UK

The nominations for the 2025 Commercial Radio News Awards in association with IRN and Sky News have been announced.

Sky News Daily podcast presenter Niall Paterson revealed the shortlists for the 13 categories which recognise quality journalism, presentation and production in commercial radio news and sport.
The winners – including the recipient of the Gold Award – will be announced at Sky Cinema at Sky’s west London HQ on Wednesday 26th March 2025.
And the nominees are…

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Joseph Draper – Global’s Newsroom South
Sophie Green – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Ellie Tutt – Global’s Newsroom South 
Bronwen Weatherby – Global’s Newsroom Wales
Poppy Lindsey – Global’s Newsroom South

BEST INTERVIEW
Red Rooms – Global’s Newsroom North West  
Kate McCann interviews Kemi Badenoch at Conservative Party Conference – Times Radio
Southport Stabbings – Global’s Newsroom North West
Clare’s Law: Maddy’s Story – Manchester’s Hits Radio, Bauer Media Audio
Knife Crime on the Coast – Global’s Newsroom South

REPORTER OF THE YEAR (NATIONAL)
Charlotte Lynch – LBC and LBC News
Alice Faulkner – Hits Radio Network Scotland, Bauer Media Audio
Nick Ellerby – News UK Broadcasting, Times Radio, TalkRADIO and talkSPORT
Henry Riley – LBC and LBC News
Victoria Glover – Hits Radio UK, Bauer Media Audio

SPECIALIST REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Natasha Clark – LBC
Georgie Prodromou – Bauer Media Audio
Max Scott – talkSPORT
Alan Smith – Hits Radio Network Scotland, Bauer Media Audio
Fraser Knight – LBC and LBC News

REPORTER OF THE YEAR (REGIONAL)
Charlotte Linnecar – Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire, Bauer Media Audio
Heather Cartwright – Global’s Newsroom West
Katie Lyons – Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire, Bauer Media Audio
Chris Chambers – Global’s Newsroom North West
Liam Ross – MFR, Bauer Media Audio

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE
The Great North Run 2024 – North East News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Olympic Games Paris 2024 – talkSPORT
The Life and Legacy of Rob Burrow – Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire, Bauer Media Audio
2024 Sports Coverage – LBC News and Global’s Newsroom, London
Ipswich’s Promotion to the Premier League: 22 years in the making – Greatest Hits Radio Suffolk, Bauer Media Audio

BEST NEWS STORY OR COVERAGE
Benwell Explosion – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Murdered Yards From Home: The Knowle West Killings – Global’s Newsroom West
RAAC and Ruin: Torry’s Concrete Crisis – Northsound 1 News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Southport Stabbings – Global’s Newsroom North West
The 2024 ‘Genny Lex’ – Kiss

NEWSREADER OF THE YEAR (NATIONAL)
Lottie Morley – Global’s Newsroom London
Steve Forbes – talkSPORT
Simon Conway – LBC and LBC News
Emma Kirwan – talkSPORT
Alice Young – Global’s Newsroom London

NEWSREADER OF THE YEAR (REGIONAL)
Chloe St John – Downtown Radio and Cool FM, Bauer Media Audio
Sophie Adams – Global’s Newsroom Scotland
Owen Arands – Hits Radio Liverpool, Bauer Media Audio
Collette McGonigle – Clyde 1, Bauer Media Audio
Micky Welch – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio 

BEST NEWS SPECIAL 
Banged Up in Boro – Karen Liu, Hits Radio Teesside, Bauer Media Audio
Bump on the Road: Scotland’s 100 mile baby dash – MFR News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Mass Graves – Chris Chambers, Global’s Newsroom North West
The Lighter Side of News – Micky Welch, Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Paying Through the Nose: an investigation into nasal tanning sprays – Alice Faulkner, Clyde 1, Bauer Media Audio

NEWS TEAM OF THE YEAR (hubs or stations under 1.5 million TSA)
South Yorkshire News Team – Bauer Media Audio
MFR – Bauer Media Audio
Hits Radio Teesside News Team – Bauer Media Audio
East of England News Team – Bauer Media Audio
Forth 1 News Team – Bauer Media Audio

NEWS TEAM OF THE YEAR (hubs or stations over 1.5 million TSA)
Clyde 1 Glasgow News Team
Global’s Newsroom North West
Hits Radio North East News – Bauer Media Audio
Global’s Newsroom South
West Yorkshire News Team – Bauer Media Audio

STUDENT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – supported by the BJTC
Gabriella-Mae Mitchell – Bournemouth University
Lucas Zanarotti – City, University of London
Daniel Macleod – Glasgow Caledonian University
Ellie Hayns – The University of Salford
Geetanjali Kaushal – Bournemouth University

IRN Editor and Chair of Judges, Dave Terris said: 
Commercial radio journalists continue to provide engaging and impactful coverage of local, national and international news for a record number of listeners. The shortlists prove that teams are prepared to invest in stories that matter to their audiences and deliver them with quality and creativity. Congratulations to all the nominees and thank you to all the judges for their expertise in reaching their decisions. 

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Bauer Media has introduced Bridget Jones Radio, a pop-up station celebrating the new movie.

