Chch radio station wins annual Mobil award

Press, 23 April 1987, Page 9

Chch radio station wins annual Mobil award

Christchurch’s 3ZB was named the metropolitan Radio Station of the Year at the annual Mobil Radio Awards presentation in Auckland last evening. The judges commented that they were extremely impressed by the way 3ZB seemed to be such a part of its community. “The strong 3ZB team ... generated a great deal of on-air fun and warmth while entertaining and informing their listeners. In the phone-in programmes, the air personalities talked *with’ rather \than ‘at’ the callers,” they said. More than 500 people gathered at Auckland’s Kingsgate Centre for the presentation of the 28 awards. 3ZB also won the best campaign award, -

with its “Singapore Pursuit” promotion.

The best new broadcaster award went to Ralph Van Dijk, a producer with Christchurch’s new FM station, C 93 FM. He showed “extraordinary talent and diverse writing, production and voice skills,” said the judges.

The Bill Toft award for the Radio Broadcaster of the Year went to Ron Wilkinson, assistant direc-tor-general of Radio New Zealand.

Merv Smith, the former IZB breakfast show host, now with Radio i, was presented with an award for outstanding contribution to radio.

The three categories of the Air Personality of the Year award went to Paul Holmes, of Well-

ington (now with IZB Auckland), Simon Marsh, of IZH in Hamilton, and Brian Kelly, of Radio BOP in Tauranga. Chris Bullen, of Radio IXX, Whakatane, won the award for best news story for his coverage of the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill dispute, while the America’s Cup commentator, Peter Montgomery, was named best sports personality. The degree of national interest in the competition was “due in no small measure to him,” said the judges. A number of special awards were presented, marking 50 years of commercial radio in New Zealand. These included a posthumous award for the pioneer broadcaster, Colin Scrimgeour. Known to

! tenets as "Uncle Scrim,” , he is credited with foundling commercial radio in > New Zealand in the 19305. He died on January 16, at > the age of 83. : Two other pioneers to ' receive special recogni- ; tion were Dr H. B. Turbott, the “Radio Doctor,” ! and the Maori news broadcaster, Wiremu , Parker. s Also honoured were the r "New Zealand Listener" i magazine, founded in i 1939, and the chairman of i the Independant Broadcasters’ Association, Mr I George Wadsworth. The final special award went to Radio New Zealand’s non-commercial i radio “flagship,” station 2YA in Wellington. It will i celebrate its sixtieth anniversary in July.