These are the entries and criteria for the 2011 MTN Radio Awards. What you need to do now is read the criteria carefully, decide on which specific category you would like to enter and then click on the entry form.
Remember it costs nothing to enter but your time and desire to win. Good luck.
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Hall of Fame
This is a category which will rely on brief written nominations from any radio station manager. The judges would like to consider a person who has been in the industry for over 15 years, who is either still in the business, or has retired. (The judges would also be happy to consider a posthumous award). This person/s (more than one award will be made) needs to have made an indelible mark on the industry – either on air, or in management and, ideally, who is revered and talked about by the industry. The judges would like this person to have been a strong inspiration and mentor.
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Lifetime Achievement
This is a category which will rely on brief written nominations from any radio station manager. This Award recognises the achievement/s of an individual working in radio, in any capacity, over an extended period of time. It is not limited to programme makers and the relevant time period could be the last year or an entire career.
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Young Achiever
This is a category which will rely on brief written nominations from any station Manager. The Candidate for this award must be 35 or younger – either on air, or behind the scenes – who is making his/her mark on the industry. The award is aimed at a person who has an intrinsic understanding and love for the medium, respects its past, but who also has great ideas about its future. The person would be someone who is a tireless worker and on whom the radio station has come to rely.
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Station of the Year
This is the grand prix, the big kahuna, the mother of all prizes, the one staff will want to tell their mothers about and have the station logo tattooed on their bodies. This year we recognise three categories: commercial, community and PBS station of the year. We need a detailed and comprehensive written motivation that would look at on-air success and innovation, audience growth, community outreach and that X –factor. If a brief audio presentation with key outtakes helps your cause, feel free to send us a disc. What, we ask, would give your station the right to call itself the MTN Radio Station of the Year?
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News and Actuality Show
This category is open to all radio stations that have a bona fide news and actuality programme comprising original news and current affairs of fifteen minutes in duration or more, and broadcast at any time of the day or night. This excludes hourly news bulletins. The category would also be open to a broader talkshow that covers current affairs. The show will be assessed on the way in which stories and issues are handled in terms of presentation, immediacy style and objectivity.
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Business and Finance Show
This category is open to all radio stations that have a dedicated business show of 15 minutes or more in duration. Not only will the judges take into account how the core business demographic is catered for in terms of programming choice, but also how the subject is covered for the broader audience in terms of ease of explanation. They will be looking for ‘penetrating interviews’ and interpretation that get to the heart of the business debate in South Africa, as well as how business is covered in terms of the empowerment and developmental economy debate.
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Breakfast Show
The adage – ‘If a station is not in profit by 9 a.m., then it never will be’ – makes this particular award one of the most important. The judges will be looking for a show that captures the energy and essence of its target market both geographically and demographically. Morning radio can often sound the same in many markets, so the judges will look for style, content and presentation that is original, creative, exciting and enticing. Morning radio is often about team-broadcasting, and judges will, therefore, pay special attention to how the team blends together and plays off one another. The best morning radio, while often tightly packed and pre-produced, can be a meaningful vehicle for advertisers.
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Daytime Show
This category is open to all radio stations across all categories broadcasting from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays and over weekends. The show will be assessed on how well it understands the unique needs of the time channel and programmes accordingly, and judges will be looking for freshness in presentation, and how uniquely the broadcast hour is used. Consideration will also be given to whether advertisers have got value for money, and whether the show deserves the accolade of being a daily must-have appointment with the listener. High production values are a must.
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Night-time Show
This category is open to all radio stations across all categories broadcasting from 7 in the evening to 5 in the morning, weekdays and over weekends. Night-time broadcasting typically requires a change of pace and mood, and the show must reflect this. Judges will also look at how the show best addresses the needs of the audience, as well as excellence in presentation and production. Given that night-time radio audiences tend to dwindle as it gets later, judges will be asking one key question: “What compels me to stay with this show?”
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Music Show
This category is open to any show in any music-only format across any time channel. The judges will focus specifically on how the show understands and interprets the format in a manner that is entertaining, engaging and compelling and adds real value to the core listenership. Special attention will be given to show production, which would include links and special features.
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Sports Show
This category is open to all radio stations that have a dedicated sports programme or feature of 10 minutes or more in duration. Extended radio sports bulletins would be eligible to enter this category, as well as once-off reports. Passion and knowledge in presentation, and the ability to generate excitement for listeners will be key elements sought by the judges. Team, provincial or national partisanship would not be considered in a negative light. The judges will be looking for a show, or a bulletin, or a feature that goes beyond just the score line and the scorers – in other words, the human element, the drama, the pain and the sweat of the event, and how it’s articulated on radio.
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News and Actuality Presenter
This category is open to a presenter who is broadcasting either a pure news show or topic/s related to the current affairs and socio-political environment. The judges will look at how the presenter understands and relates to the topic at hand; how the issue is simplified and contextualized for the listener, as well as the tone and emotion of the broadcast. Judges will consider open-line audience talkback on a particular issue as well as a meaningful interview.
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News Bulletin Reader
This category is open to any news reader working on any radio station who is responsible for delivering a news bulletin of between 90 seconds and 7 minutes in duration. While authority and believability in reading, as well as the reader’s intrinsic understanding of the bulletin and the issues that it raises, will be of significant importance, the judges will also appraise pace, style, nuance and ease on the ear.
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Business and Finance Presenter
This category is principally open to any business presenter working on any radio station who is responsible for delivering a financial bulletin or programme of longer than two minutes in duration. Presenters who simply read the currencies and indicators will not be considered. This category is also open to presenters who host a dedicated business show. The judges would be particularly happy to listen to presenters who have found new ways of reporting stock standard issues – like company results and interest rate announcements – and making them relevant to the broad swathe of listeners who are often disengaged with the subject, and will look for a presenter who is able to articulate, what is often a dry subject, engagingly and with clarity and context whilst not diminishing the importance of economic concepts.
