ACRA’s Finalists Fever – #11

We are counting down the days to the big event on October 18 by profiling the finalists across all categories with RadioToday's ACRA's Finalists Fever 

If you are one of this year's finalists, we are ready to roll out the red carpet.  You can get involved by emailing us here.

Today we shine a spotlight on the best of the best:

Tom Elliot from 3AW for Best Talk Presenter and Kieran Simpson from Nova Entertainment for Best Newcomer Off-Air.

Tom Elliott

Best Talk Presenter

3AW, Melbourne VIC, Fairfax Radio Network

Tom, how did you get your start in radio?

Before starting at 3AW I spent over a decade at Melbourne's 3RRR honing what there are of my skills. Community radio is a superb training ground for commercial media endeavours.. 

Tell us about your ACRAs Entry for Best Talk Presenter. 

At 3AW our callers are our lifeblood. They inform us, challenge us, entertain us and pull us back into line. Without them, we are nothing.

https://radiotoday.com.au/music/2014 acras – best talk presenter – tom elliott.mp3

This is your moment in the spotlight, if you won what would you say?

I'd like to thank my wife, daughter, parents, siblings and friends for putting up with me. I'd also like to acknowledge / blame my producers, who think up every word that emerges from my mouth.

Kieran Simpson

Best Newcomer Off-Air

Nova 100, Melbourne VIC, Nova Entertainment

Alright Keiran, tell us how you came to be at Nova 100?

I moved from the UK two years ago where I did a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a little bit of everything. My main role was assistant producer for Breakfast on a station called Gem 106. I would take calls and help plan the show for the following day. I also panelled the outside broadcasts the station would frequently undertake. My girlfriend was on exchange and I booked my flights to Australia to stay with her and managed to sneak in to Nova 100 after a meeting with the PD & Assistant Group PD Mike Cass. Since that meeting I worked in production for a few weeks before I was taught how to panel. I began with pre-records to panel and was then offered Tommy Little’s Saturday morning show. While doing the show I was also helping to implement the new Zetta playout system that NOVA Entertainment launched company-wide at the beginning of 2014. For the final six months of 2013, my role was to load in over 4,000 songs into the system as well as all ID’s and sound effects or anything the radio stations in the group would need. My time at Nova 100 has really made me understand radio especially since becoming the Panel Operator for Nova 100’s Meshel & Tommy breakfast show which launched in January 2014.

Tell us about your ACRAs entry?

My entry is just my story of what I have done at Nova 100, I worked really hard and put in heaps of hours to help get the playout system ready to go but also to try and make the way I panel better so I could keep up with the shows I work on. It’s hard to big up yourself when you have to write an entry about yourself but I guess I just wanted to paint a picture that I love this industry and especially this radio station and I would help it out in any way I could.

What’s the best part of your job?

Since taking over the breakfast show role, the best part is now listening back to the show and seeing how everything I do in the studio sounds. The three hours I spend with Meshel & Tommy every day is hilarious and it feels like I’m just sitting down with some good friends, so realising people were listening is still one of those things that shocks me! Oh and just to give him some credit, making porridge with Tommy is pretty cool too. 

Your speech, if you were able to make one…

I would thank all the people who have taken a chance on me, thank Meshel and Tommy for putting up with my mistakes and tell everyone how to make the perfect porridge with the tips Tommy Little has given me

Are You an ACRAs Finalist?
If you're a finalist in Metropolitan, Non-Metropolitan, Provincial or Country drop us a line and we'll shine the spotlight on you. Email Blair here.