Friday, June 7, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Students and a community volunteer from Marshall University’s public radio station, WMUL-FM, received seven (7) Platinum Awards, seven (7) Gold Awards and six (6) Honorable Mention Awards in The Hermes Creative Awards 2023-2024 competition. All twenty of WMUL-FM entries received an award. Winners were notified by a post on the Hermes Creative Awards’ website on May 31, 2024.
The Hermes Creative Awards are administered and evaluated by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition created to honor outstanding creativity, skill, craft and talent in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. All entries are judged on a point system in areas including creativity, design, innovation, presentation and technical merit while at the same time promoting the philanthropic nature of marketing and communication professionals. There were more than 6,500 entries in The Hermes Creative Awards 2024 Competition from throughout the United States, Canada and 36 other countries.
The Hermes Creative Awards offer three levels of award recognition. The Platinum Award is received by those entries that exceed a high standard of excellence while serving as a benchmark for the industry.
The Gold Award is judged to exceed the high standards of the industry’s norm. The Honorable Mention Award is awarded to those entries that meet the expectations of the judges. The three levels of winners, which are sixteen percent for Platinum, twenty-one percent for Gold and eleven percent of the total entries for Honorable Mention, are listed on The Hermes Creative Awards 2024 website at https://enter.amcpros.com/hermes/winners/
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, “These seven platinum awards are outstanding accomplishments in recognizing our broadcasting students as having produced a compelling newscast, a solid sports segment inside a newscast, an enlightening spot news package, a remarkable sports package, a unique sports racing program, an insightful radio specialty music program and an effective radio station Instagram platform. I am proud and grateful for the honor these Hermes Creative Awards bestow on WMUL-FM. The Gold and Honorable Mention Awards are further tributes to other well-done news reporting packages, an interesting interview with Corduroy Brown during the radio station’s ‘Classroom Concert Series’, a nifty newscast promotional announcement, plus a basketball highlight video of our broadcast students’ capturing of spectacular individual plays that was posted online. Plus, these gold and silver awards indicate the respect the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals judges have for the social media, newscasting, news and sports reporting, interviewing, and creative abilities of our student broadcasters that their entries exhibited during this worldwide competition.” Overall, this tremendous effort helps to build upon another highly successful year by the volunteer student staff 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 and national broadcasting organizations that evaluate the work done at campus radio stations.”
Platinum Award Winning Entries
The Platinum Award-winning entries by WMUL-FM were in the categories Audio Newscast, Audio Spot News Package, Audio Sports Package, Audio Sportscast Segment, Audio Music Specialty Program, Audio Sports Program and Best Social Media – Instagram.
Audio Newscast
The “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” broadcast Monday, September 25, 2023. The students who participated in this newscast were:
Nathaniel Harrah, a sophomore from Hurricane; (Producer)
Makaylah Wheeler, a graduate student from Huntington; (Anchor)
Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio: (Anchor)
Emma Johnson, a junior student from Peach Creek; (Weather)
John Boggess, a senior from St. Albans. (Sports)
Audio Spot News Package/Podcast
“Outside Looking In” written and produced by Nathaniel Harrah, a sophomore from Hurricane, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, November 17, 2023, and made available online.
“Outside Looking In” is a Special Feature on Craig T. Greenlee, the main speaker and other visitors who attended the Tuesday, November 14, 2023, “Marshall Memorial Fountain Ceremony.”
Audio/Radio Specialty Program
“Album Side” is a two-hour music program with host Alex Kendall, a community volunteer, featuring different eras of music. This edition featured “Irish Rock” and was broadcast Monday, March 11, 2024.
Audio Sports Reporting
“The FM 88 Sports Segment,” written and announced by sports anchor John Boggess, a senior from St. Albans, broadcast Monday, November 27, 2023, during the “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88”.
Audio Sports Package/Podcast
“Abby Herring, the First Female Runner to Qualify for Nationals,” written and produced by Ben Anderson, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio, broadcast during “Herd Roundup,” Friday, November 17, 2023, and made available online.
Audio Sports Program
“SpeedZone: Episode Two,” an hour-long, live, weekly motorsports program, with host Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia, and panelists Sean Kelly, a junior from State College, Pennsylvania, Dale Garrett, a senior from Huntington, and Justin Zimmer, a recent graduate from Bethesda, Maryland. This second episode of “SpeedZone”, featuring Hendrick Motorsports engineer and 2019 Snowball Derby Champion Travis Braden, was broadcast February 22, 2023.
Best Social Media – Instagram
WMUL’s FM 88 Instagram social media account is recognized for its use during radio station events throughout the 2023 academic year. The WMUL-FM Instagram social media account was overseen by Social Media Team members Samantha Riddle, a junior from Huntington, and Emma Johnson, a junior from Peach Creek.
https://www.instagram.com/wmul_radio/
Gold Award Winning Entries
The Gold Award winning-entries by WMUL-FM were in the categories, Audio Hard News Package, Audio Promotional Announcement, Television News Package and Social Media Entertainment Video.
Audio News Package/Podcast
“Campus Carry” written and produced by Luke Hamilton, a recent graduate from South Point, Ohio, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, February 24, 2023, and made available online.
