WS FM101.7 Sydney breakfast duo, Jonesy & Amanda, have won the Best On-Air Team at the 26th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards.
The event was held on Saturday evening at a gala black tie event at the Melbourne Convention and Entertainment Centre.
It’s the second Best On Air Team win for the duo, who have been together on air for nine years and first won the category in 2012. Executive producer of the show Laura Viglino won Best Show Producer (Entertainment/Music) and Jonesy and Amanda also took out best Syndicated Program for their national weekly show My Generation.
Winner of the Best On-Air Team (Metro AM) was won by 3AW Melbourne’s top rating breakfast team, Ross Stevenson and John Burns. Continuing to dominate their time slot in Melbourne having won more than 100 surveys, this is their third Best On-Air Team (AM) award, having taken out the category in 2011 and 2013.
Best Current Affairs Presenter was won by 3AW’s Neil Mitchell. Mitchell, who was inducted into radio’s Hall of Fame in 2007 has won this category for three years running, plus two Best Talk Presenter awards. This year’s Best Talk Presenter was won for the first time by 2GB’s Ben Fordham. Radio’s Best Newcomer on air was won by Smooth FM presenter, Melissa Doyle.
Known for their song parodies Nova Sydney’s Fitzy and Wippa (Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael Wipfli) won the Best Station Produced Comedy Segment for their Russell Crowe take off, “The Wolf of Woolloomooloo”.
Winners in other major awards announced were:
- Best Sports Presenter – Ray Warren (Triple M Sydney, SCA)
- Best Music/Entertainment Presenter – Chris “Becko” Beckhouse (Triple M Sydney, SCA)
- Best Marketing Campaign – Fitzy & Wippa Content Campaign (Nova Entertainment)
- Best Digital Radio Format Long – Koffee (Nova Entertainment)
- Best Digital Radio Format Short – Elf Radio (ARN)
Glenn Daniel (smoothfm Sydney) won both the Best News Presenter (Metro FM) and the Brian White Memorial award which recognises sustained achievement and effort across news, current affairs, entertainment and sports reporting.
Commercial Radio Australia, chief executive officer, Joan Warner said: “There were unprecedented changes to on air teams across the country this year and they have provided Australian radio listeners with informative, entertaining, live and local radio and should all be congratulated.”
Director of Southern Cross Austereo and respected radio and media industry executive, Peter Harvie was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame. Recognised for his outstanding lifetime achievement and contribution to the radio broadcasting industry, Harvie has more than 45 years experience in the advertising, marketing and media industries. He was executive chairman of Austereo Group Limited, executive chairman of Austereo Pty Ltd and is credited with steering the business through the merger with Southern Cross Media to become Australia’s biggest and most diverse radio companies, Southern Cross Austereo.
The Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) are organised by Commercial Radio Australia and cover all metropolitan, provincial and country commercial radio stations, with winners announced for each of these areas in 34 categories, across news, talkback, sport and music. The gala event was hosted by comedian and actor Shane Jacobson with more than 1200 radio industry stars, personalities and media executives from around Australia in attendance.
