Six things that happened at the ACRAs
And so to the glamour of the Gold Coast where the who’s who (and the who’s that) of radio came together for their night of nights the Australian Commercial Radio Awards, aka the ACRAs.
With that many egos in one room it was guaranteed there would be more than a few swipes between rival presenters.
The awards saw Kyle & Jackie O take out the top gong in metro FM, and Neil Mitchell win the top AM award.
From a Fitzy and Wippa song about ISDN lines, Ron Wilson poking Ten, to Kyle and Jackie O invading radio bosses’ privacy, Dr Mumbo presents five things that happened at the ACRAs 2015:
- Kyle and Jackie O gave out the personal mobile numbers of every top metro program director
Commercial Radio Australia asked the Sydney Kiis breakfast hosts to present the Best Newcomer categories.
The duo offered to help out the provincial talent in the room with some capital city contacts.
They then posted on the screen the mobile numbers of the content bosses for Nova, ARN and Southern Cross Austereo.
An abridged version of what was put up on screen last night.
“It’s all about the contacts, guys – and there are your key contacts”, Jackie O told the room.
Kyle couldn’t resist having a crack at his former employer Southern Cross Austereo’s decision to hire Rove McManus into his old slot. He told the room: “Guy Dobson is there, if you want to go over to SCA apparently they are giving the fucking company away to work there.”
- Veteran newsreader Ron Wilson has a crack at Network Ten
SmoothFM’s Ron Wilson took out Best FM News Presenter and was also on stage to present some awards.
During his presentation the veteran newsreader, who was the face of Ten in Sydney for years but departed amid the cuts of 2012, told the room of 1,500 people: “Being up here on stage, I’ve got cameras, I’ve got an autocue. It’s just like being on Channel Ten, except the audience is much bigger.”
- Kate Langbroek roasts drive rival Tim Blackwell – while handing him an award
Nova’s Tim Blackwell won Best Music Presenter but not without a couple of barbs from Kiis Network drive host Kate Langbroek who announced the award with the words: “Well, well scum always rises to the top.”
Fellow presenter Matty Acton then noted: “My mum always said I could be Tim Blackwell when I grew up.”
Langbroek added: “Tim has never grown up, so really we don’t actually know how it ends…”
It was all in jest, with Langbroek and Blackwell later tweeting this image: 
Langbroek also ribbed rival Southern Cross Austereo, which is yet to announce o a co-host for Rove McManus. “Any girls who might want to do breakfast radio in Sydney with Rove McManus… can you meet G-U-Y D-O-B-S-O-N out the front at the interval.
“And don’t forget to bring your photos from Sydney Confidential. They are really important.”
- Kyle Sandilands gives a shout out to Dan & Maz and sinks the boot into SCA
Sandilands also singled out his successors 2Day breakfast hosts Dan & Maz, who are being shifted to a weekend slot to make way for McManus.
“All I want to say is Dan & Maz we are thinking of you,” said Sandilands while picking up the Best Team award. “We have all been there and done that. But ring another radio network and say fuck where you work and go work somewhere else.
“We had a great time at SCA and for one reason or another, we went to leave for more money – that’s the truth. (Dan & Maz) will pop up somewhere, I know they will be on the weekends but I don’t think that will last very long I think they are worth more than that.”
- K&J’s Intern Pete asks everyone to toast Kyle and Jackie O but gets met with silence
After the final gong host Stephen Curry was attempting to fill while the set up for the DJ was happening when Kyle & Jackie O’s ‘Intern Pete’ aka Peter Deppeler grabbed the mic and asked the room to toast the pair.
Unfortunately for him the room either ignored and/or refused the request in what was definitely one of the more awkward moments of the night…
- Fitzy and Wippa perform ISDN – the musical
And finally Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa spoke for the whole radio industry in the frustrations that engineering difficulties can cause when you’re try to do a live interview with a Hollywood A-lister.
They therefore put together this song – to the tune of YMCA – on their love for ISDN…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIVfWJuSIsg&feature=youtu.be
Very right on your review of that ‘intern pete’ bloke. It was horrific and left the night on a massive downer. Its really unfortunately when someone completely mis judges their own self importance and believes just because a producer told him that a stunt he did 18 months ago was clever, anyone else knows him or likes him.
Advice – tuck your head in, build some self awareness and avoid the insect swatters for a while
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Sounds like another evening of the wit and grace that commercial radio in Australia is renowned for.
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