Bilby Awards 2011

The SACBA Bilby Awards celebrate the contribution community radio makes to our community and encourages high achievement within the sector.

Winners of the 2011 Bilby Awards:

Can’t Get Out Of The Car

A segment so good you want to listen to it no matter what. These are times of pure radio gold, when you stay glued to the radio to the end!

Winner – Radio Adelaide, Adelaide :: Gill Hicks lecture, Producer Darren Van Schaik

Public Domain brings the best of Adelaide public talks out of the lecture theatre and onto the airwaves. Gill Hicks began her career as a speaker in the wake of the 2005 London bombings – Hicks was the last living victim rescued.
The show prompted this from a listener – “The lecture had just begun as I was heading into my driveway at home. I backed the car out and headed to the beach and sat, listened, laughed and cried”

Runner Up – Three D Radio, Adelaide

The sad and interesting story of the Tornadoes’ song Telstar; the claim of plagiarism and the court’s decision.
The Story of Telstar – Carmen Kaye, The Doo Wop Corner

Best Interview

It’s not who you are interviewing, it’s what they say or how they say it. The entires this year were all first class, but 3 really stood out, so we have 2 runners up in this category

Winner – Three D Radio, Adelaide

Carmen Kaye, interview with Rick Campagna
Rick Campagna is not famous and he’s not used to being interviewed. He’s a regular listener and an ordinary bloke. Rick is a great storyteller and has a passion for rock and roll, he engages the listener with stories of growing up in Broken Hill and Adelaide, culminating with the definitive moment when Rock and Roll came to Adelaide and Little Richard was king!

Runner Up #1 – ROX FM Roxby Downs

An interview with Bettina Arndt as part of a weekly series about cancer, this show explored testicular cancer and male sexual dysfunction. One listener with a workplace injury was prompted to seek professional help as a result of hearing this interview.
Celebrate. Remember. Fightback – Kaye Doyle and Jack McGuire

Runner Up #2 – 5GTR FM Mount Gambier

Kevin Fagan happened to be Mount Gambier visiting friends and dropped in to the studio for a look. Kevin is a staff reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and has covered seven executions. He talks about some of those executions and the changes made following the publishing of his stories describing the executions. A fascinating, sometimes graphic and sobering interview. Denis O’Carroll, 5GTR FM

Outside broadcast

OBs can be difficult and often challenge the resources of a station. They are also a chance to get out there and broadcast in the heart of your community, promoting your station and bringing the event to your listeners.

Winner – Radio Adelaide, Adelaide

The Radio Adelaide Swing and Big Band Night featured swing dance lessons, live tunes from Mike Stewart Big Band and personal stories of dancing. Held at the Deaf Can Do hall in Adelaide and attracting 150 very dressed up guests, the live broadcast was a credit to the team
Radio Adelaide Swing and Big Band Night Team

Best Coverage Of A Sporting Event within your community

This year footy wins hands down!

Winner – 5GTR FM, Mount Gambier

The Round Ball is a weekly program that’s all about soccer: from local matches, to developing Football United – an initiative to welcome refugees to the Mount Gambier soccer community – to interviews with major soccer identities.
The Round Ball, Nathan Butler and Scott Dickson, 5GTR Mount Gambier

Runner Up – Great Southern, Happy FM, Victor Harbor

Every Saturday Happy FM broadcasts the Great Southern football league’s match of the day. This live coverage is supplemented by a roundup of all sports news, including netball, golf, lawn bowls, badminton, hockey and pigeon racing!
Great Southern FM Community Broadcasters, Victor Harbor

Best Local Music Program

Every community has music; community radio is best placed to promote local talent within our communities, to support local gigs and encourage our artists. The number and quality of entries shows how much community radio values music from within our communities.

Winner- Three D Radio, Adelaide

The Sound Lounge broadcasts live bands every Saturday night from the lounge room at Three D Radio. All styles and genres are welcome, from rockabilly to metal, country to rock.
The Sound Lounge – Three D Radio

Runner Up #1 – Coast FM, Adelaide

The Sound Cage is a weekly show on Coast and features local music, news and interviews with local bands.
Mandi the Wicked Faerie, The Sound Cage, Coast FM

Runner up #2 – Triple Bfm Barossa Valley

The Get Undead team started 5 years ago and focus on local bands and their music. They give musicians in the Barossa region air time to share their most recent music and talk about upcoming gigs.
JJ, Luke & friends – Get Undead, Triple Bfm

Best Message

This continues to be the most popular category and also has several runners up. The most common message entered is the program promo.

Winner – Three D Radio, Adelaide

A station promo & subscriber song. Local musicians singing from the heart, recorded and mixed live to air.
Andy & Marta subscriber song, producer Tim Borgas

Runner Up – Alex FM, Goolwa

Welcome to the aspirant station Alex FM, making their first appearance at the Bilbys. This program promo tells it like it is – country music is a downer!
Country Heartbeat, Derna Hetherington

Runner up – Triple Bfm, Barossa Valley

A program promo with a play on words – if your station is next to a railway line, make the most of it!
Sandie’s Music Mix, Sandie McConnell

Best Community Event

Runner up – ROX FM, Roxby Downs

The inaugural Roxby Downs Community Postie Bash raised much needed funds for the Roxby Downs Youth Services and the Roxby Downs Hospital. Rox FM sponsored the event – a round trip to William Creek and back on postie bikes – and also entered a team. The team raised over $1,000 and after breaking down 200 metres from the finish line, managed a walking finish! Overall the event raised $45,000 for the Roxby Downs community and promoted the station throughout the community.
Roxby Downs Postie Bash 2011

Winner – LIME FM, Mount Gambier

LIME FM is making its debut in the Bilbys with this very successful event. To raise their profile in the community LIME FM put on a ‘refreshment weekend’, inviting a celebrity magician to Mount Gambier to visit schools and present 2 performances. The weekend was a huge success and promoted the station to over 500 people at the performances, resulting in many letters, emails and phone calls to find out more about the station – not to mention a great family night out for the Mount Gambier community.
LIME FM Refreshment Weekend

Small Station of the Year

5GTR FM, Mount Gambier

5GTR FM achieve a lot for a small station and we are pleased to congratulate them on being the inaugural SACBA Small Station of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

Many stations have told us they want to recognise the contributions made by their volunteers. Community radio runs on volunteers – In fact most of us are volunteers!
We had many worthy entries for this award, showing that management committees and boards highly value the commitment made by these people.

The nominations for volunteer of the year were:

  • Leroy Doran, ROX FM
  • Tony Eden, Great Southern – Happy FM Victor Harbor
  • Rhonda Fietz, Triple Bfm Barossa Valley
  • Janet Finnis-Hare, 5GTR Mount Gambier

Winner – Rhonda Fietz Triple Bfm Barossa Valley

Congratulations to all!