Great news for regional broadcaster South West. During the presentation of the Local Media Awards, the broadcaster was proclaimed Broadcaster of the Year 2022 by the NLPO on Friday evening in Hilversum. And another prize came into the hands of Brabant. Ellis Rijker of Omroep Meierij was elected Volunteer of the Year.
For ZuidWest, the regional broadcaster of Bergen op Zoom, Roosendaal and Woensdrecht, it turned out to be a threefold success. After previous nominations in 2017 and 2021, it was Friday after all. The broadcaster was chosen by the jury as the winner over OOG in Groningen, WOS in Westland and Studio Alphen in Alphen aan de Rijn.
When the nominations were announced, director Maarten van den Boom joked that after 53 years it was time for the prize. That dream has now come true. “I have to be honest with you that we really did not expect it. A number of other contenders, for example, have a much larger budget.”
“We have made huge strides in recent years.”
So it’s extra nice that the penny fell in the right direction this time. “That is a reward for everyone involved in broadcasting, from paid employees to volunteers.” And what does such a title mean in practice? “We have made enormous strides in recent years. We have grown enormously in the field of journalism, for example, and we are unique with our Ombudsman. This is an extra motivation to continue with that.”
Although one thing is actually the most important. “The honour,” says Van den Boom proudly. “We are going to celebrate this with all our employees and volunteers.”
“We just got it.”
Incidentally, the award for South West was not the only award that was brought to our province from Hilversum. Ellis Rijkers of Omroep Meierij received the most votes from the public and thus took the title Broadcaster Volunteer of the Year. “I would not have dared hope”, Rijkers beamed after she received the trophy. “We just got it!”
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