Energy is running high from last weekend’s 35th Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), a night that brought together the brightest talent of the radio industry at The Star in Sydney. The yearly ACRAs honours the on-air and off-air achievements that shape the world of Australian radio, podcasting, news, and entertainment. With over 1159 entries from radio stations across the nation, the competition was fierce, and the talent set the bar for excellence on the industry. 

This year, 71 winners were selected from 361 finalists, representing the metropolitan, provincial, and country commercial radio stations. From impactful local news to engaging entertainment, the ACRA winners showcase the diverse voices and practitioners that drive Australian radio.  

The AFTRS community had plenty to celebrate, with alumni taking home awards in seven distinct categories across country, provincial, and metropolitan markets, ranging from recognition for excellence in journalism to music and creative promotion. 

For the third consecutive year, Clinton Maynard was awarded the prestigious Brian White Award for Excellence in Journalism (Metro) for his outstanding work with 2GB, Nine Radio. The Brian White Award is one of the highest honours in radio journalism, recognising sustained excellence and above-and-beyond efforts in news coverage.  

In the on-air talent category, Matt Lipiarski from Mixx FM in Colac, VIC, took home the Best On-Air Team award for his work on Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi, alongside James Thwaites. This marked their second consecutive win, showcasing their unique ability to deliver engaging, entertaining content to the Great South West. 

AFTRS alumni also made waves in the music categories, with awards in three key areas. The Gudinski Award for Australian Music Champion went to Triple M Homegrown with Matty O, featuring AFTRS alum Andrew Very. Andrew’s passion for Australian music was further recognised with his win for Best Music Feature for the Taylor Swift Triple M Versions. 

Adding to the list of music accolades, Cam Hilder was named Best Music Host (Provincial) for his work at i98FM at WIN Network in Wollongong. His win follows last year’s success of AFTRS alum Sean Brown, who also received recognition for his work in the music hosting space. 

AFTRS proudly sponsors the Best New Talent Off Air award, which recognises up-and-coming talent in the radio industry. This year, the award went to Ella Kanna from KIIS 1065 (Metro) and Leesa Singleton from 864 Triple M (Non-Metro) in Toowoomba/Darling Downs. 

From news and talk to sport and music, the winners of this year’s ACRAs demonstrate the immense talent that fuels the commercial radio industry. The diverse voices and creative minds celebrated at the event highlight the power of local content in engaging audiences and delivering impactful stories that resonate.   

AFTRS is incredibly proud to be a part of this thriving industry and to see our alumni consistently recognised for their contributions. Their achievements reflect the School’s ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of radio professionals and leaders. 

Here’s the roundup of AFTRS alumni awarded and the teams they work with. You can see all the ACRA winners here. 

• Brian White Award For Excellence In Journalism
  Clinton Maynard; 2GB, Sydney, NSW, Nine Radio 

• Best On Air Team (Country)
  Mixx Brekky with Jimmy & Lippi Matt Lipiarski, James Thwaites 

• The Gudinski – Australian Music Champion
  Triple M Homegrown with Matty O; Matthew O’Gorman; Kalun Townsend; Andrew Very; Shaun Gough; Julia Di Gregorio, Triple M Melbourne, VIC, SCA 

• Best Music Host (Provincial)
  Cam Hilder; i98FM, Wollongong, NSW, WIN Network 

• Best Music Feature
  Taylor Swift Triple M Versions; Andrew Very, David Konsky, Kalun Townsend, Triple M Network, Sydney, NSW, SCA  

• Best Comedy Segment (Non Metro)
  Hans The Aldi Mole; Sam Archie Arenson, Henry Bretz, Power100, Townsville, QLD, ARN 

• Most Creative Station Promotion (Non Metro)
  Lyndal & Crammy’s Origin or Bust; Lyndal & Crammy, 96.5 Wave FM, Wollongong, NSW, ARN  

The radio and podcasting industry is thriving and evolving, with AFTRS alumni setting the bar for excellence and innovation, ensuring that Australian radio remains dynamic, influential and engaged with Australian audiences.  

If radio and podcasting is of interest to you or someone you know, applications for the Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting close on 29 October.  

