RTÉ Radio has been honoured with the prestigious broadcaster of the year award at the 2011 New York Festivals Radio Awards. From 183 finalists spanning 26 countries, the New York Festivals’ grand jury selected RTÉ Radio as the overall winner. This is the first time in the New York Festivals’ 54-year history that an Irish radio station has won the acclaimed status of broadcaster of the year.
RTÉ also took home a further 16 awards for radio shows, including seven awards plus a grand award for RTÉ Radio 1’s Documentary on One, six awards for RTÉ Radio 1’s Drama on One, one award for RTÉ lyric fm and one award for RTÉ Gold, one of RTÉ Radio’s seven digital services.
Clare Duignan (pictured), managing director, RTÉ Radio, said that for 54 years the New York 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.
“It’s a real achievement,” Duignan said. “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.”
