From Broadcast Bootcamp to National Broadcast Court Reporter of the Year.
Daniel Considine wins National Broadcast Court Reporter of the Year in the Justice Media Awards
Learning Waves would like to congratulate Daniel Considine, Shannonside FM, on winning National Court Reporter of the Year on the 22nd of June at the Justice Media Awards in Dublin. Daniel won the award for his submission, titled “In the Line of Duty” which covered the Detective Garda Colm Horkan murder trial. Michael Healey, RTÉ, presented the award and said that this was “an excellent item covering harrowing details of what was clearly an extremely emotive case." The judges said, “This high calibre court reporting on a respected regional radio station provided a comprehensive and clear overview of key days in the trial.”
Daniel spoke to Learning Waves about winning the award. He said, "Winning a Justice Media Award has been one of the key highlights of my career. To have my work acknowledged with some of the most talented journalists in the country makes me incredibly proud. Beginning my career in Journalism over 7 years ago, court reporting seemed so intimidating. While over the next five years I became an experienced local journalist, court reporting was one of the few areas that I had not immersed myself in. In May 2021, I covered my first court case in Longford Ciruit Court. I found it utterly fascinating and enjoyed first hand seeing the legal process. Two years almost to the week I attended the Justice Media Awards and was honoured to win Best Court Reporting (National)."
Delving into his career so far, Daniel caught Learning Waves up on his work so far in the industry. "My Radio career unofficially began in 2010 in the University of Galway Student Radio Station, Flirt FM. Armed with stories from my father of his time in pirate radio in the Midlands and North West (Independent Radio Longford and Radio North West), I had an appreciation for the medium from a young age. On joining the radio society, I was immediately supported and trained by the wonderful management team there, Paula Healy and Louise Clarke. Over the next two years I enjoyed having my own tech, gaming and music show once a week."
Daniel struggled to find his passion until an exciting opportunity arose, "Midway through what would end up being my last college semester, I was informed of a group called Learning Waves. My girlfriend (now wife), Lyndsay Considine was working in the Galyway Bay FM newsroom at the time. Her Head of News, Bernadette Prendergast, knowing my interest in radio from Lyndsay, informed us about the inaugural Presenters Bootcamp being run by the Learning Waves in 2015. With support from Lyndsay and a recommendation from Bernadette, I interviewed for a space in the programme, which I was lucky enough to get."
Learning Waves Broadcast Bootcamp enabled Daniel to step into the radio industry, "That summer I spent three weeks in the Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin, with a range of other radio hopefuls. The course was a fantastic introduction to commercial radio and the three weeks flew. The course came with the guarantee of work experience at a radio station, with Galway Bay FM accepting me to further my training. I went through the doors of the Sandy Road Studios in September 2015 and didn't leave (for too long) until late 2020. Over the six years I trained and worked in almost every area a radio station has. I worked in news, sound engineering, current affairs production, reception, promotions, voice over and more before becoming a full time broadcast news journalist in 2019. There was never a shortage of news in Galway, with political scandals, capitals of culture, floods, storms and an election or two."
At the beginning of the decade, Daniel was beginning a new stage in his life and career, "On the first of January 2020, I became a father and the upcoming pandemic changed a great deal professionally and personally. When the first lockdowns and travel restrictions were lifted, my family made the decision to move back to our home county. Arriving on the foot of a second national lockdown, in October 2020, I made contact with Shannonside FM and inquired about any potential work. Two months later, a call from Martin Howard informed me that a position had opened up in the newsroom and he invited me to interview for it. On January 16th, 2021 I joined my second news room under News Editor, Kevin McGillicuddy. Since then, I have worked with a fantastic team, covering stories across Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon and Westmeath, often following local stories across the country as they transformed to national issues. Today, as a senior reporter for Shannonside FM News, I cover anything and everything happening across the Midlands and the North West."
Daniel also gave credit to those who have helped him in his career journey, "Over my eight years in radio, I've been trained, helped and inspired by many in the industry. My first news team in Galway Bay FM took a college classics and history drop out and turned him into a functional journalist. Bernadette Prendergast, David Nevin, Antoinette Giblin and Stella Meehan were wonderful colleagues who taught me so much."
"A very special mention to my wife Lyndsay Considine (Nee Hughes) who was able to whip me into shape in my first few weeks in the newsroom, bringing me through story composition, voice recording and my first live news bulletin. Other staff and friends from Galway Bay FM were instrumental in my continuing career but are too many to mention. On moving to Shannonside FM, I found a wonderfully supportive team in the form of Kevin McGillicuddy, Anne Norris, Tommy Stenson, Kevin McDermott, Joe Finnegan, Martin Howard and Joao Soares. In the last two and a half years, they have helped me develop many of my skills through the opportunities they provided, the advice they gave and the general support that never wavered. It was Kevin McGillicuddy who first sent me to court in 2021 with the instructions to 'write everything they say down.'
"In my court coverage of the Stephen Silver Murder trial in Dublin, Frank Greaney was a massive help in navigating the CCJ and settling in for the long haul of a seven week trial. A thank you as well to Eoin Reyonds from Courts News Ireland for sharing a bench with me for almost two months and the collaborations and corrections we helped each other with."
"Overall I want to thank my wife Lyndsay for her support, her advice, her judgement and her general patience with me. Lyndsay was one of the finest journalists I ever met and despite her leaving radio in 2018, Lyndsay is still my go to for advice. A special thank you to my late father, Donal Considine, who's stories and support were one of the main reasons I entered the job. While he passed away in early 2019 before I became a full time journalist. I'm sure he'd be delighted with my choice of career and my Justice Media Award."
Daniel was one of the first people to complete the Learning Waves Broadcast Bootcamp Course (now known as the Radio Presenter Course) in 2015. Congratulations to Daniel and the team at Shannonside FM.
Fiona McGarry, Midwest Radio, wins Local Broadcast Journalism Reporter of the Year
In addition to Daniel, we would also like to congratulate Fiona McGarry from Midwest Radio who won the Local Broadcast Journalism Reporter of the year for her radio documentary, "Searching for Sandra". This project covered the dissapearance of Sandra Collins 23 years ago. The programme focused on Sandra's family and their long running struggle in the intervening years to locate her and try to come to terms with her loss. The judges described her programme as "an exceptional radio documentary, which gaves voice to the family of one of Ireland's 840 long-term missing persons. The production, storytelling and broad range of interviews in this report were excellent. It was an emotional piece in a tactful way."
Also congratulations to the following from the sector who recieved awards at the event.
- Frank Greaney, Today FM, for receiving a merit in National Broadcast Court Reporting
- Sinéad Brassil, LMFM, for receiveing a merit in Local Journalism Reporting
- Daniel Considine, Joe Finnegan and Kevin McDermott, Shannonside Northern Sound, receiving a merit in Local Journalism Reporting
- Andrea Gilligan, Dee King, Heather Blackbyrne and Ross Leahy, Newstalk, for receiving a merit in National Broadcast Journalism
To view the winners of the 2023 Justice Media Awards, click here.