Breakfast radio duo Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller have been crowned the Best On-Air Team (Metro) at the 34th annual Australia Commercial Radio & Audio (ACRA) Awards, announced on October 14 at a gala event held at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.
It is the fourth time the WSFM stars have won the award, taking it home previously in 2012, 2014 and 2019.
The ‘Kyle & Jackie O Hour of Power’ has been named as Best Networked Program, while Kyle Sandilands received the inaugural Individual Talent of the Year Award (Metro), from a highly competitive field including his on-air partner Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, Christian O’Connell, Jase Hawkins, Ray Hadley, Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neill.
Retiring 3AW legend Neil Mitchell has won Best Talk Presenter (Metro) for the eighth time, as well as receiving the award for Best News Event Coverage for the Victorian floods. 2GB’s Ben Fordham was named Best Current Affairs Presenter for a second time.
Commercial Radio & Audio chief executive officer Ford Ennals has congratulated the winners and all finalists on their achievements.
“The ACRA Awards recognise the talent, commitment and passion that goes into making radio the enduring and influential medium that it is, and I thank our winners and finalists for their outstanding work,” he said.
Two icons of Queensland radio were also inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ceremony: Laurel Edwards (4BC, Nine Radio) and Steve ‘Pricey’ Price (Triple M Townsville, SCA).
At 4KQ, Laurel became the longest-serving female announcer of the same program in Australian history, before moving to breakfast at 4BC with Gary Clare and Mark Hine in 2022.
Pricey has been on-air in Townsville for more than five decades, including 32 years on breakfast radio at 102.3 Triple M Townsville (originally 4TO). In May this year he announced his retirement from breakfast radio and will leave his studio for the final time on Christmas Day.
Other winners include:
• Best On Air Team (Provincial) – Jimmy & Nath (Hit100.9 Hobart, Tas, SCA)
• Best On Air Team (Country) – Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi, (Colac, Vic, ACE Radio
Broadcasters)
• Station of the Year (Metro) – KIIS 1065 (Sydney, ARN)
• Station of the Year (non-Metro) Mix 106.3; Canberra, ACT, ARN/SCA
• Best Sports Presenter (Metro) – Gerard Whateley (SEN 1116am, Melbourne SEN)
• Best Podcast by a Radio Show – Biana, Ben & Lakey, Lift the Lid Podcast, SeaFM, Qld SCA
• Podcast of the Year – The Children in the Pictures Podcast, LiSTNR, SCA
• Most Innovative DAB or Podcast Format – TikTok Trending, iHeart, ARN
• Best News Presenter AM – Amie Meehan (2GB, Nine Radio)
• The ‘Glenn Daniel’ Award, Best News Presenter FM – Patrina Jones (Gold 104.3, Melbourne
ARN)
• Brian White Award for Radio Journalism (Metro) – Clinton Maynard (2GB, Nine Radio).
• Brian White Award for Radio Journalism (Non-Metro) – Katie Woolf, Mix 1049 NT, ARN
The full list of winners can be found here.
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