The College Radio Foundation is proud to announce the official recipients of the 2018 Spirit of College Radio Awards sponsored by Broadcasters General Store.
The Spirit of College Radio Awards are presented by the College Radio Foundation in recognition of truly outstanding and spirited efforts made by college radio stations on College Radio Day. Stations are voted for by the College Radio Day Task Force, who seek to shine a spotlight on stations that not only go above and beyond to celebrate the annual CRD event but also embody the passion and mission of college radio. Out of the hundreds of stations that participate, only six stations are chosen, and for the first time in 2018, one individual is also chosen to be recognized. The 2018 winners all receive an award plaque presented by the College Radio Foundation.
2018 Station winners:
KMSC, Fusion 93 – Morningside College:
“We broadcasted out on our library patio from 8am to 8pm. We chose to do this as it gave us a massive amount of exposure as a majority of students pass by the library patio on their way to classes. We had dozens of students stop by to say hi to us and even had some come on-air with us to participate in the fun. A total of 20 of our DJs participated in the event. Some of the festivities included T-Shirt giveaways, special interviews with faculty, leaders of student organizations, & even the cast of a musical production that was happening over the weekend, and tours of our new studio facilities.”
The WOLF Internet Radio – University of West Georgia:
“The WOLF had two tents in the middle of the grassy area, and on the outskirts of the triangle placed signs that said “When all else fails The WOLF Internet Radio speaks for…” The signs with the issues we replaced in rows leading to our setup. The WOLF told a story that this college radio station is the voice for these issues. The WOLF stands with those who experience these issues… The WOLF decided the most effective way to show our importance was to remind our campus college radio creates change. That the spirit of college radio means to bring light to the issues affecting our campus and be a voice for our students. The WOLF wanted the campus to see us fighting for everyone, because college radio is an agent of change.”
MavRadio.FM KVNO 90.7 HD2 – University of Nebraska at Omaha:
“This was our first College Radio Day event, so a significant amount of foundation-building was required. Our team came up with a plan to have live music after we secured a $1400 grant from our University of Nebraska at Omaha Cultural Enrichment Foundation. Over the summer, we planned our media campaign and the week’s events leading up to the concert Friday night…Our media campaign included local television and radio stations, the Omaha World-Herald,and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s media team. We had stories written about the event and our students’ work distributed through our faculty and news announcements “Maverick Daily” and our student news and announcements “The Bullseye.”We even created a filter for snapchat and had several posts about that. That evening, our operations manager arranged a photo booth for concert goers to share pictures on social media. We also displayed our awards, our photos, and limited supply of t-shirts. The sheer amount of man hours and our personal money that was put into this event was a labor of love. It represents the passion our dedicated team of radio “junkies” have for this medium. They believe in its power and personify it with their production, community involvement, sports coverage, news and storytelling.”
WHFR-FM – Henry Ford College:
“To celebrate and honor college radio during College Radio Day2018, our staff recorded short messages about what college radio means to them,which we featured all day long (and still are airing). Many of our DJs asked guest artists and loyal long-time listeners of our eclectic station to share their thoughts on the impact college radio has had on their lives and in some cases their musical careers. We received so many amazing testimonials, we’ve been sharing them ever since! We also used our airwaves to feature College Radio Day programming. WHFR is truly pleased to be a college radio station. Our administration has NEVER micromanaged us, thank goodness, because they know the value and power that local, educational, COLLEGE radio has in both our campus community and our community at large. We work tirelessly each day to make our listeners, and in turn the medium of college radio, proud!”
WHIP – Temple University:
“We raised over 300 hundred dollars for CHOP, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We also went to the Pocono Raceway where we raced paced cars and performed an on-site special edition of our station’s flagship morning show, Wakeup Call. Our General Manager, Allison Salmon, even went on-air with Preston & Steve on WMMR to spread the good word of College Radio Day and everything our station has been working on (Preston & Steve hold the title of highest-rated morning show in the Philadelphia market). Lastly our station decided to take a page from the foundation’s playbook with a tape-a-thon; turning off all digital-automation we played all music, liners, commercials, etc, from tape, reel-to-reel machine, and even 8-tracks! For 24 hours we broadcasted in the style of our predecessors to show off that us college kids don’t need the luxury of today’s technology, and to give a throwback to the way things used to be.”
WMSC FM – Montclair State University:
“WMSC put together 30 hours of live programming in celebration of College Radio Day with beyond exciting, never-done-before kind of content including special editions of our popular shows, live remote from all around campus, golf cart karaoke, live remote from Rocky’s Birthday Bash and eight hours of back -to-back live in- studio performances with local bands! The 2018CRD ambassadors, Joan Jett & Kenny Laguna were interviewed by our own Pat Cicchetti…During the Morning Buzz, we broadcasted from outside our School of Communication and Media building, borrowed a golf cart, decorated it, with our banner on top. Our GM arranged with WCBS & WPIX traffic chopper to do a live shot for both the morning tv show and the morning traffic report. Our liveshot with WPIX took place at 7:44am, with a shout out to College Radio Day and WMSC. Then at 7:48 (for traffic on the 8’s on WCBS 880) we got a shout out from the news-desk and traffic reporter Tom Kaminski! In prep for College Radio Day,we also attended a political rally where Governor Murphy and VP Joe Biden were attending, although we were told, no student media interviews, we went rogue and got him to talk about the importance of student media. We shared the content for the simulcast, because more people should hear from our public officials about this profession.”
Individual Award: Sean Spence (98.5 WNUW, Neumann University):
“Sean Spence literally embodies what college radio, and College Radio Day,stands for: joy, innocence, risk taking, naivety, and unabashed confidence that this is what we do. Sean sees the big picture when it comes to College Radio Day. Uniting people together through random drop ins on radio shows, telling anyone who will listen that this is the national holiday of college radio stations, and even being the butt of jokes to raise awareness, Sean IS College Radio Day.
At my station, I don’t like giving titles to people. In the past, they caused nothing but ego, infighting, and something people would brag about on a resume or in an interview for an internship, but they didn’t have the work to back it up. Going into CRD 2018, there was no named program director at my station. However, on October 5th, I watched a PD form before my eyes.
We began our CRD celebration at 11pm EST on October 4th. Sean Spence was one of the first people in the studio. Pumping people up on the air,opening our coverage, staying on til 2am (while on duty as an RA!), and being back in the studio after only a few hours of sleep, Sean did 10+ hours on the air, creating a special morning show for College Radio Day that is now a weekly morning. After getting of the air from doing a stunt involving blind microwavable mac-and-cheese taste tests, Sean conducted a remote broadcast.While hosting in our main academic building, Sean landed an interview with the president of the university, all while helping to cut and hand out the annual CRD cake that we have become known for.
Sean also worked hard on the pre-production of College Radio Day, helping to make imaging for the celebration. From conception to execution, Sean Spence embodied the spirit of college radio, and earned himself the title of Program Director of 98.5 WNUW that day. I’m so proud of who he is as a part of the wacky world that is radio.” – Sean McDonald, Director, Neumann Media, Neumann University.
The College Radio Foundation congratulates the 2018 Spirit of College Radio Award winners!