– Abbie Chatfield extends partnership with LiSTNR –

– America’s leading female podcast, Call Her Daddy, joins LiSTNR –

LiSTNR’s powerful female voices have led the charge in the September Australian Podcast Ranker Top 200 Podcasts results, with key female-driven shows growing month-on-month in terms of audience and revenue generation to help secure LiSTNR’s position as Australia’s number 1 podcast sales representative for a record 25^th time*.

In what has been an outstanding reporting period, Happy Hour with Nikki & Lucy grew 7.1% month on month to 273,163 monthly listeners**, It’s a Lot with Abbie Chatfield grew 22.7% to 259,965 listeners**, KICPOD, hosted by Laura Henshaw and Steph Clare Smith, grew 13.6% to 121,324 listeners** and A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg re-entered the Top 200 with 38,359 monthly listeners**.

These stellar results follow confirmation that Abbie Chatfield, who is fast becoming one of this country’s most important voices, has extended her partnership with LiSTNR. In addition, LiSTNR is now the exclusive Australian sales representative for America’s leading female podcast, Call Her Daddy, hosted by arguably America’s most influential female podcaster, Alex Cooper. Collectively LiSTNR’s slate of outstanding female voices will continue to drive audiences for the network in 2025.

Sport also played a strong role in LiSTNR’s September Ranker results, with Mark Howard’s The Howie Games recording its second-highest monthly listeners for 2024 (215,613 listeners**), an increase of 26% on last month. Furthermore, Triple M Footy AFL was up 19% to 199,102 monthly listeners, Triple M Rocks NRL was up 18.9% with 82,994 monthly listeners** and Footy Talk Rugby League grew 5.3% to 53,056 monthly listeners**.

Hamish & Andy was again Australia’s number one podcast with 847,644 monthly listeners**, while Everyone Relax with Wil Anderson and Charlie Clausen grew 18% to 81,868 monthly listeners**.

“LiSTNR continues to be Australia’s number 1 podcast sales representation network, which in turn is driving increased revenue performance by the LiSTNR sales team and overall growth of the Australian podcast marketplace. More clients are using LiSTNR’s AdTech with 33% of advertisers now utilising LiSTNR’s premium AdTech to drive more effective advertising campaigns. This is an increase month-on-month,” reflected Executive Head of LiSTNR Audience and Growth, Grant Tothill.

“To see our local female podcast hosts growing their audiences, global podcast superstars such as Alex Cooper joining LiSTNR, Hamish & Andy remaining Australia’s number one podcast, Mark Howard’s The Howie Games returning to the number one sports podcast position, and our Triple M sport podcasts gaining listeners, is a great outcome for our entire LiSTNR team,” Tothill continued.

“With LiSTNR welcoming The Imperfects podcast to its sales network in January 2025, along with the ongoing investment and development of its premium LiSTNR AdTech Hub, the LiSTNR team is leading the way in both audience reach and monetisation in Australia.”

Sources:

*Australian Podcast Ranker – Top Sales Representatives – September 2024

**Australian Podcast Ranker Top 200 Podcasts – September 2024

About LiSTNR:

LiSTNR is a curated and personalised, free app offering radio, podcasts, music, and news, creating a new audio destination for all Australians. Featuring a fun and intuitive onboarding process, LiSTNR delivers an audio destination that is built for individual listeners’ routines and preferences. Highly personalised, it provides listeners a new world of audio entertainment, with their own daily feed of audio and easy discovery of new content through curated recommendations. Available across a large array of devices including both iOS and Android, CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Assistant and Alexa and Android TV, LiSTNR enables a fantastic listening experience, anytime and anywhere. Open your Ears to a new world of audio – download the free app today. LiSTNR.com

The revised Community Radio Broadcasting Codes of Practice (2025) have been registered by the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA).  

The new Community Radio Broadcasting Codes will commence on 1 July 2025. The existing Codes will remain active until that time. 

The 2025 Codes consist of 10 Codes, adapted from the current Codes. All changes made were designed to make the Codes easier for stations to put into practice and understand. We are grateful for the input and feedback from our sector throughout the review process. 

The new Codes are the outcome of a lengthy consultation across our sector to ensure they remain relevant and meet community standards in an environment of changing media. The 2025 Codes received overwhelming support with over 98% of responses from community broadcasters endorsing the new Codes.  

From 1 July 2025, the revised Codes (2025) will replace the current Codes (2008). Stations should continue using the current 2008 Codes in the meantime. 

