Millikin University's student-run radio station 89.5 WJMU The Quad received its first Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Award at the 76th annual IBS Conference held March 4-6 in New York.
Millikin graduate Mallory Wiedenkeller, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in December 2015, won the IBS Award for Best Radio Documentary for her "Online Friendship" production. Senior Eric Shafer, a communication major from Springfield, Ill., was an IBS Awards finalist in the Best Show Promo category for his "90s on Tap" promotional segment piece.
IBS Awards finalists represent the top three to five percent of work submitted in their category to the National IBS from the previous year. This is the third consecutive year that WJMU has been represented by a finalist nominee and the first win for WJMU in the station's 45-year history.
"When we create programming that can get nominated for awards it says a lot about the students and how efficient they are with their work," said Sam Meister, lecturer of communication and WJMU faculty advisor. "We've had a great executive board for the last three years, and once those executive board students know their jobs then we can further develop the quality of production. We've got a lot of great resources and great support from the administration."
Mallory Wiedenkeller's radio documentary covered the topic of defining relationships between people online versus real life.
"It ended up being a personal reflection piece, but it was a unique experience," Wiedenkeller said. "It's a concept that I think is coming of age; building relationships on the internet versus real interpersonal relationships."
Eric Shafer produced the "90s on Tap" segment piece for his 90s radio show and for Millikin's Advanced Radio Production and Performance course.
"I'm always in the mindset of producing engaging quality content that's competitive with other programming," Shafer said. "My show was based on the 90s and for the last half-hour of the show, which was called '90s on Tap,' we would take song requests. I produced an introductory piece for the segment."
WJMU's programming features shows that focus on sports, music and news as well as international programming that highlights Spanish, Hindi cinema and anime culture. Another element the station offers is the ability to play vinyl records on the air and feature music from bands that made radio relevant in society today. The station currently operates in Lower Richards Treat University Center.
In reference to the IBS Conference, Wiedenkeller said, "It's a really good opportunity to meet people that are doing the same thing. There are many seminars and workshops for students and it's a great chance to network."
A cohort of seven WJMU Executive Board members represented Millikin University at this year's IBS Conference. For more information on WJMU, visit millikin.edu/wjmu.
Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, Inc. is a not for profit education association and foundation that serves not for profit education affiliated high school radio, college radio and community stations and streaming/webcasters. The organization has over 1,000 radio, television and webcasting station members. The 76th annual IBS Conference featured over 150 speakers and 1,000 attendees from around the world. For more information on IBS, visit collegebroadcasters.us.