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Breakfast Show Presenter
The breakfast presenter is the ‘flagship’ presenter of any radio station, as this person not only sets the tone for the rest of the day’s broadcasting, but also sets and guides the style of the entire radio station. The presenter needs to be at the top of his/her game, and understand and be able to address the complex needs of the time-challenged morning audience with style, verve, confidence, ease and originality. The judges will look for someone who rises to this immense task, and will judge both their relationship with the audience, as well as their broadcast stamina
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Daytime Presenter
This category is open to any presenter working on any radio station and in any format between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays and over weekends. Here, the presenter’s ability to engage with the target audience will be the principal factor taken into account. Excellence in broadcast technique will be a consideration, as well as the presenter’s ability to develop and execute new concepts – whether it be direct audience engagement, competitions and promotions, or simply creating ‘electricity’ on the airwaves.
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Night-time Presenter
This category is open to any presenter working on any radio station and in any format between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays and over weekends. The judges will look for a presenter who is able to rise above the challenges of night-time radio – where audience is sparse and more difficult to keep. Consideration will be given to the presenter’s intimate relationship with the listener – which is more pronounced at night – and how that relationship is managed and enhanced. The question here will be: “Is this a presenter who you want to listen to on a long, lonely car trip, or someone you can close your eyes to, or, conversely, stay awake with?”
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Music Presenter
This category is open to a specialist music presenter in any genre. Knowledge of the subject is critical to success, as is the ability to interact and entertain, and here the judges will look for someone who deeply understands and engages the targeted audience. Mostly though, the judges want to find the x-factor, someone who rises above the norm, who manages every day to ‘create an event’ out of their show, and to whom the audience has loyalty.
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Sports Presenter
This category is open to any sports presenter working on any radio station who is responsible for delivering a bulletin of between 90 seconds and 7 minutes in duration, and/or presents a dedicated sports show. Informed interpretation and opinion are important components of a believable sports presenter and these qualities will be taken into consideration. The judges will be looking for a presenter who loves sport and manages to extend that passion and commitment to the listener. Pace, style, nuance and ease on the ear will also be appraised.
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Sports Commentator
Sport commentary is highly specialized and the commentator has to have exceptional knowledge of the sport as well as the ability to convey excitement and highly realistic images to the listener through the medium of radio. Judges will look for passion, enthusiasm, light and shade, and the ability to conjure up vivid pictures in the listener’s mind.
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Community Presenter
Community radio is a critical part of the broadcast landscape, being the eyes and ears of towns and interest groups. These stations and their presenters articulate issues and concerns that the mainstream media doesn’t. The winner of this award will know how to articulate issues of importance without losing sight of the entertainment aspect of radio and will also display compassion and empathy with their audience.
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Traffic Presenter
Ask any person what their biggest gripe is, and on the list will be traffic snarl and gridlock. Commuters at all times of the day rely on up-to-date traffic information that is delivered clearly but, more importantly, interpretatively. In other words, am I being told of alternative routes and options. A good on-air traffic reporter will also reflect the mood of the moment. They need to understand our frustration behind the wheel.
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News and Actuality Producer
This award is given to a person who orchestrates a radio programme that can articulate the drama, immediacy, colour and interpretation of an event or an issue. The judges would be looking at how the story was covered away from the norm or the standard; who the producer lined up and how the story played out on-air. Was the intensity and the importance of the subject covered? The producer with the best contact book and creative mind would win this category.
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Content Producer (excluding news and actuality)
This category is open to the unsung heroes of radio – those people who conceptualise and sustain a block of programming during the day or night. Producers have to have an intricate knowledge of their audience and make sure the presenter is delivering accordingly. At the same time, the producer needs to have the trust and confidence of the presenter/s in order to get them to deliver their best work. Judges can instinctively hear a well-produced radio show, but they will also look at new ideas, creative sustainability, and will look for seamless continuity from one idea to another. While music and speech formats are very different, good producers, in both genres, are critical to success. The judges will determine if the show is tight and crisp. If it is, often it is due to the ‘silent tiller work’ of a great producer – and THAT person/s will be our winner!
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Promotion/ Stunt / Event
This category recognises excellence in promotions and related activities that are designed to strengthen a radio station's own brand, and to entrench it more deeply with its audience. Conventional on-air promotions commissioned by and for regular advertisers are excluded, as the focus here is on the station's own brand. This does not exclude the possibility that third-party brands may be involved as secondary sponsors. The promotion or event could be anything from a charity drive or sports event to a treasure hunt, etc.
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Drama Programme
Radio Drama is a specialized field. This is true exploration of ‘theatre of the mind’. A skilful drama producer will use all the tools available to bring the drama to life and conjure up vivid images within the imagination of the listener. Utilising voices, sound effects, stereophonic separation and a great deal of craftsmanship, the producer can play on the imagination and the emotions of the listener. Judges are looking for exceptional work in this arena – work that has captured the attention of the listener and kept the listener glued to the radio. This category comprises any full-length radio drama or radio sketch
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On-Air Packaging
The ‘sound’ of a good radio station is clear, impactful and, most of all, distinct. This category looks at well-constructed, jingles, stings and stabs and how they all fit into the overall construct and personality of the station. Judges would listen carefully to the craft of packaging and would be particularly interested to hear special packaging for dedicated on-air events.
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Community Project
A great radio station is one that understands the community it broadcasts to and the contribution it can make. This category seeks to reward radio stations that do this in a meaningful and sustained manner and whose outreach makes a genuine difference to peoples’ lives. The judges would look at both ongoing and one-off events, but those that are undertaken with real heart and not by expediency.
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