Top prize in audio awards for sounds of prison work

A Tring man has won a top prize from the world of radio for his idea to record sounds in a prison.
Tom Glasser PNL-170622-135151001Tom Glasser PNL-170622-135151001
Tom Glasser PNL-170622-135151001

Tom Glasser has won £5,000 as first prize in the The Radio and Audio Funding Award Winners (RAFA), in a new awards scheme set up through the Whicker’s World Foundation through a legacy from journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker, who died in 2013.

Tom’s entry into the awards, entitled Sounds Inside, also wins him a production masterclass with radio producer Alan Hall, one of the judges.

Tom’s piece looks at inmates in prison for the first time, surprised to discover that they are not only cut off from the day-to-day business of the outside world, but also transported to an alien soundscape. In the company of ex-con Carl Cattermole, this programme takes the listener into a unique acoustic world. Sounds Inside is 24 hours inside HMP Brixton, exploring a unique soundscape, from the slamming of metal doors to the silence of the harsh Dickensian architecture.

Alan Hall praised the programme as: “A fascinating subject explored through a compelling character, rich in sound potential.”

Alan announced all the winners at the British Library before an audience of radio royalty, including Vernon Kay and Nicholas Parsons, on Wednesday, June 21.

The Whicker’s World Foundation launched the Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA) and the Recognition Award for Excellence in Documentary (RAFED) to celebrate and encourage great audio documentaries, funded by the legacy of Alan Whicker.

Whicker wanted to encourage excellence and empower talent which might otherwise never find a place in today’s highly competitive industry. Whicker’s World Foundation, launched in 2015, has already awarded over £200,000 for radio, podcast, film and TV documentary meeting the Foundation criteria of ‘Taking us into new territory, being authored but not partisan; with an emphasis on strong original storytelling’ and creative use of the medium.

Visit www.whickersworldfoundation.com