scoop gongs for Absolute shows, as TalkSport and Radio 5 Live also score success

Wins for Ronnie Wood, Frank Skinner and Robbie Savage made it the "year of the lad" at the radio industry's equivalent of the Oscars, the Sony Radio Academy Awards.

The Rolling Stones guitarist was named music radio personality of the year, while fellow Absolute Radio DJ Skinner won the best entertainment programme prize. Savage, the footballer turned pundit on Radio 5 Live's 606 phone-in, won the "rising star" award voted for by listeners.

Further wins for TalkSport ? which beat Radio 3 and Radio 4 to win the UK station of the year prize ? and 5 Live's sporting panel show Fighting Talk reinforced the blokeish feel of the ceremony at London's Grosvenor House hotel on Monday evening.

Danny Baker, who returned to the airwaves last month following a break after he was diagnosed with cancer, was named speech radio personality of the year for his shows on 5 Live and BBC London 94.9.

5 Live, which will move from London to the BBC's new Salford base later this year, took home more top prizes than any other station with six wins including best breakfast show for its programme hosted by Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty, who moved to the station's midday show recently.

And there was a double win for Radio 2's Jeremy Vine, who won both speech broadcaster of the year and interview of the year for his interrogation of Gordon Brown after the former prime minister's "bigoted woman" remark during last year's general election campaign.

On a night when female winners were thin on the ground, Radio 4's Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray received the prestigious gold award. The judges said it rewarded a "career of exemplary broadcasting, for her incisive yet sensitive interviewing skills, her championship of the woman's perspective and the inspiration she has given to others".

A special award also went to Annie Nightingale, who was last year named the world's longest-serving woman DJ after 40 years on Radio 1, while Victoria Derbyshire's weekday morning 5 Live show was named best news and current affairs programme.

But there were no top prizes for any of the BBC's big-name breakfast presenters, including Radio 2 breakfast DJ Chris Evans, who hosted the awards, his Radio 1 rival Chris Moyles or Radio 4's Today presenter John Humphrys, who was also nominated.

Wood, who joined Absolute Radio last year, was praised by the judges as an "amazing character" with a "really innovative programme".

"Ronnie has lived the life of a thousand men and you feel like a child sitting at his feet as he unfolds his rarefied story book and recounts his great adventures," said the judges. "His use of his guitar and harmonica to introduce the varied music and stories make this a unique and award winning show."

Wood was also nominated for the DAB rising star prize, the only Sony award voted for by the public, but lost out to Savage, the former Welsh international who retired from professional football at the weekend and canvassed support for the prize among his 270,000 Twitter followers.

UTV Media-owned TalkSport's win capped a triumphant year for the station in which it has surged to its biggest-ever audience of more than 3 million listeners. The judges said the station had a "direction and a passion and excitement for sport that other stations often lack". There was also a Sony for TalkSport's Moz Dee, named station programmer of the year.

Elsewhere, Radio 2's Simon Mayo won best music programme and Radio 1's perennial Sony winner, Zane Lowe, was named music broadcaster of the year to go with his double win at last year's ceremony. BBC Radio 4's Matthew Price was named news journalist of the year, while digital radio station of the year was children's broadcaster, Fun Kids.

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/09/sony-radio-awards-ronnie-wood

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