EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. have named Michigan State University’s WDBM – or Impact 89 FM, 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 Lansing on March 3. This is the 10th time in a row that WDBM-FM has won the award.
“To be named College Station of the Year for the 10th year in a row is an unprecedented accomplishment.” said Gary Reid, professional general manager of the station. “I am extremely proud of our staff, and honored to be able to work with such talented and motivated young people.”
Impact staffers took first place in four of the seven categories, including Ed Glazer for talk show, Ben Rickert for promotional announcement and public service announcement, and Jeremy Whiting for the station activities report.
The staff earned 10 awards in all and amassed nearly twice the number of points than the next nearest competitor. The Impact team swept both the public service announcement and promotional announcement categories claiming first, second and honorable mention awards.
Other Impact staffers to win awards were Jon Whiting, Jessica Lowther, Autumn Maison, Noah Ullmann, Dylan DeVries and John Simpkins.
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. “Student radio began at Michigan State in the ‘50s and we have vast numbers of alumni who are still actively involved. This award is as much a tribute to the thousands of former staff members as it is to our current students. We honor their heritage and strive to expand the legacy of success at MSU.”
"Gary Reid and his students have set a standard of broadcast excellence that is the envy of everyone in the business" said Scott Westerman, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association and a long time telecommunication and broadcasting executive. "Even after two decades, WDBM remains fresh, relevant, entertaining, and most importantly, local."
About 80 students, ranging from freshmen to doctoral candidates, are working as volunteers at the station, which broadcasts 24/7/365 from the campus of MSU.
WDBM-FM is 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 nine, may be seen at the station located in G-4 Holden Hall on MSU’s campus.
Out of approximately14,000 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 is also the producer and originating station of 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.
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