Congrats to KCRW’s 24-hour Radio Race winners!
At 10 a.m. August 19, more than 400 aspiring and experienced radio producers from around the world took part in our fifth annual 24-hour Radio Race. In the end, they delivered 136 short stories in a single day.
The pieces were judged on creativity, storytelling, technical skill and incorporation of the theme: “Down For Whatever.”
1st Place
Team: River Rats from Miami
Prize: $1,000
As soon as they heard the theme, Wilson Sayre and Chris Barr knew who to call: their neighbor Chris, who’s always up to something crazy. They put their story entirely into his hands.
Chris asked them if they had bathing suits, which isn’t exactly the easiest scenario when you’re dealing with audio equipment. Yet producer Wilson Sayre, a radio reporter at her local Miami station, put her gear in a hiking sock and hoped for the best. They ended up at the Bermuda Triangle.
2nd place
Team: The Ruptured Burritos from Portland
Prize: $500
In the moments after you jump out of an airplane, there’s a sudden, enveloping calm. This piece from Team The Ruptured Burritos takes us to The United States Army Airborne School also known as Jump School.
3rd place
Team: Question Mark from Baton Rouge
Prize: $300
Team Question Mark told themselves they would do a “kid-specific radio piece.” Yet once they heard this year’s theme, they knew they had to tell a story about sex, queerness and HIV. Heads up: This piece is NSFW, folks.
UnFictional Award
Team: Maya Kroth from San Ysidro, California
A story of marriage, immigration, the KGB—and, eventually, deep, enduring love. This piece was chosen by host of KCRW’s UnFictional, Bob Carlson.
Social Butterfly
Team: Mummy Daddy Media from Delhi, India
Not only did the Radio Racers make great radio in a time crunch. They also shared their progress on social media with the hashtag #RadioRace. This year, Team Mummy Daddy Media shared photos, GIFs and video from New Delhi, India. A special shoutout to Epti Pattnaik for representing the team on social media!
Werk It Award
Team: RUFSM from Los Angeles
This year, for the first time, there’s an award for an exceptional story produced by women producers, chosen by the team at Werk It, WNYC’s all-women podcasting festival. The prize is a free pass to Werk It’s podcast bootcamp in October.
The inaugural winners—Team RUFSM—produced a story that was close to home for us here at KCRW: two women set out to find abandoned tunnels that run under parts of downtown Los Angeles.
Thanks to this year’s expert judges: Ave Carrillo (New Yorker Radio Hour), Eleanor McDowall (Falling Tree Productions), Jesse Thorn (Bullseye), Kelly McEvers (All Things Considered) and Nadia Reiman (Latino USA). And a special thanks to our sponsors: Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), Pop Up Archive, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and the Werk It! Women’s Podcast Festival.
The top three winners will be awarded cash prizes. Plus, each recipient will get a one-year PRX Producer Account, one-year Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) Membership and a one-year KCRW Membership.
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