JOY 94.9

Station Awards and Honours

Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Awards

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Awards are national awards given by the national peak body for community radio and television. They are the highest honour a community station can achieve. The fact that JOY 94.9 has won so many awards is an indication that the station is a vibrant part of our gay and lesbian community and the wider community media sector.

2008 Troy Garner Excellence in Sports Programming

The Troy Garner Excellence in Sports Programming is named after Troy Garner, a passionate sports broadcaster and recognises a station’s significant contribution through sports programming, with a focus on community-based sporting activities that receive limited coverage in the wider media. The award went to The Sports Lounge produced by Tanya Jones.

The program was commended for its work in raising awareness of issues of sexual diversity and homophobia in mainstream sport through broad-ranging discussion and debate with a focus on sport in our community. The program was specifically recognised for its coverage of the 1st Asia Pacific Out Games including weekly interviews with the organisers and various non-profit GLBTI sporting groups, a series of 12 podcast episodes and daily updates during the event in the drive program The Campervan.

2008 Excellence in Spoken Word, News and Current Affairs Programming

The Excellence in Spoken Word, News and Current Affairs Programming presented by Deutsche Welle is given to programs that excel in providing news coverage that is independently dealt with and may be innovative in its approach. The award went Out and About a one-off series produced by Tim Newton that was recorded in front of a live audience over 13 weeks and discussed topical and complex issues relating to Australia’s GLBTI community.

The series provided challenges to the host, technical staff and the panel of guest ‘experts’ while giving the community the chance to get involved in old-fashioned public debating. Topics covered included Nature v Nurture debating how people end up being gay and whether it really matters, Getting Trashed exploring the gay nightclub scene, drugs and parties and Unholy Alliance looking at how Christian and other religions treat the GLBTI community.

2008 Best Initiative to Build Station Capacity

The station received a High Commendation in the category of Best Initiative to Build Station Capacity which recognises ingenuity, core values and partnerships. JOY 94.9 was praised for working with 12 other community based GLTBI organisations to form a collective response to condemn homophobic remarks made by Jeff Kennett as President of Hawthorn Football Club. The station was also a finalist for the category of Excellence in Digital Media for the its Bourke Street Blitz and other station program blogs.

2007 Can’t Get Out of the Car Award

Allegro Non Troppo, Addam Stobbs, Peter Fortey and Robert Brierley

This award is awarded to a program that demonstrates excellence in content and presentation that is so interesting and attention grabbing that you just ‘Can’t Get Out Of The Car’. Allegro Non Troppo won the award for an interview with Kimina Lyall and JP and their incredible story of survival in the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

2007 Best Sponsorship Announcement or Promotion Award

Sponsorship and Production Team, Robert Yule, Conrad Browne, Brendan Castle
The team won the award for their in house production of sponsorship announcements specifically targeted to a special interest group, in this case the gay and lesbian community.

2007 High Commendation for Best Special Event Broadcast

The Rainbow Report Team, Well, Well, Well Team and Tim Newton
This next award recognises specialist programming undertaken by a station. The winning entry will serve a particular community need or provide in-depth information on a topic relevant to the station's audience. The group was given a high commendation for its special program in “HIV: The Facts”.

2005 Can’t Get Out of the Car Award

Allegro Non Troppo, Addam Stobbs and Peter Fortey
This award is awarded to a program that demonstrates excellence in content and presentation that is so interesting and attention grabbing that you just ‘Can’t Get Out Of The Car’. Allegro Non Troppo won the award for an interview with a young gay man from Iran who had fled to Australia fearing for his life.

2000 Best Sponsorship Announcement or Promotion Award

JOY Makes a Difference in People’s Lives
JOY 94.9 won the award for its “JOY Makes a Difference in People’s Lives” campaign, affectionately referred to by volunteers as the “Love Letters” series.

As the station was preparing to apply for its full time licence, the station asked people to write in and say why JOY was important to them. It received hundreds from listeners, including from Government ministers and high profile backers, and used excerpts of the letters in its submission and also made them into a series of community announcements.

Then JOY President Carol Wilkinson said, “Some of them had us in tears. Of particular note, were a couple of letters, one from a 15 year old girl who live in the Western suburbs and knew she was gay, but didn't know where to turn, and JOY had helped her come out; the other from a 49-year old lesbian woman who thought she was always alone until she met JOY.”

ALSO Foundation Awards

Commenced in 2008 the the awards recognise the achievements of people and organisations within the GLBT community. Award winners are determined by public votes, while the categories are chosen by a panel of judges appointed by the ALSO Foundation.

Most Outstanding Media Award

Other Awards

1997 – Melbourne Rainbow Media Award

1996 – Melbourne Rainbow Media Award

1992 – Pride Young Achievers Award