Station of the Year finalists, as well as finalists in the general categories of The Radio Awards 2020 have been announced following an intense adjudication process.
This year saw a record number of entries (more than 2 000) received from a record number of stations (more than 160). The entries were adjudicated by a team of 54 judges, and reviewed by BDO South Africa, the newly appointed auditors for The Radio Awards.
“We’re thrilled by the enthusiasm the radio industry has once again shown for acknowledging and celebrating outstanding talent and achievement. We would like to congratulate all finalists for giving the South African listening audience enjoyable, quality content to savour every day,” said Taryn Westoby, head of Arena Events which manages The Radio Awards.
Station of the Year finalists in each of the licence categories – Commercial, PBS, Community and Campus – were determined by the number of times they appear as a finalist across all general categories of The Radio Awards.
Finalists in the Commercial category are 947, East Coast Radio, Jacaranda FM, Kaya FM and KFM. Campus stations are MFM 92.6, PUKFM 93.6, TUKS FM 107.2, UJFM and Voice of Wits. Community stations are Groot FM 90.5, Hot 91.9 FM, Pheli FM 95.0, Pretoria FM and Radio Khwezi. On the PBS front are Ligwalagwala FM, Motsweding FM, Radio 2000, Thobela FM and Umhlobo Wenene FM.
To stay in contention for the prestigious Station of the Year Award, finalists will need to submit a further motivation to be scored by The Radio Awards advisory panel, which includes a representative from the National Association of Broadcasters.
The motivation needs to speak to the station’s innovation, audience growth, community outreach, general achievements, as well as their ‘x-factor’ or unique selling point. This score will account for the first half of a station’s final score. The second half of the final score will be determined by a station’s success in the other categories.
More than 80 awards will be made this year, covering: 25 general categories; Station of The Year, as well as four special categories which include the new Station Manager’s Choice, the Bursary Award, Bright Stars and Hall of Fame inductees. Finalists in the special categories will be announced on 25 March 2020.
In light of the Government’s declared state of disaster and the collective national efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19, The Radio Awards gala dinner which was initially scheduled to take place in Sandton on 18 April will be replaced with an online winners announcement to be aired via digital channels on Friday, 17 April at 14h00. Further information regarding access to the announcement will be shared in due course.
To view the full list of Station of The Year finalists, as well as general category finalists, please visit www.radioawards.co.za
