The IBS is a nonprofit foundation of student-run radio organizations, of which WIUX is a member.
Members of WIUX will attend an IBS conference in New York City, held March 6-8. Radio stations from colleges across the nation will convene to listen to speeches, go on tours and have their work judged in various categories.
To represent the station, WIUX will send general manager Carolyn Suna, station manager Sarah Thompson, news director Chelsea Barras and web content director Jessica Yarvin to the event. Suna and Thompson are scheduled to give a talk on how to move a radio station and build a community at the conference.
Of the nearly 60 submissions sent in by the station, 13 were selected to advance in the competition, including the individual director nominations. Several board members and leaders on the staff were acknowledged in this way for their individual contributions.
Nominations spanned several categories, including best news interview, best sports play-by-play, best liner, best station ID, best live music broadcast, most innovative program, best underwriting campaign and best website.
“When I first came to WIUX in 2011 we never did anything with IBS, and I think that as an organization we definitely have gotten more professional,” Suna said.
This is the second year in which WIUX entered content in the national conference. Last year, the station submitted two interviews for evaluation, both of which were chosen to move further in the competition.
One of the submissions, a news interview with comedy group Whitest Kids U’ Know, completed by former news director Christina Bernardin and Morgan Wooderson, received an award.
“It’s legitimizing, in a way, to see all of the work that our members put in,” Public Relations Director Sam Velazquez said. “To see their efforts reflected, recognized and, in some cases, rewarded is self-actualizing for many of our members.”
A feature of WIUX, which is nominated for most innovative program in the upcoming event, is B-Side radio, which runs separately from the station’s on-air content. Since it is not FCC regulated, B-Side is able to push the boundaries of what a radio station can be.
“Having no restrictions on B-Side gives us a lot more room to create these things that can make us a unique radio station,” Suna said.
Velazquez said the station has high aims for the competition and what comes beyond.
“We’re going to push that number (of awards) even higher in the future,” Velazquez said. “We want to put as many things in the conversation as we can, and that will hopefully be reflected in these awards.”