The CBAA will support stations to ensure staff and volunteers understand the changes before they come into effect on July 1, 2025. We are already working on training and guidance materials to support all broadcasters understand and comply with the Codes.  

The new Codes will be accompanied by practical easy-to-use guidance material to help every station and broadcaster to understand how to comply with the new Codes. This guidance material will provide templates for policies, processes to follow and suggestions for best practice. 
  

View the new 2025 Community Radio Codes Broadcasting Codes of Practice here.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of George Negus, a giant of Australian journalism and a fondly-remembered veteran of SBS.

George’s dogged pursuit of truth and his unique ability to connect with people through his authentic, down-to-earth approach to storytelling left an indelible mark on our industry.

Joining SBS in 2005 to present Dateline, George was instrumental in shaping the program during his tenure to 2010 into the ground-breaking current affairs program it is today, bringing global stories into Australian living rooms with his trademark insight and empathy. His dedication to journalism, passion for social justice, and love for the craft will inspire future generations of reporters and producers.

George will be remembered as much for his warmth and character off-screen as for his contributions to Australian media.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to George’s family and loved ones.

The ACMA has registered a new community radio broadcasting code of practice, establishing an updated set of rules about what can and can’t be played on community radio.

The code was developed by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). It is the first broadcasting industry code to be registered since the ACMA asked all industry bodies to review their codes in 2022.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin has welcomed the new code and its strengthened community safeguards.

“The new community radio code is the result of substantial work undertaken by CBAA over several years. The ACMA acknowledges the highly collaborative way the review was undertaken and the broader community broadcasting sector’s commitment to the development of the code.

“We are particularly pleased to see stronger protections around news content on community radio, including requirements for impartiality and for reporters to take special care where facts may be contested and not settled,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

Under the new code community radio broadcasters are also committed to align their programming decisions with contemporary community standards, prioritise First Nations voices when reporting on or discussing First Nations issues, and strengthen complaints-handling processes.

The ACMA expects all broadcasters to regularly update their rules to reflect changing broadcasting practices and contemporary audience expectations. This includes providing safeguards to those accessing their content in new ways.

“We remain of the view that it is high time that the broadcasting industry voluntarily extend their rules to cover all TV- and radio-like content they make available online. This would ensure audiences benefit from the same safeguards, regardless of how they access the content,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

The new community radio broadcasting code will commence on 1 July 2025. The existing code will remain active until that time.

The new community radio code is available at: https://www.acma.gov.au/industry-codes-practice

Further information about the code review process is available on the CBAA website.

NOVA Entertainment celebrated a successful night at the 2024 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), securing nine awards across the business.

As Queensland’s political landscape heats up, 4BC is set to present live coverage of Queensland Media Club’s Queensland Election Leaders’ Debate: Miles vs. Crisafulli on Wednesday, October 16.

Sofie Formica will host her 4BCAfternoons show live from the Brisbane Convention Centre, giving listeners exclusive access to the debate.

Enhancing the 4BC coverage, Mornings host Bill McDonald will be on site in the debate room, delivering real-time updates and insights. His immediate perspective will offer audiences a dynamic taste of the debate, keeping them up with minute-by-minute developments.

This debate is a critical moment in the lead-up to the State election on Saturday, October 26. It builds on the momentum from The Great Debate, the forum presented by 9News Queensland in collaboration with 4BC and the Brisbane Times. That forum allowed Queenslanders to engage directly with both candidates: Labor Premier Steven Miles and Liberal National Party Leader David Crisafulli. With Sofie Formica and a panel of experts asking incisive questions, the debate illuminated key issues and set the stage for the remainder of the campaign.

The Great Debate rated impressively, highlighting Nine’s strong news brand across the State while reflecting its commitment to providing essential insights for voters.

Leading up to the State election, 4BC will continue to offer extensive coverage in its live and local lineup, keeping listeners on the pulse as they decide their voting intentions on October 26.

Following the presentation of the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) at a gala event in Sydney on Saturday night, SCA congratulated its winners from the Triple M and Hit networks and LiSTNR who took home awards across multiple metro and regional categories.

