Q Radio’s award winning news team has come out on top at the IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) awards 2017.

The station lifted the Gold trophy for ‘Best News Bulletin’, beating competition from right across the island of Ireland.

This year’s awards, which recognise the best of programming in news, current affairs and sports, were the most hotly contested in their 17-year history, attracting 677 entries across 37 categories. A total of 90 judges listened to 295 hours of entries, resulting in 185 nominees.

Q Radio has been recognised in the News and Sports Programming Awards section, a group of awards that celebrate the best of programming in news and current affairs.

The winning news bulletin was broadcast on 23rd March and reported on the funerals of former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness and Derry City Football Captain Ryan McBride.

Reporting from Derry/Londonderry, with links back to the studio for other news, sport and analysis, this bulletin was a prime example of Q Radio’s commitment to presenting the day’s news on location from wherever that news is happening.

Q Radio’s Head of News Bob Huggins said he was delighted that the hard work, dedication and professionalism of the team had been rewarded.

"Our reporters did a wonderful job - their gutsy determination and enthusiasm in what was a very difficult day brought out the very best in them - both journalistically and ethically.

“We are a locally owned radio station operating across Northern Ireland, delivering local news that matters to our growing number of listeners."

The station was also shortlisted in the Short Feature category for a series of audio pieces created to reflect how the station is ‘Proud to be local’ and acknowledging how proud Q listeners are of where they live.

The 12 regional scripts produced were brought to life by well-known local voices including Coronation legend Charlie Lawson and X Factor alumni Eoghan Quigg, each one trying to catch the particular character of the area they were broadcast in.

The entries were judged against four criteria – value, presentation, creativity and production.

Robert Walshe, Managing Director and Head of Programming at Q Radio commented: “The team at Q Radio is dedicated to producing relevant content that resonates with our listeners.

“Both entries submitted to the IMRO Awards reflect that dedication and we are honoured to have our work recognised alongside so many other radio industry leaders.

“We are incredibly proud of our output and look forward to the continued success and growth of the station,” he added.