THE battle to save Oldham Coliseum featured in Oldham Community Radio’s 99.7 FM winning entry in the Community Radio Awards 2024.
The station claimed the top accolade in the ‘News, Journalism and Factual Storytelling’ category at the prestigious ceremony held in Cardiff.
Their entry was praised by judges as “a well-produced piece with lots of heart” and featured conversations with key players in the fight to save the popular theatre from closure after Arts Council England withdrew its funding.
Ian Wolstenholme, producer at Oldham Community Radio, said: “This is a wonderful recognition of the dedication of many supporters of one of the country’s most famous producing theatres.
“When you point a microphone in the direction of passionate people with a story to tell, it’s an incredible feeling and hits at the very core of what community radio is all about.
“All the entries in this category were examples of local news and storytelling at its very best.”
The Awards are the Oscars of community broadcasting and since the station launched in 2007, it has been a UK Station of the Year winner as well as claiming accolades for its music output, news and features.
In 2022, the station was awarded Gold in a special one-off category for ‘Covid and Community Rebuild’ for its innovative ‘Tommyfield Live’ Saturday lunchtime programme which took radio out of its traditional studio setting into an indoor market studio.
And last year, the prestigious Community Radio ‘Honours’ Award was, unusually, awarded posthumously to the station’s founder David McGealy.
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