WMSC Earns a Record Sixteen Nominations for Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Awards

WMSC “The Voice of Montclair State” is a finalist in 16 categories for the 2024 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards, doubling last year’s total. The nominations include “Best College Radio Station” (more than 10,000), “Best Specialty Show” and “Best Live Music Broadcast,” and are the most the station has received for an awards program from any organization.

These nominations come after awards and prestigious nominations the station earned in 2023, including two first place awards for “Best Live Music Broadcast,” and “Best Campus News,” two first place awards for College Broadcast Inc., for “Best Audio Promo” and “Best Audio Feature News,” and eight finalist awards, including the National Broadcasters Association Marconi Award. Here are the 2023 IBS nominations:

Best Live Music Broadcast – WMSC Unplugged Swansun

Best Specialty Show (Non-Music) – Jo(e) Two Ways About It

Best Celebrity or Artist/Band Interview – Dee Snyder

Best Radio Drama – Radio Matinee

Best Public Affairs Program – Transvisibilty

Best Spot News Interview – Vice Pres Spot News

Best Live Broadcast Promotional Event – WMSC Homecoming

Best Use of Sound Effects – Classical Animals

Best Comedy Program – “Barbenheimer”

Best Station Promotion – “CD Bad 2”

Best Program Promotion – “The Vinyl Countdown”

Best Student Station Manager, Radio – Jared Tauber

Best Promotions Director, Radio – Shannon Daly

Best Sports Director, Radio – Anthony Cafone

Best Business Director, Radio – Aly Erario

Best College/University Radio Station (more than 10,000)

“The 16 nominations highlight our students commitment to originality and quality programming” said WMSC’s general manager Anabella Poland. “Montclair State University students thrive on a solid educational foundation, and at WMSC they are given the freedom to explore and push boundaries creating content that resonates with our listeners.”

Program Director Lara Ziccardi is a senior Journalism major. She reflects on her years of experience at the station and shares great pride for the Best College Radio Station (more than 10,000) nomination.

“It’s an honor for WMSC to be nominated. Everyone at WMSC shares a strong love for college radio and I’m so proud of all the hard work the team has done. I couldn’t have asked for a better team and I’m so thankful to have them by my side.”

Responsible for the WMSC’s historic number of nominations, Production Director Marissa Thorn leads the team, spearheading the submissions of the station’s hard work. Credited for four of the sixteen finalist awards, including Best Radio Drama, The Radio Matinee, Thorn worked tirelessly for months on end to bring “The Voice of Montclair” recognition this year.

“It was rewarding to sit back and listen to a number of entries in preparation for the submissions, and it made me realize how much talent there is in this space, but also it made me even more aware of the opportunities that are given to us students at the campus radio station. It is a wonderful space to put learned lessons into practice.”

Emily ‘Emol’ McCormack and Gwen Streitman (Music Director, and Music Librarian, respectively), are responsible for WMSC’s second consecutive year being nominated for Best Live Music Broadcast. McCormack thanks the entire Unplugged crew for all their hard work and dedication, and for creating such a wonderful space for our local bands to feel welcome and excited about performing at the station.

Junior Communication and Media Studies Major, Aiden Ivers is a finalist for Best Spot News Interview. Ivers remarks, “I am incredibly grateful to have my extracurricular work be considered for a prestigious and competitive college radio award. It would not have been possible without the strong student leader team at WMSC; the experience and assistance from fellow student leaders Hannah Cox and Nino DeNino along with professional feedback from advisor Anabella Poland will always be a reminder of where teamwork can pay off.”

Engineering Director Joe Verga and his assistant Jo Schwitzer (Juniors) co-host Jo(e) Two Ways About It which is nominated for Best Specialty Show (Non-Music). Verga wants to thank am so honored to be nominated for Best Non-Music Specialty Show. Verga would like to thank his Co-Host, Jo, his family, friends, and everyone from WMSC that helped him get to where he is today.

Nominated for Best Public Affairs Program the station’s Trans-Visibility coverage was a celebration of love and freedom and Senior English Major Emmit Arlin proudly hosted the coverage, making the broadcast as strong as it was. Arlin thanks his family, friends, partner, and the station for supporting him and giving him a platform to share his voice.

The film students of WMSC also find a way to incorporate video with radio and are recognized with three nominations for Best Station Promotion (CD Bad 2), Best Comedy Program (Barbenheimer), and Best Program Promotion (The Vinyl Countdown). Video Production Director, Lana Kalapodakis (Junior) spearheaded the promotion for WMSC’s World College Radio Day Broadcast creating a promotional video building off of the hype of this past summer’s blockbuster films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, earning “Barbenheimer” the Comedy Program Nomination.

This year, four members of the Student Management Team (SMT) have been specifically nominated for their accomplishments in their individual roles.

Senior Film and TV Major Jared Tauber is nominated for Best Student Station Manager.
“To say I’m kvelling over my team would be an understatement. If I had a smooth enough tongue to convince the janitor to let me onto the roof of the School of Communication and Media Building, I would climb up there and sing my praise for all my talented friends and colleagues as loud as I could so that all of Montclair State University, nay, all of Montclair, nay, and Little Falls too could hear me bellow in agony from my heart being so full of approval. Thank you, IBS; Hanukkah truly cometh early,” said Tauber

Junior Psychology Major and Office Manager Aly Erario is nominated for Best Business Director. This is WMSC’s third consecutive year with the sitting Office Manager being nominated. Erario thanks WMSC’s remarkable General Manager, Anabella Poland, her Office Assistant, Julia Slevin, and her parents, Lori and Billy Erario, for being her biggest supporters and motivators.

Promotions Director Shannon Daly (Junior) and Sports Director Anthony Cafone (Senior) are also nominated for their work for the station.

Anthony Cafone has been part of the Sports team at WMSC since freshman year, and has been in the management team since his junior year.

“Being WMSC’s sports director has truly been one of the greatest honors of my life thus far,” said Cafone. “To be recognized as one of the six best sports directors in the country will be a highlight of my time in college. I couldn’t do this without everyone in my corner, more specifically Brandon Marrazzo, Tanner Price, Ardi Emini, and Cam Martin who are integral to the sports team. Their work, in the path that it’s taken to get nominated for this award, their names should absolutely also be on this. Without them none of it would be possible.” Cafone also gives accolades to the entire sports team for their dedication and effort into putting on broadcasts and shows to increase the sports content across the station.

Given the same prompt, Daly chimed in “Being Promotions Director at WMSC has taught me such extremely valuable life lessons no class or teacher could demonstrate. But most importantly, it has given me the opportunity to share such a special experience- the gift of live music- with the Montclair community. It has allowed me to connect with local artists and share their music, like my hometown friends at Swansun, and to give listeners at WMSC a memory that will last forever. I would like to thank my lovely assistant Joely DeMonte, my mentor that taught me everything I know, Terry Dickerson, and the music and promotion teams for being so helpful and eager to learn about the power of music!”

The winners of the IBS Media Awards will be announced at its 84th annual conference on March 2, 2024. Stay tuned to School of Communication and Media’s social media channels for additional reaction from the students who contributed to these nominations.