THE 10TH ANNUAL Andrew Cross Awards for Religious Broadcasting, organised by the Churches Advisory Council for Local Broadcasting (CACLB), were presented at the Local Broadcasting Conference at Swanwick on Monday, 8th June. The six radio award winners were:-Thought For The Day (GRF Christian Radio - Christmas Soap); Religious response to a news story (Leicester Sound 105.4FM -Diana); Music based religious output (West Yorkshire's Classic Gold - The Full Breakfast); Speech based religious output (BBC Radio Leeds - Faith Behind Bars); Station Of The Year (BBC Radio Leeds) and Best Young Talent award (Rebecca Ibbotson - Premier Radio).
The awards were introduced by the chair of judges, Roger Bolton, presenter of Channel 4's Right To Reply and Radio 4's Sunday programme, and presented by Tony Stoller, Chief Executive of the commercial radio regulator, the Radio Authority. 193 entries were received and five commercial radio stations were honoured.
Roger Bolton said that while he rejoiced over the standards being
achieved, nevertheless he was angry with the pressures religious
producers are currently facing. "Religious programming is being
squeezed to the margins. The competition is getting increasingly
tense: there are no hiding places and few protected slots."