[cma-l] The Guardian: British radio triumphs in New York

[CMA-L]

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/sep/29/new-york-festival-awards-radio

>From Hackney Podcast to Totnes arts, British radio stations grabbed 11
gold gongs at the New York Festivals Awards

It was heartening to hear how well British radio fared at the New York
Festivals Awards, winning 11 gold gongs, and one of just two Grand
Trophy awards – the latter going to independent production company Ten
Alps Radio for The Woodstock 40th Anniversary.

Another deserving winner was the Hackney Podcast, which took a gold
award for its terrific "Night in Hackney" edition. These podcasts,
also recognised in the Sony Awards this year, are just one example of
how imaginative features and radio art are quietly flourishing in the
UK. There's the rightly feted Resonance 104.4 FM, too, with its
dazzlingly eclectic offerings, and newer initiatives such as In the
Dark, curating spoken-word radio events that bring together
cutting-edge producers and fans of broadcasting that offers decidedly
experimental realms.

Sometimes, though, this can all feel a little London-centric, despite
the fact that you can listen to much of this output online. That's
where Soundart Radio, a community and arts radio station for
Dartington and Totnes in Devon, is so cheering: its setting couldn't
be further from urban cool – you can often hear birdsong in the
background – and yet its output is resolutely challenging.

I've been hooked for quite a while, relishing its oddness, its
risk-taking – anyone can volunteer for the station – and its blend of
the highly local and impressively far-reaching. Soundart broadcasts
Democracy Now, the alternative news and campaigning show with an
international, radical agenda, and other brilliant offerings such as
Through the Looking Glass, dedicated to sonic art, Musique concrète
and the "just downright weird".

The grippingly weird Singers and Writers blends snippets of literature
and perky tracks, so that PG Wodehouse shambolically collides with the
Stone Roses, while Slow Sunday Radio is a series, running through the
autumn, of 24-hour slots dedicated to "pointless noise". A "Jingle
Hell" playlist is promised for Christmas. I can hardly wait.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/sep/29/new-york-festival-awards-radio

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