Bauer's Rock FM has been named North West station of the year at the annual How-Do Awards in Manchester.
Organised by media and PR site How-Do, the awards recognise achievements in the region's radio, television, press, online, creative and agency sectors.
During a glitzy awards night at Manchester's Palace Hotel, Rock FM was named 'Radio Station of the Year', while independent production company Made In Manchester took the other radio award of the night – 'Radio Programme of the Year'.
In the Station category, Rock FM had faced tough competition from Smooth Radio, Galaxy Manchester, Indigo FM, Tameside Radio and BBC Radio Cumbria. The BBC station was highly commended by the award judges.
In the Programme category it was again a tough one to call with shortlisted entries from All Out Productions (for When The King Met The President), BBC Radio Cumbria (Mike Parr Breakfast Show), BBC Radio Merseyside (Six Minutes Past Three – Remembering Hillsborough), Smooth Radio (The Andy Peebles Late Show) and Galaxy (The Rob Ellis Show).
It was Made in Manchester's 'Gay Life After Saddam', which aired on BBC Radio 5 Live last summer,though that took the award. Judges were impressed with how the team overcame challenges in commissioning and the threat to crew safety on a programme which looked at homophobia in post-liberation Iraq.
It was fitting too that the award was sponsored by MediaCityUK – earlier in the night the facility's chief exec Sinead Greenaway had announced Made In Manchester were the latest media company to move into the development and take up an office in the Pie Factory.
You can read a full report on the How Do Awards [link=http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-publishing/how%11do-awards-2010-%11-all-the-winners-and-pictures-201004308000/]here[/link].