Central Washington University’s KCWU 88.1 The 'Burg was named Best College Radio Station at the annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) conference this winter. The 'Burg previously took home the award in 2015 and has been nominated for it every year since. The station also won Most Creative/Innovative Show and Best Phone App.
General Manager Tommy Skaggs says the support in the wake of the announcement has been incredible.
“To have 88.1 The 'Burg once again come out as the top college station in the nation, that’s a powerful thing,” Skaggs said. “My phone was going off constantly with congratulatory messages from former The ‘Burg DJs and community members. This station holds a special place in their heart.”
The Best College Radio Station (with more than 10,000 students) award is given based on a 30-minute audio sample containing a slice of everything a station has to offer. Produced by Event Management major Matt Wiemals, the submission contained the culmination of a yearlong effort to go above and beyond previous attempts at winning the award.
“At the beginning of last year, we sat down and talked about what we could do to go from finalists to winners," Wiemals said. "As soon as I heard that [winning] announcement, I was just overwhelmed with that feeling of achievement and gratitude for the team I got to be part of.”
Wiemals also hosts Electropolis, which won Most Creative/Innovative Show for its novel approach to an electronic dance music broadcast. The show blends radio and live performance into a series of one-hour concerts from the DJs at The 'Burg, live-mixing music, and putting their own spin on EDM [electronic dance music] ranging from popular to obscure.
CWU also brought home a win in the Best Phone App category. The winning app was designed by Computer Science(link is external) student Dylan Elliott, whose experience with the Running Start program(link is external) prepared him to develop the best college radio station app in the country.
“Being a Running Start student has helped me network and meet new people, both at The 'Burg and on campus,” Elliott said. "I’m still learning new techniques in my classes that I’m applying to the website and app. These new skills help me improve on the website and app each year for IBS.”
In addition to winning three awards, The 'Burg also was nominated for the Best Website, Sports Talk Program, Underwriting Spot, and Live Music Broadcast.
Media contact: Rune Torgersen, Department of Public Affairs, rune.torgersen@cwu.edu, 509-963-1264
Original source can be found here.
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