The Lawyer, the Sniper & the NSW Police has been announced as Podcast of the Year at the 2023 Australian Podcast Awards, powered by iHeartMedia, following the conclusion of the annual ceremony.
The seventh-annual ceremony, which celebrates excellence in podcasting across the region, took place on 21 November at Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour and was hosted by Matty J and Ash Wicks, co-hosts of parenting podcast Two Doting Dads.
“The iHeart team are proud to headline the Australian Podcast Awards once again,” a spokesperson told PodPod. “The awards are testament to the captivating content crafted by the Australian podcast industry every day. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!”
Eight-part true-crime series The Lawyer, the Sniper & the NSW Police took home the Podcast of The Year award, the highest honour of the night, as well as winning Best Interview. The series, co-hosted by former police lawyer Lina Nguyen and sniper Mark Davidson, was also shortlisted for Best News and Current Affairs podcast.
The judges called the show “an impactful podcast discussing a tough subject, and sharing Lina's story will help other survivors… A great team being interviewed and producing this show.”
Other categories that were selected by the judges include the Specialist award, which went to mental health podcast A Good Mind To and the Spotlight award, which went to true-crime podcast Hannah’s Story. The Specialist award honours podcasts that are producing exceptional listening for niche audiences while the Spotlight award honours podcasts with sizeable audiences which are bringing the medium into the mainstream.
Fans also had an opportunity to vote for their favourite podcast to win the Listener’s Choice Award. The crown went to relationships podcast Basically Besties with mother and daughter duo Kat and Latisha Clark, which made it to the final shortlist against the Alpha Blokes Podcast, Darling, Shine!, Life Uncut, and We Don’t Have Time for This.
SBS also won big at this year’s awards, taking home the title for Network or Publisher of the Year. The public service broadcaster, whose line of podcasts includes hits like SBS News in Depth and SBS On The Money, was up against ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Diversity Arts Australia: Colour Cycle Podcast, DM Podcasts, and The Squiz in this category.
“This collection of podcasts showcases a variety of different voices, from different cultures and walks of life,” the judges said about SBS. “The quality of narrative, supported by field interviews and sound design is fantastic.”
This year’s awards included a mix of genre and format-based categories including Best Branded Podcast which went to Beauty IQ Uncensored for Adore Beauty, and Best Entertainment Podcast which went to ABC’s Days Like These. The Rising Star award, which honours an individual or team doing outstanding work in the industry, went to FremantleMedia Australia development producer Grace Valerie-Lynette.
The Australian Podcast Awards is a sister title to the British Podcast Awards - which took place on 28 September this year - and the Irish Podcast Awards, which are also taking place today on 21 November in Dublin. All three events are supported by PodPod as part of their acquisition by Haymarket Media Group.