2024 SCA ACRAS WINNERS:

• BEST ON AIR TEAM (PROVINCIAL): Flan, Ali & Spida; Sean Flanagan, Ali Plath, Spida Everitt, 92.5 Triple M Gold
• THE BRENNO / BEST NEW TALENT ON AIR – RADIO (PROVINCIAL): Andy ‘Tubes’ Taylor; 107.3 Triple M Hobart
• BEST NEW TALENT OFF AIR – RADIO (NON METRO): Leesa Singleton; 864 Triple M Toowoomba/Darling Downs, Toowoomba
• MOST CREATIVE STATION PROMOTION (METRO): Zooper Dooper Mission Space Freeze; Cam Busby, Sophie Hudson, Aaron Joseph, Melbourne
• PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (NON-METRO): Amelia Cutmore; 864 Triple M Toowoomba/Darling Downs
• BEST NEW TALENT – PODCAST (NATIONAL): Joey Watson; LiSTNR
• BEST IMAGING PRODUCER (METRO): David Konsky; Hit Network
• BEST STATION PRODUCED COMMERCIAL – SINGLE (NON METRO): Ace Building Co; Chloe Burgess-Jones, David Horspool, Hit 101.3 / 107.7 Triple M, Gosford
• BEST LOCAL NEWS TEAM – (COUNTRY): Triple M Newcastle; David Dollin, Dan Flegg, Saskia Channing, 102.9 Triple M Newcastle, Newcastle
• BEST SPORTS PRESENTER (NON-METRO): Annabelle Brett; 102.3 Triple M Townsville, Townsville
• BEST DOCUMENTARY – AUDIO – (NATIONAL): Secrets We Keep – Shame, Lies and Family; Amelia Oberhardt, Ellen Leabeater, Jake Morcom, Nial Fernandes, LiSTNR
• BEST MUSIC FEATURE: Taylor Swift Triple M Versions; Andrew Very, David Konsky, Kalun Townsend, Triple M Network
• THE GUDINSKI – AUSTRALIAN MUSIC CHAMPION: Triple M Homegrown with Matty O; Matthew O’Gorman, Kalun Townsend, Andrew Very, Shaun Gough, Julia Di Gregorio, Triple M Network

SCA remains the undisputed home of the key 25-54 buying demographic, having maintained its position as Australia’s no.1 25-54 radio network* in the recent GfK Radio360 Metro Survey #6 2024 results. In addition, SCA’s Hit Network is no.1 for women 25-54 and its Triple M network is no.1 for men 25-54, confirming SCA as the outright leader in these commercially critical demographics.

SCA is focused on continuing its dominance across multiple metro markets, which includes The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick as Melbourne’s #1 FM Breakfast show and most listened to station, and B105 leading Brisbane airwaves as the city’s #1 station and with the #1 Breakfast show (Stav, Abby & Matt) and the #1 Drive show (Carrie & Tommy). Furthermore, Triple M Adelaide’s Breakfast Show, Roo, Dits & Loz, is streaks ahead in the Adelaide market and has been the #1 FM Breakfast Show for an incredible 16 straight wins.

Source:

* GfK Radio 360 Metro Survey #6 2024.  P10+/P25-54/M25-54/F25-54, Mon-Sun ROS/Mon-Fri 05.30-09.00/Mon-Fri 06.00-09.00/Mon-Fri 15.00-18.00/Mon-Fri 16.00-19.00. Total Radio. Market Share/Commercial Share/Cume Reach.

About Southern Cross Austereo

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is one of Australia’s leading media companies and the home of LiSTNR, the Hit and Triple M networks and regional television stations, reaching more than 95% of the Australian population. The LiSTNR digital audio app hosts a library of free and compelling digital audio content available anytime, anywhere. It houses SCA’s 99 FM, AM and DAB+ radio stations, including AFL, NRL and international cricket coverage, 27 music genre stations, and over 600 podcasts from leading Australian and global creators, plus local news and information. With more than one million signed-in users, LiSTNR has something to entertain, inform, and inspire all Australians and helps advertisers to connect with highly engaged and addressable audiences. The LiSTNR digital audio sales network reaches over 8 million people a month. SCA owns 99 radio stations across FM, AM, and DAB+ radio under the Triple M and Hit network brands and provides national sales representation for 56 regional radio stations, with 8.8 million listeners across the Hit and Triple M networks nationally. www.southerncrossaustereo.com.au.