TY Media Week shortlisted for IMRO Radio Award.

The IMRO Radio Awards 2024 shortlist was revealed this morning, highlighting the best in radio content from stations across the island of Ireland. This year’s awards are set to be a memorable celebration of radio excellence. On the 4th of October 2024, professionals from the industry will gather in the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny for the ceremony. This annual event promises to spotlight the creativity and dedication of the nation’s most beloved radio voices and teams behind them. 

There are a staggering 141 nominations across the Independent Radio Sector. The awards span across 6 categories: Music, News & Sport, General, People, and Stations of the Year. This year's ceremony introduces a new award, the Sustainability Award, reflecting the industry’s commitment to promoting environmental consciousness. 

Learning Waves members have been shortlisted across all 39 categories. The sector dominates in the General Music Programme, Breakfast Programme, Current Affairs Programme – Local/Regional, Sports Programme – Local/Regional, On-Air Competition/Promotion, Station Imaging, Entertainment Inserts, Digital & Social Innovation, Music & Entertainment Presenter of the Year, Sports Broadcaster of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year categories, with all those shortlisted in these categories working across the sector.  

Leading the way across the sector is Newstalk with an outstanding 33 nominations, followed by Today FM with 13 nominations, Spin 1038 with 9 nominations, Ocean FM with 8 nominations, and Cork’s 96FM, FM104, and Galway Bay FM with 7 nominations each. Learning Waves would like to congratulate all the nominees on their outstanding achievements. 

Learning Waves TY Media Week Broadcast Nominated for Magazine Programme Award 

Galway Bay FM’s ‘TY Takeover’ Broadcast has been nominated for Magazine Programme of the year. This programme was produced and presented by Transition Year students as part of the Learning Waves TY Media Week programme. Funded by Coimisiún na Meán, the TY Media Week Programme offers students the chance to immerse themselves in a radio station for a week, where they can learn firsthand about station operations, broadcasting, and media content creation. In 2023, 258 students across 168 schools completed the programme across 13 independent radio stations. Also, in 2023 the programme won the Media Literacy Ireland Award for Best Youth-Led Media Literacy Intervention. 

Galway Bay FM’s ‘TY Takeover’ programme involved students from Portumna Community School, Coláiste Baile Chláir Glaregalway, Merlin College, St Raphael’s Loughrea, Coláiste Iognáid the Bish, St Paul’s Oughterard, Salerno Salthill, and Seamount Kinvara. Working closely with their station mentor, Kayte O’Malley, the students from across Galway researched, produced, and presented their very own two-hour programme covering topics such as AI technologies, sport and climate action. 

Kayte O’Malley, TY Mentor at Galway Bay FM, commented: 

“Our 2023 TY group consisted of 10 students from diverse backgrounds representing 8 schools from around Galway city and county. The students brought a wide range of interests to the table, from AI to sport, drama, and the environment. After some extensive brainstorming sessions, 8 topics were shortlisted to make it into the TY Takeover show. The students self-selected who would work on what topic based on their interests, and all the content that aired during the final show was chosen, researched, scripted, and presented by the students, with myself overseeing the project.  

From a group of untrained TY students, the finished show was a polished and professional effort and the entire team at GBFM are over the moon to see that our TY Media Week group secured an IMRO nomination for Best Magazine Programme. 

On a personal note, mentoring on the TY Media Week programme was a fantastic experience, and I could not have asked for a better group. From the shy, quiet students that walked in the door on the first morning, the group absolutely came to life as the week went on, and the programme and nomination are a testament to their creativity, hard work, and enthusiasm. We will definitely see some of them at future IMRO awards, that's for sure” 

Galway Bay FM’s TY Takeover was broadcasted in November 2023. Click here to listen to the full broadcast.  

Learning Waves Graduates Nominated for IMRO Radio Awards 

Sheila Naughton has been nominated for News Reporter of the Year. Sheila completed the Learning Waves Radio Presenter Course in 2018. After completing the course, Sheila joined East Coast FM as a Radio Producer, before advancing to the role of Broadcast Journalist and Presenter at Shannonside Northern Sound. In 2022, she was appointed Head of News at Tipp FM, and by 2023, she took on the role of Multimedia Reporter across Bauer Media Audio Ireland stations, with a focus on Newstalk. In a recent episode of RadioTalks, Sheila shared her journey and offered inspiring advice to aspiring journalists: “Don’t let anybody set you back if it’s what you really want to do.” Congratulations to Sheila on her well-deserved nomination! 

Donal Ryan, News and Sports Reporter at Ocean FM, has been nominated for Sports Broadcaster of the Year. Donal completed the Learning Waves Journalism Graduate Programme in 2022, where he completed his placement as part of the course in Ocean FM. Donal continued his journalism career, securing a full-time role in the station and has since flourished in his news and sports reporting skills. Congratulations to Donal on this award nomination.  

Speaking about the nominations, Network Manager with Learning Waves, Teresa Hanratty said: "the IMRO Radio Awards recognise excellence in radio broadcasting across the Island of Ireland.  Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted, in particular those from the Independent Radio Sector in Ireland.  It is fantastic to see Learning Waves Graduates shortlisted in various categories and the icing on the cake this year is the nomination of Galway Bay FM's TY Takeover Programme in the Magazine Programme of the Year category.  This unique and innovative programme provides TY Students with a fantastic opportunity to delve into the world of radio, to create their own content and to shape the content agenda.  Congratulations to all involved in this programme, see you in Kilkenny."

The IMRO Radio Awards is a celebration of the outstanding achievements and contributions of individuals and stations to the Irish radio landscape. It is a night to acknowledge the power of radio to inform, entertain, and connect communities across the nation. The awards are proudly sponsored by IMRO, representing the rights of music creators in Ireland, and Coimisiún na Meán, the independent regulator for Irish broadcasting and on-demand services. To view the IMRO Radio Awards Shortlist 2024, click here.