2023 Winners

2023 SOUND BITES AWARDS HELD BY MASSACHUSETTS BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION

MA stations receive accolades for work in news, sports, advertising and public service

 

November 16, 2023 –  Awards were handed out to broadcast radio and television stations in nineteen categories at the Sound Bites Awards sponsored by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association on Thursday, November 16 at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center.  Guests included National Association of Broadcasters Senior VP of Government Relations Josh Pollack and CPT Alexander Lindsay of the Massachusetts Army National Guard.  Comedian Jimmy Dunn performed in front of more than 200 radio and television broadcasters in attendance.  Longtime Massachusetts radio personality Jordan Rich hosted the event.

The association began the awards by awarding a first-time “Broadcast Champion” award to MBA counsel Jim Smith, of Smith, Costello, and Crawford.  Smith was recognized for his decades of service to the state’s radio and television members in guiding advocacy efforts in both Boston and Washington, DC.

The winners in the Station of the Year category were MyFM 101.3 WMRC-AM and Boston 25 WFXT-DT for radio and television, respectively.  Cape Cod’s Pixy 103 and Springfield’s 22 News WWLP-DT were runners up in the Station of the Year category.

Highlighting broadcaster’s commitment to their communities, 94.7 WMAS won the radio Sound Bites Award for best Public Service Announcement for their “94.7 WMAS Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon” PSA.  WCVB-DT won the television Public Service Announcement award for their Jimmy Fund PSA “I Am Jimmy 2023.”

The MBA highlighted the best in broadcast localism with #WeAreBroadcasters awards to radio’s WMEX 1510 AM for station owner Tony Lagreca’s work to helping end addiction and the stigma around it, and in television for WCVB-TV’s “50 Years Special” celebrating the station’s golden anniversary.

Now in its twelfth year, the Sound Bites Awards received 260 award entries, highlighting the excellent work done each year by local broadcasters in Massachusetts.  See a complete list of winners below.

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Category Type Place Call Letters Headline or Title
Individual Commercial Radio Merit WMAS-FM Phil Beaulieu & Sons Home Improvement – Introducing PBHI Roofing
Individual Commercial Radio First WRSI-FM That Great Gretsch Sound Now at Downtown Sounds
Commercial Campaign Radio Merit WAQY-FM & WLZX-FM Rocky’s Ace Hardware – Good People, Rock Solid Service
Commercial Campaign Radio First Audacy Boston Find Mass Money
Commercial Campaign TV Merit WGGB/WSHM Western Mass News Surprise Squad: Cool Schools
Commercial Campaign TV First WCVB South Shore Health “Here”
Station Imaging Radio Merit WBGB FM
Station Imaging Radio First WEEI-FM
Station Promotional Announcement Radio Merit WMAS-FM 94-Foot Christmas Tree & Nights at The North Pole
Station Promotional Announcement Radio First WWBX-FM Taylor Swift Ticket Winners
Station Promotional Announcement TV Merit WCVB Christmas Day NBA Here on Channel 5
Station Promotional Announcement TV First WFXT Zip Trips 20th Season promo
Air Personality Radio Merit WMJX-FM Back to the 80’s Saturday Night w/ Joe Cortese
Air Personality Radio First WBZ-AM Matt Shearer
Air Personality TV Merit WWLP Duncan MacLean
Air Personality TV First WCVB Antoinette Antonio
On-Air Contest Radio Merit WXLO-FM XLO and Rota Spring Farm Team Up for Lavender Haze Ice Cream to Welcome Taylor Swift to New England
On-Air Contest Radio First WBQT-FM $96,000 Birthday Payday
Sports Feature Radio Merit WAMQ-FM UConn Rolls to Second Round as NCAA Men’s Tournament Returns to Albany; Pitino’s Future Unclear
Sports Feature Radio First WATD-FM WATD Interview with John Bucyk on Boston Bruins History
Sports Feature TV Merit WGGB Western Mass News: Female LAX Player
Sports Feature TV First WCVB Kevin Stevens Gives Back
Sports Play-by-Play Radio Merit WMEX 1510 AM Div. 2 Boys Hockey MIAA State Finals 2022-23
Sports Play-by-Play Radio First WBZ-FM Bruins vs. Toronto January 14, 2023
Spot News Story Radio Merit WMVY-FM Vineyard Harbors Venezuelan Migrants – Confusion Quelled by Humanity
Spot News Story Radio First WATD-FM Hingham Apple Store Crash
Spot News Story TV Merit WCVB Apple Store Crash
Spot News Story TV First WBTS Hingham Apple Store Crash
Investigative Reporting TV Merit WWLP Xylazine: The Damaging Affects of a Flesh Eating Drug
Investigative Reporting TV First WBTS NBC10 Investigators: Trapped and Trafficked
Feature Story Radio Merit MyFM 101.3 2023 Boston Marathon: Who Are You Running For?
Feature Story Radio First WMJX-FM Morning MAGIC Explains The Husband Calling Competition
Feature Story TV Merit WGGB Western Mass News: Liver Donor Meet Up
Feature Story TV First WWLP Spread The Love
Meteorologist TV Merit WCVB Cindy Fitzgibbon
Meteorologist TV First WFXT Kevin Lemanowicz
Photographer TV Merit WBTS Shira Stoll
Photographer TV First WBTS Aaron Strader
Excellence in Sound Radio Merit WMEX 1510 AM Jeff Lawrence’s Top 1510 Countdown on WMEX
Excellence in Sound Radio First WATD-FM The Singing Sheriff
Recurring Segment Radio Merit WLZX-FM Did You Know?
Recurring Segment Radio First WBQT-FM Second Date Update on the :10s
Recurring Segment TV Merit WBZ WBZ’s Eye on Earth
Recurring Segment TV First WCVB Ben Has Your Back
Digital Media Radio Merit MyFM 101.3 MyFM’s Annual Stuff-a-Bus
Digital Media Radio First WBZ-AM WBZ NewsRadio – TikTok
Digital Media TV Merit WBTS Bilingual Coverage of Cows, Community and Conversation Starters
Digital Media TV First WCVB 127th Boston Marathon
Public Service Announcement Radio Merit MyFM 101.3 MyFM’s Hometown Hope
Public Service Announcement Radio First WMAS-FM The 94.7 WMAS Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon
Public Service Announcement TV Merit WWLP Toys for Tots
Public Service Announcement TV First WCVB Jimmy Fund “I Am Jimmy 2023”
#WeAreBroadcasters Radio Merit WPXC-FM 21st Annual Homeless For The Holidays
#WeAreBroadcasters Radio First WMEX 1510 AM Local Station Owner Helping End Addiction and the Stigma Around It
#WeAreBroadcasters TV Merit WFXT One Boston Week
#WeAreBroadcasters TV First WCVB 50 Years Special
Station of the Year Radio Merit WPXC-FM
Station of the Year Radio First MyFM 101.3
Station of the Year TV Merit WWLP
Station of the Year TV First WFXT

About the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association

The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA) is the only voluntary, statewide trade organization serving the Bay State’s over-the-air television and radio stations. The Association’s key responsibilities include assisting its members with general and broadcast-specific business challenges and assisting in the networking of fellow broadcasters. Please visit www.massbroadcasters.org for more information.