Friday, July 21, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.–Students, alumni and community volunteers from Marshall University’s public radio station, WMUL-FM, received five (5) Platinum, three (3) Gold and four (4) honorable mention awards in the dotCOMM Awards 2022-2023 Competition. The winners were named in a letter received Tuesday, July 18, 2023, from the contest’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Chuck G. Bailey, professor of radio-television production and management in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and faculty manager of WMUL-FM, said, “The dotCOMM Awards 2023 Competition marks only the seventh time that WMUL-FM has entered this contest and these awards signify that our broadcasting students continue to excel in providing quality programming both over-the-air and online for the listeners of the campus radio station. These platinum awards are outstanding accomplishments in recognizing our WMUL-FM student broadcasters for creating one of the best public service announcements in the country, presenting outstanding newscasts, producing an insightful hard news reporting package, providing quality sports play-by-play programming of Thundering Herd football and exhibiting solid documentary production skills. I am proud and grateful for the honor these dotCOMM Awards bestow upon WMUL-FM, the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the College of Arts and Media, and Marshall University. The gold awards are further tributes to our volunteer news and sports staff for producing another high-quality news package and a significant sports reporting package, while also providing quality sports play-by-play programming of Thundering Herd men’s basketball all in direct competition with professional practitioners. Overall, this tremendous effort helps to start building toward what I hope will be another successful year by the volunteer student staff, alumni and community volunteers of WMUL-FM in garnering recognition for Marshall University, the College of Arts and Media as well as the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications from state, regional, national and international broadcasting organizations.”
Platinum Award Winning Entries
Audio / Radio / Podcast Program – Newscast
The “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” broadcast Thursday, October 20, 2022. The students who participated in this newscast were:
Morgan Pemberton, a senior from Huntington; (Producer)
Makaylah Wheeler, a recent graduate from Huntington; (Anchor)
Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio: (Anchor)
David Adkins, a graduate student from Huntington; (Weather)
Sean Kelly, a junior from State College, Pennsylvania. (Sports)
Podcasts / Single Episode – News Package
“Title IX Protest” written and produced by David Adkins, a graduate student from Huntington, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, November 18, 2022, and made available online.
Audio / Radio / Web Program – Documentary
“Chapters: Chuck Yeager” written and produced by Nick Matawa, a recent graduate from Brick, New Jersey, broadcast on “Aircheck” Monday, December 12, 2022.
Audio / Radio / Web Program – Public Service Announcement
“You Know Me” is an in-house public service announcement broadcast in WMUL-FM’s Public Service Announcement rotation Friday, September 21, 2022, and is still in rotation. The public service announcement was written and produced by Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia.
Audio / Radio / Web Sports Play-by-Play Programming
WMUL-FM’s broadcast of the Marshall University versus James Madison football contest played at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Saturday, October 22, 2022. The students calling the football broadcast over FM 88.1 were:
Play-by-Play announcer – Justin Zimmer, a recent graduate from Bethesda, Maryland;
Color Commentator – Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia;
Spotter – Sean Kelly, a junior from State College, Pennsylvania;
Engineers – Ben Anderson, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio, and
Ray Rynearson, a senior from Deposit, New York.
Gold Award Winning Entries
Podcasts / Single Episode – News Package
“Marshall Memorial Fountain Package,” written and produced by Makaylah Wheeler, a recent graduate from Huntington, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Monday, November 14, 2022, and made available online.
Podcasts / Single Episode – Sports Package
“Seventeen-Year Record Broken by Autumn Owen,” written and produced by John Boggess, a senior from St. Albans, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, March 3, 2023, and made available online.
Audio / Radio / Web Sports Play-by-Play Programming
WMUL-FM’s broadcast of the Marshall University versus Appalachian State men’s college basketball game played at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia, Thursday, December 29, 2022. The WMUL-FM alumni calling the men’s basketball broadcast over FM 88.1 were:
Play-by-Play announcer – Jason Philyaw, an alumnus from Ironton, Ohio;
Color Commentator – Ryan Epling, an alumnus from Wayne;
Engineer – Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio
Honorable Mention Award Winning Entries
Podcasts / Single Episode – News Package
“Localization in Huntington” written and produced by David Adkins, a graduate student from Huntington, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, October 14, 2022, and made available online.
Podcasts / Single Episode – Sports Package
“State of The Herd” written and produced by Justin Zimmer, a recent graduate from Bethesda, Maryland, broadcast Saturday, October 22, 2022, during the Cutting Edge Sports Radio Network’s Pregame Program prior to the Marshall versus James Madison football game at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and made available online.
Audio / Radio Sports Program
A special edition of “Sportsview” featuring new Marshall Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Stephens with hosts Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio and Victoria LaVonne Wilburn, a community volunteer from Huntington. This special edition of “Sportsview” was broadcast Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
Audio / Radio / Web Promotional Announcement
“WMUL-FM Witchcraft Promo” an in-house promotional announcement broadcast in WMUL-FM’s Promotion Announcement rotation Friday, January 7, 2023, and is still in rotation. The promo was written and produced by Zane Bowles, a recent graduate from Sandstone.
The dotCOMM Awards are administered and evaluated by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The dotCOMM Awards are an international competition created to honor excellence in web creativity and digital communication.
The dotCOMM website reads, “Entries are judged at random. They are not grouped by the categories. Each entry is viewed and discussed individually. The judges are experienced professionals who have had projects similar to anything that is submitted. The judges are cognizant of what an entrant has to work with and make their evaluations accordingly. All entries are judged on a point system. Entries receiving scores between 90-100 points are Platinum winners. Entries with 80-89 points are Gold Winners. Entries scoring from 70-79 receive an Honorable Mention certificate.”
There were more than 2,500 entries in the 2023 dotCOMM Awards Competition from throughout the United States, Canada and many other countries. The dotCOMM Awards offer three levels of award recognition. The three levels of winners, which are fourteen percent for Platinum, eighteen percent for Gold and five percent of the total entries for Honorable Mention, are listed on the dotCOMM Awards 2023 website at Winners – dotComm Awards (amcpros.com).