India, June 2022: Mid-day, Mumbai’s home-grown and leading tabloid has won the ‘Best Use of Audio’ award at the Global Media Awards for their two-podcast series, ‘The Bombay Film Story’ and ‘Mid-day’s Mumbai Cricket Podcast’. The award was announced by International Newspaper Marketing Association (INMA) on 9th June 2022. The legacy awards being presented by INMA received 854 entries from 252 news brands across 46 countries this year.
Recognising the growing popularity of podcasts as a content format, Mid-day entered the arena with a bang. Since Mid-day is synonymous with Mumbai, the publication ventured into the world of podcasts with the two most engaging themes – Bollywood and Cricket. ‘The Bombay Film Story with Mayank Shekhar’ podcast narrates stories about Mumbai and cinema, some of its old chroniclers, and people who have been either on the side-lines or in the limelight, each with their own stories to tell. The entertainment editor and author, Mayank Shekhar, interviews people ranging from journalists, actors, producers, and actors to bring these unheard stories to the forefront.
Sharing his experience of creating the podcast, Mayank Shekhar said, “I think we are a verbal, storytelling, more than a reading culture. And I realized that with the podcast—not just with long conversations with the guests, but also the responses to it. And there’s nothing like preserving people and places—the times they were in—for posterity. Which is what the Bombay Film Story intends to do. That it could even win an international award for it, was a pleasant shock for me!”
On the other hand, in ‘Mid-day’s Mumbai Cricket Podcast’, the acclaimed sports journalist, Clayton Murzello traces the stories from those who have shaped the legacy of cricket in the city not only during their playing days, but long after. It is the only podcast solely focusing on Mumbai Cricket.
Expressing his joy on receiving the award, Clayton Murzello said, “I’m delighted to receive this honor and I’m sure the judges found something uniquely fascinating about Mumbai cricket. I can’t thank my guests enough as well as the people behind this podcast.”
Commenting on winning the accolades, Rachna Kanwar, Chief Operating Officer – Digital Media, Radio City and Mid-day said, “Over the years, Mid-day has successfully built a loyal readership online which includes Bollywood and Sports fans; fans who trust us to deliver credible news and exclusive stories. When the lockdown forced us into our homes and online readership saw a big jump, we had to find newer ways to engager readers, and that’s when the idea of Mid-day Podcasts germinated. Mid-day’s seasoned Print team readily agreed to be a part of this new journey and the result was magical. We launched The Bombay Film Story with Mayank Shekhar first and the overwhelming response to it nudged us to launch Mid-day’s Mumbai Cricket Podcast with Clayton Murzello soon after. The INMA award for ‘Best Use of Audio’ is a testament that Mid-day has been successful in living up to our readers’ expectations. We thank INMA and the jury for this honour.”
International Newspaper Marketing Association has been presenting these awards since 1937 to bring recognition to innovative content brought to light by various publications and news brands and celebrate the transformation of media across the globe. With this win, Mid-day has set a higher benchmark for the media industry in India.
