MSU student radio station is college station of the year Contact: Gary Reid, WDBM: (517) 281-4677, reidg@msu.edu; or Russ White, University Relations: (517) 432-0923, whiterus@msu.edu
March 11, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. have named Michigan State University’s WDBM – or IMPACT 89FM as it is commonly known – the college radio station of the year.
The Gold Record Award was presented at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference in Grand Rapids on March 11. This is the eighth time in the past nine years that WDBM-FM has won the award.
“This competition is so important because of everything going on in the broadcast industry,” said Gary Reid, professional general manager of the station. “Being judged by commercial broadcasters as the state’s best for eight of the past nine years is a true honor from a profession that many of our students hope to get jobs in.”
Ed Glazer, the station’s Web director, won three individual awards and Jeremy Whiting, the station manager, received two.
Impact staffers took first place in four categories: Wes Holing for the daily newscast/news feature category; Noah Ullmann for talk show; Kevin Dye for the promotional announcement; and Jeremy Whiting for the station activities report. Brock Elsesser and Doug Neal also scored wins.
The competition consists of seven different categories. All entries were judged by professional radio and television broadcasters in Michigan.
“With this win, the legacy of an excellent program is firmly established,” Reid said. “We are seeing high school students choosing Michigan State due in part to the quality and success of the station.”
Approximately 120 students, ranging from freshmen to doctoral candidates, are working at the station.
WDBM-FM may be found at 88.9 on the FM dial and may be heard via streaming media on the Web at www.impact89fm.org. The Gold Record Award, along with the previous seven, may be seen at the station located in G-4 Holden Hall on MSU’s campus.
“The thing that’s important about an awards program like this is the rallying cry that happens within our staff,” said Reid.
“We’ve created such a winning heritage over the past seven years that it gives our students something to aspire to. It helps motivate our staff as they would never dream of letting their predecessors down.”
Out of more than 13,000 radio stations in the country, WDBM was the 132nd overall and the first college station to begin broadcasting the new HD digital signal in October of 2004.
WDBM also produces Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm’s weekly radio address and podcast, which is distributed to stations throughout Michigan via a partnership with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.
For a podcast on Impact Radio, visit http://spartanpodcast.com/?p=405
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.
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