MUMBAI: New York Festivals (NYF) Storytellers Gala Announced the 2024 Radio Awards winning entries.

Engaging audio entries submitted from storytellers around the world mesmerized listeners and were recognized with trophies by the 2024 Radio Award Grand Jury. Winning entries include entertainment and music specials, podcasts and audiobooks, dramas, and documentaries, and up to the minute news coverage, created by world renowned content creators. Visit the complete 2024 Radio Awards winners’ showcase.

The BBC was honored with the 2024 Broadcaster of the Year Award. Captivating audio entries submitted by the BBC that informed, educated, and entertained and were recognized with Gold trophies. including The Shamima Begum Story- S2 of I’m Not A Monster (BBC) and Believe in Magic (BBC Studios Productions Limited). Silver trophy winners include The Global Jigsaw (BBC World Service London), Shiny Bob: The Devil's Advocate, and Crossing the Cuillin Mountains, both by (BBC Scotland).

It’s wonderful to receive the award for Broadcaster of the Year for the second year running. The variety of individual awards recognised here, from compelling podcasts such as I’m Not A Monster: The Shamima Begum Story and Missing Madonna through to powerful documentaries like Generation Shame and dramas such as This Thing of Darkness is testament to the extraordinary range and quality of our audio output and deserved recognition of the brilliant teams across the UK that produce amazing content for the BBC. Bloodlines, an important podcast series co-produced by the BBC and CBC, is also rightly celebrated with a prestigious Grand Award. Congratulations to everyone involved in making the work that has contributed to this lovely accolade.”—Mohit Bakaya, Director of Speech, BBC

Almost Tangible was recognized with the 2024 Radio Production Company of the Year Award. The award-winning boutique production company was honored for their excellent immersive audio content. Award-winning entries include their Grand and multiple Gold-winning Hamlet Noir.

2024 Grand Awards

The Beatles' Legacy: Red and Blue by Howlett Media Productions Ltd – Documentary: Music earned the Grand Trophy. Written, narrated, and produced by Kevin Howlett, The Beatles’ Legacy: Red and Blue two-part series reveals the story behind ‘Now And Then’ and examines the power of the most enduring catalogue in popular music, as represented by the two historic double LPs. Since their release in 1973, the Red and Blue albums have acted as an introduction to The Beatles for generation after generation of young music fans.

Hamlet Noir from Almost Tangible – Entertainment: Drama Program was honored with the Grand Award.  Hamet Noir is an innovative mashup of Danish and British creativity: fusing the original words of Shakespeare with a modern detective narrative to create a gripping Nordic Noir crime drama, anchored in Shakespeare’s iconic play. Hamlet Noir was awarded 4 Gold trophies.

Bloodlines by CBC Podcasts, BBC Asian Network, BBC Sounds – Podcasts: Narrative/Documentary Podcast tells the story of a generation of children, who In the aftermath of Islamic State, were forced into a reality they never chose. "Bloodlines," a profound and poignant podcast from BBC Sounds and CBC, delves into the lives of these children, born under the shadow of Islamic State’s so-called Caliphate or taken there by radicalized parents.

New York Festivals honored Donna de Varona with the 14^th annual NYF Lifetime Achievement Award. The New York Festivals recognizes prominent industry leaders whose accomplishments and contributions have advanced their field and made a lasting impression on the industry. This year NYF is proud to honor Ms. de Varona, a legendary Sports journalist, Olympic champion, and award-winning broadcasting pioneer. Donna de Varona reported on 18 Olympics, was instrumental in bringing FIFA Women’s Soccer World Cup to network television and was a moving force in support of Congress’ passage of Title IX legislation. 

Murder in Boston: The untold story of the Charles and Carol Stuart Shooting Produced by the Boston Globe, presented by the Boston Globe and HBO Documentary Films – Podcast: Investigative Journalism Podcast was recognized by New York Festivals with the 2024 National Press Club Award. The National Press Award honors the highest scoring news program across the Breaking News Story Coverage, Continuing News Story Coverage, Nonfiction Series and News Podcast categories.

View the complete 2024 Radio Award winners’ showcase.

Entertainment entries engrossed listeners, content earning Gold trophies include Q with Tom Power: Interview with Mick Jagger (CBC), Weird Al on World Cafe with Raina Douris (WXPN), Entre Carole et Lewis -Between Carole and Lewis (Radio-Canada), The Skewer (Unusual Productions), and The Thief at St Nicholas Academy (Swedish Radio).

Documentaries captured the attention of listeners with their engaging narratives and unique perspectives. Gold-winning work elevated the art of radio storytelling including Jim Kerr on Jim Morrison (Lonesome Pine Productions), Tito Puente - Mambo Man (Magnum Opus Broadcasting), Crossing the Cuillin Mountains (BBC Scotland Productions), and Million Dollar Lover (BBC).

Captivating podcasts in all genres achieved winner’s status. Entries striking Gold include Embrace Everything - The World of Gustav Mahler (Aaron Cohen Productions), Hannah’s Story (Nine Network Australia), My Life of Crime with Erin Moriarty (Paramount), McCartney Podcast (Pushkin Productions), Volley and Serve: From Wimbledon to the Front Lines (Tim Rohan Productions), Offence code 06 (Sveriges Radio), The Last Day In Kojo (Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.), The Good Sex Project (Popsock Media ), Eras: The Beatles (Cup and Nuzzle), House of Skulls (Marc Fennell), Shadow Of Doubt (Giddyup Productions/The Australian), Overlooked: A podcast about ovarian cancer (RadioGold Productions), and Mobituaries with Mo Rocca - Timothy Scott: Death of a Dancer (Paramount).

Audiobooks transported listeners into new worlds. Gold winning work include the following entries: The Silmarillion (Harper Collins Publishers), Pirate Captain Chronicles of a Legend (By the Board Publishing LLC), So Many Steves Audiobook (Pushkin Industries), and La petite glaneuse de sons (Benoit Bories).

Events unfolding on the global stage engrossed listeners. Work entered into Journalism categories earned Gold trophies including The World at Six: Israel Massacre (Canadian Broadcasting Company), Murder in Boston: The untold story of the Charles and Carol Stuart Shooting (the Boston Globe and HBO Documentary Films), The Shamima Begum Story (S2 of I’m Not A Monster) (BBC,) Cannabis Cowboys (Deutsche Welle DW), and Conviction: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case (Radio New Zealand).

The New York Festivals Radio Awards 66-year legacy provides a showcase to celebrate world-class storytellers from around the globe. Since 1957 the competition has celebrated innovation and excellence in broadcast audio content across all genres and platforms keeping pace with industry developments and global trends.   

All Entries in the 2024 competition were screened online by NYF’s Radio Awards international Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe and judged on the following set of criteria: production values, creativity, content presentation, direction, writing, achievement of purpose and audience suitability. 

New York Festivals announced the 2024 competition’s award-winning entries at the 2024 Storytellers Gala virtual event on April 16^th at 6PM EDT.  The virtual event included global audio highlights, award winners’ acceptance speeches from around the world, and up-close and personal spotlights featuring some of radio’s most respected storytellers. View the 2024 Storytellers Gala. View the 2024 winners’ showcase.