ABC radio strikes rich vein of gold in New York
ABC programs Stuff the British Stole and Earshot have won gold at the New York Festivals Radio Awards, which celebrate outstanding audio content from around the world.
The ABC Radio National (RN) series Stuff the British Stole, written and presented by Marc Fennell, claimed the gold medal for best history documentary at the annual awards, for its tales of treasures plundered by the British Empire.
The international plaudit came ahead of the premiere of Season 2 of the globe-trotting podcast on 20 October, which the ABC produced in partnership with CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster (Click here to listen to a trailer of Season 2).
RN program Earshot won two documentary awards – a gold medal in the health/medical category and bronze in the social issues category – for the intimate and heartfelt “Kangaroo cuddles – life inside a premmie baby unit”. The program, broadcast in January 2021, shared the anxiety and excitement felt by a mother whose baby spent three months in a neo-natal intensive care unit, along with other mothers she shared the experience with.
The ABC’s Background Briefing won a silver medal for Best Investigative Report for the story “How fracking could threaten Australia’s Paris target”, which investigated the true extent of Australia’s fracking emissions.
Cath Dwyer, Manager of RN, said the New York Festivals’ awards showed how compelling Australian content attracts listeners the world over. “The heady mix of humanity, history and current affairs in Stuff the British Stole, Earshot and Background Briefing highlights the ABC’s commitment to rich audio stories that touch the heart and mind,” she said.
“At a time when so many of us have been stuck at home, such evocative and empathetic storytelling enables us to travel the world and through time. Season 2 of Stuff the British Stole will take listeners even deeper into the stories of important objects that ended up in museums and cultural institutions across the UK.”
Marc Fennell said: “Two years ago I packed my microphone in a bag on a whim heading to London. I never expected that the result, Stuff the British Stole, would grow into what it has. From a Walkley Award nomination to being lauded by podcasting royalty Roman Mars and now winning a gold medal at the New York Festivals.
“Australia’s complex, emotional colonial history is shared with so many nations around the world. It seems only fitting that CBC Podcasts is partnering with us on Season 2.”
Winners of the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards were chosen from more than 30 countries by a panel of creative media professionals and content creators.
Fennell also won two gold medals for his podcast series Nut Jobs: Cracking California’s Strangest $10 million Dollar Heist – for Best Serialized Podcast and Best Narrative/Documentary Podcast.
Click here for the full list of winners.
Program credits
Stuff the British Stole: Creator/Reporter/Producer Marc Fennell, Producer Zoe Ferguson, Executive Producer Amruta Slee, Sound Design/Mixing Martin Peralta, ABC Radio National Julie Browning.
Earshot’s “Kangaroo cuddles – life inside a premmie baby unit”: Producer Jennifer Macey, Sound Engineer Russell Stapleton, Supervising Producer Claudia Taranto.
Background Briefing’s “How fracking could threaten Australia’s Paris target”: Reporter Jane Bardon, Producer Tim Roxburgh, Executive Producer Alice Brennan, Sound Engineer Leila Shunnar, Fact Checker Ben Sveen, Sound Engineer Simon Branthwaite.
Listen to Stuff the British Stole, Earshot and Background Briefing for free on your mobile device on the ABC listen app, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.
_________________________________________
For more information:
Peter Munro, ABC Communications
munro.peter@abc.net.au
