WMSC Earns Three Awards at the National CBI Convention for Student Electronic Media

WMSC 90.3 FM earned three national awards from College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) on October 29, including first place honors for Best Audio Special Broadcast (“The Nightmare Before World College Radio Day”) and Best Audio Promo (“Tunes on Tuesdays”).

Music Director Jared Tauber was the lead on both first place awards, stating that he appreciates the freedom to explore, discover and create that WMSC provides for students.  “My choice to promote a show via rapping could have been swiftly dismissed on the basis of its irregularity, let alone a radio musical in which World College Radio Day is saved from certain doom by hyper-intelligent penguins and Daft Punk” said Tauber.  “I am grateful to CBI and to everyone who recognizes the value in creativity and in the bizarre. WMSC is a perfect example of letting students find their voice and passion.”

The station also won a second place award for Best Social Media. 

“I love that a group of us got to share such a historic moment for WMSC, in-person and in front of peers from all over the country,” said station manager Ben Petruk. “While awards were not top of mind when we recorded the special broadcast, it is wonderful that it resonated with everyone who listened to it.”

Petruk is also this year’s student representative at CBI, and he was involved with the planning and execution of the first in-person conference in three years. Overall, seven WMSC students attended CBI’s NSEMC in Baltimore, Maryland. After three days of sessions on relevant media topics, the conference wrapped with the National Student Electronic Media 2022 awards, where CBI president John Morris, passed the “CBI president gavel” to WMSC’s General Manager Anabella Poland, who begins her three-year term as the new president of CBI in 2023. 

“I am honored to have been elected as the new president of CBI, a member-driven organization that serves students and advisers in student media,” said Poland. “ I look forward to working with students and peers and continue to advocate for student media as I continue to lead my students at Montclair State University.”

About the School of Communication and Media: Founded in 2012, the School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 1,500. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, animation and visual effects, and an MA in public and organizational relations, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper, Hawk Communications PR Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Recent national School recognitions include an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Story by Ben Petruk