Sony Radio Drama awards, 2011

[Guest]

The list of nominees is http://www.radioawards.org/Nominees/...category_id=36

I'm very surprised nothing from Do3 made the shortlist, in particular Brian Friel's The Faith Healer, which I think everyone here liked enormously, is an extraordinary omission.

Russ

[aeolium]

And the production of Goethe's Faust, which I enjoyed a lot, and which was tremendously ambitious.

[french frank]

Okay, let's guess: R3 is being set up for the big one again - UK Station of the Year (Clue: I think they count the number of news stories the station gets).

It's not the first time R4 has had a string of nominations in the category and R3 has had nothing. I really don't know where the nominations come from buthave no doubt there's politics behind it.

Edit: No, I take that back. I think R3 would need more than a Gold for Jazz on 3 and a Gold for Between the ears to be worth Station of the Year, and those seem to be its only two nominations. (So how the deuce could it get nominated for SotY?)

[Russ]

Okay, let's guess: R3 is being set up for the big one again - UK Station of the Year (Clue: I think they count the number of news stories the station gets).

You hide your tongue in your cheek too well sometimes, ff. Anyway, apart from Jazz on 3* and, err, 'Station of the Year' (no I can't believe the absurdity of it either), R3 is zilch amongst the nominations. Oh hang on a minute, there's going to be a late award for the most callous treatment of messageboarders...

* Edit: sorry, I didn't spot the one for Between the Ears

[french frank]

To return: I make it there were 29 new dramas covering a huge range from Webster, Goethe, Beaumarchais, Chekhov, Wild, Shaw to new work like Sarah and Ken (the kind of thing they like, I think), Migrant Mother and Perpetual Light, Lorca and Friel. Crumbs,you'd have thought something might have been considered at least a nomination

[Russ]

Jazz on 3 got the gold in its category (best specialist music programme).

What a bad night for Radio 4 though! (Except for the Drama production section, where it is always predominant.)

Russ

[Norfolk Born]

Radio 4 seems pretty pleased with itself, with one Gold award and journalist of the year and a couple of other awards, as I understand it. Station of the Year was TalkSport (that George Galloway, what's he like!) I believe that 5Live also did very well.

[french frank]

Radio 3 had three nominations:

Jazz on 3 - GOLD (it's had a Sony award before, I think, certainly been nominated)

Between the Ears - SILVER (definitely has won something before)

UK Station of the Year - NOWT (except some simperingly patronising platitudes from the judges)


It's noticeable that, as usual, the classical music programmes neither win nor are nominated (though the features have done marginally, marginally better; at least, one did, once). Drama in the past has won the odd thing, but it seems to be getting usual for R3's output to be totally ignored, not even getting nominations. I suspect the judges aren't capable of staying awake long enough for any high-culch progs

[Russ]

Re Between the Ears, this week's Child of Ardoyne is very moving, and an extraordinary reminder of a recent barbarity close to home.

Russ