Timed to coincide with the release of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the station is now live via Rayo, online streaming, and smart speakers.
The station, powered by Magic Radio and the Hits Radio Network, will broadcast throughout February, delivering 24-hour programming with music, celebrity interviews, and discussions.
Music from the film will feature, plus interviews with the cast, and is part of a wider, multi-brand campaign with Universal Pictures.
Presenters include Magic Radio’s Harriet Scott and Kat Shoob, as well as Hits Radio Breakfast’s Fleur East and James Barr.
The campaign will be further amplified through promotions across Bauer Media’s network, including Magic Radio and Hits Radio, featuring on-air competitions, Galentine’s Day takeovers, and social media activations aimed at engaging listeners with Bridget-inspired dating stories.
Simon Kilby, Managing Director of Bauer Media Advertising: “The launch of our digital platform Rayo allows us to push creative boundaries with pop-up stations like this.
“Bridget Jones is a cultural icon with a nostalgic soundtrack—partnering with Universal Pictures to bring this station to life was an obvious choice to excite audiences and drive them to cinemas.”

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New research from Radiomonitor shows that radio remains the dominant music platform, outpacing streaming services in audience reach.

In Europe, radio provides five times the exposure of Spotify, rising to 48 times in markets like Nigeria.
Spotify’s top track of 2024, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, had 1.6 billion streams globally, while UK radio alone played it 1.3 billion times.
Beautiful Things by Benson Boone had 120 million Spotify UK streams but 1.8 billion UK radio listens.
Weekly chart comparisons highlight radio’s edge. In the UK (week 6, 2025), Spotify’s top song had 3.6 million streams, whereas the top radio track had 51.4 million listens. The average top 200 radio song is heard 10 times more than its Spotify equivalent.
Radiomonitor’s data confirms this trend globally, with Radio Multiples (RM) showing radio outperforms streaming in all examined countries. Even in markets where streaming is strong, radio remains the leading platform for music exposure.
Beyond numbers, radio’s curated programming and presenter-led context drive streams, downloads, and concert ticket sales. With live music revenues far exceeding recorded music, radio’s impact is more significant than ever.
A No. 1 on the Radiomonitor airplay chart signifies the most listened-to song across all platforms combined.

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DH One is set to become known as 100% Whatever Westcountry as the station plans a rebrand on its 100.5FM frequency in North Somerset, Cheddar Valley, the Levels and Coast.
The station promises to “talk about Whatever’s Happening in the Westcountry” and “play Whatever songs sound good.”
Station Director and weekday morning show host Allan Lake is running the station, and says: “This new station can bring something truly special to our communities. I’m excited to share it with everyone and give listeners a local station they can be proud of.”
The station adds that 100% Whatever Westcountry aims to deliver a blend of high-quality programming, unique local journalism, and extensive coverage of community events and local information every 20 min in the daytime.
It also plans to offer training opportunities for those interested in interview techniques and modern Media skills.
The brand has been licensed from 100 Percent Broadcasting, where A spokesperson said: “Creating a station that’s consistently engaging can be challenging for smaller broadcasters.
“We’re thrilled Allan and his team are combining their local expertise with our proven radio format and trade marked brand franchise to deliver a fantastic listening experience for the community.”
Subject to final regulatory and technical approvals, 100% Whatever Westcountry will replace the current station on 100.5 FM from Friday 14th February.

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Bauer Media has agreed to sell its stake in digital advertising platform Octave to News UK, marking the end of the five year joint venture between the two companies.
The agreement reflects a shared vision and mutual decision to concentrate on their own strategic priorities, beginning a new chapter for Octave under the sole ownership of News UK.
Octave was launched in 2020 as a partnership to harness the growing demand for digital audio advertising run by both Bauer Media and News UK.
David Wilcox, News Broadcasting Commercial Director, said: “I am extremely proud of what we have built with Octave. My thanks go to the Bauer team for their collaboration over the last five years.
“Meanwhile, I’m incredibly excited to be able to fast track the next chapter of Octave growth, delivering superb targeting and return on investment for our clients in the digital audio space – and beyond – across our scale brands.”
Simon Myciunka, CEO of Bauer Media Audio UK, said: “Octave has been a great success for both Bauer Media and News UK, allowing advertisers and clients an effective way to target audiences through our radio stations and digital platforms, and gather extensive audience insights.
“Having achieved what we set out to do with Octave, we both now recognise the need to take ownership of our own digital audio advertising and so part ways with News UK and Octave later this year in good faith and with continued ambition to innovate and deliver opportunities for advertisers in the growing digital audio space.”
The Octave transaction will have no immediate impact on Octave’s clients and both Bauer Media and News UK will reveal their future plans to the market in due course.

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Hits Radio’s national breakfast show is airing on the former Metro and TFM frequencies in the north east this week whilst Steve and Karen are on holiday.
Instead of the region’s only local show on the station, listeners are getting the established weekday Hits Radio Breakfast Show with Fleur East, James & Matt from London.
This is the first time Bauer has used the existing Hits Radio national breakfast show as cover on a large station like this, instead of a using a local cover presenter.
Until recently, at least one local show had to be broadcast but the new Media Act now allows 24/7 programming from outside the TSA.
Listeners have been quick to let Steve and Karen know what they think of the stand-in show on their Facebook page, with the majority of comments not liking the alternative offering.
No introduction or split link was offered at the start of the week to explain the change, although the three presenters are already known to regional listeners via a networked weekend show.
Next week, the Hits Radio Breakfast Show with Fleur East, James & Matt will also air on the former Hallam FM frequencies as Big John takes a break.
Bauer did not comment on the move when asked by RadioToday.

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