Radio Adelaide was named Radio Station of the Year and also collected two other prestigious accolades at the national Community Broadcasting Association of Australia awards presentation, held Friday 18th November in Fremantle, WA.

This major award for Radio Adelaide recognises service and innovation by a community radio station in meeting the needs of the community. Station Manager Deborah Welch accepted the award, stating "this is a magnificent acknowledgment of the commitment and passion of our 500 station volunteers and staff. It's hugely significant. Our sector comprises more than 350 stations nationally, so collectively, we provide more services than either commercial or national radio."

"We pride ourselves on providing access to the airwaves, promoting local music and culture, and generating ideas and discussion," continued Ms Welch. "And in this political climate, community media and freedom of speech are more important than ever. As the recent national listener survey indicated*, we're doing well at meeting the needs of people who feel dissatisfied by what the mainstream and commercial media is serving them."

Radio Adelaide demonstrated its mettle as Radio Station of the Year 2005 via a multitude of activities including:

• broadcasting diverse, quality talk & music programs
• providing quality training, as a nationally accredited Registered Training Organisation
• working with various community groups, including refugees, that otherwise have little or no media access
• undertaking outside broadcasts and recordings at local events, performances and festivals, including the Festival of Ideas
• providing extensive coverage of major events including The Adelaide Fringe, The Adelaide Festival of Arts, Feast & Womadelaide
• developing audiences for emerging and local / Australian artists by broadcasting their music & work in ongoing programming

Radio Adelaide also won the award for Contribution to Indigenous Broadcasting in recognition of Radio NAIDOC, which provided special five-day coverage of NAIDOC Week in July. Radio NAIDOC was presented by a team of Indigenous broadcasters from around SA and Australia, and was broadcast throughout Adelaide, and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in remote areas and other major cities via NIRS (the National Indigenous Radio Service.)

Accepting this award, Jupurru Stagg, from Radio Adelaide's Nungga Wanga program team, stated "Winning this award raises the profile of Aboriginal media so that Aboriginal issues can be discussed more widely, increasing the possibility of unity and a common future."

A third commendation for Radio Adelaide at the CBAA Awards came in being named Finalist in the category Excellence in Music Programming for Womadelaide 2005 Live. This special coverage of Womadelaide, live from Botanic Park, was broadcast nationally across the Community Radio Satellite Network, and the National Indigenous Radio Service.

These national awards capped off a bumper weekend award sweep, during which Radio Adelaide's Lauren Kandelaars won the Best News Radio Report / Feature category of the SA Youth Media Award in Adelaide on Friday night. Another young Radio Adelaide journalist, Adam Rosetto was a finalist in the same award category. Lauren's winning series 'Living with the Black Dog', a personal account of depression, was praised by judges for dealing 'openly and honestly about what it is like . living with the Black Dog" and had previously won a Dr Margaret Tobin Award for Excellence in Mental Health.

* 2004 McNair Ingenuity National Listener survey. The survey indicated that community radio attracts over 7 million listeners nationally, while also confirming the growing strength and influence of the sector across Australia.