Audio News Package/Podcast
“WMUL-FM’s Car Bash” written and produced by Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Friday, September 29, 2023, and made available online.
Audio News Package/Podcast
“Life Bouquet” written and produced by David Adkins, a graduate student from Huntington, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Tuesday, June 14, 2022, and made available online.
Audio/Radio AD/Promo
“School’s Out: Summer News Promo” an in-house promotional announcement broadcast in WMUL-FM’s Promotion Announcement rotation Tuesday, May 16, 2023, until Friday, August 25, 2023. The promo was written and produced by Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio and Nathaniel Harrah, a sophomore from Hurricane.
Video/Social Media Entertainment
“Kevon Voyles Hype Video” is an in-house entertainment video curated for Instagram and TikTok to highlight student broadcasters’ staff picks for basketball play highlights. The video features the FM88 Sports Instagram page as well as the WMUL-FM Instagram and TikTok accounts. Alex Cooksey, a junior from Huntington, shot and produced the video.
Watch here:
Long-Form Video/Student Production
WMUL-FM’s Classroom Concert Series—featuring the solo artist “Corduroy Brown.” The live interview was conducted by the host of the program, Abigail Cunningham, a senior from Charleston. The producers of the playing and singing recording session were Emma Gallus, a sophomore from North Dinwiddie, Virginia, and Michael Stanley, WMUL-FM’s Operations Manager from West Hamlin. The program was broadcast over YouTube, WMUL-FM, and posted online Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
Video News Package
“Crosswalk Incident” is a video news package featured on NewsCenter 88’s “Weekend Recap” after airing as an audio package on the weekly newscast. The video news package aired on Friday, March 9, 2024, and was produced by Luke Hamilton, a senior from Southpoint, Ohio. The packages are available online.
Watch the full episode here, with the package beginning at 3:45.
Honorable Mention Award Winning Entries
The Honorable Mention Award-winning entries by WMUL-FM were in the categories Audio Program, Audio Sports Play-by-Play, Best Social Media – Sports Instagram, Sports Video Program and Educational Programming Video.
Video Sports Program
“Sportsview” featuring Marshall Track and Field athletes Micah Alleynne and Ethan Bowen being interviewed by host Ben Anderson, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio. This edition of “Sportsview” was broadcast Wednesday, October 11, 2023.
Watch the episode here with the Track and Field segment beginning at 37:07
Audio Program
“What’s Going On” is a 30-minute community bulletin board with host David Adkins, a graduate student from Huntington. The program aired on Friday, August 2, 2023, and is available for playback online via WMUL-FM SoundCloud.
Video Program
“Weekend Recap” is a televised recap of the week on NewsCenter 88. The program is a 15-minute recap of the top stories and video packages from the staff’s story highlights from the prior week. It aired live on Saturday, February 10, 2024, and is available for playback on the WMUL YouTube channel. The WMUL-FM students involved with the production of the program were:
Luke Hamilton, a senior from South Point, Ohio; (Anchor)
Emma Johnson, a junior from Peach Creek, West Virginia; (Anchor)
Waylon Smith, a sophomore from Ashland, Kentucky; (Weather)
John Boggess, a senior from St. Albans, West Virginia; (Sports)
Emma Gallus, a sophomore from North Dinwiddie, Virginia. (Producer)
Audio Sports Play-by-Play
WMUL-FM’s broadcast of the Marshall University versus Georgia Southern women’s college basketball game played at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia, Friday, March 1, 2024. The WMUL-FM students calling the women’s basketball broadcast over FM 88.1 were:
Nate Courtney, a junior from Fairfax, Virginia; (Play-by-play announcer)
Ben Anderson, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio; (Color commentator)
Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia. (Engineer)
Best Social Media – Sports Instagram
WMUL’s FM 88 Sports Instagram social media account is recognized for its use during sporting events throughout the 2023 academic year. The WMUL-FM Instagram social media account was overseen by Social Media Team member John Boggess, a senior from St. Albans, West Virginia.
Educational Programming Video
“Getting to Know the Law” Episode 2: Title IX is an informational series filmed in partnership with Marshall University’s General Counsel Office as an informational guide for students and their parents about the basics of Title IX legislation. The episode was produced and directed by Makaylah Wheeler, WMUL-FM Station Manager, and Dr. Charles G. Bailey, WMUL-FM Faculty Manager. The series is available for playback on the WMUL-FM YouTube page as well as on the General Counsel’s website.
The hosts for this episode are the following Marshall University Staff:
Jendonnae Lycan, Senior Associate General Counsel
Jessica Rhodes, Title IX Coordinator
With the addition of these twenty (20) awards, the WMUL-FM student broadcasters and community volunteers have won one hundred (100) awards during the 2023-2024 academic year. Only one contest remains to be judged for this academic year. The remaining contest is the Jim Nantz Collegiate Sportscaster of the Year Award. The highest total number of awards won within a single academic year is one hundred-sixty (160), which was accomplished during the 2019-2020 academic year. The students’ grand total of one hundred (100) awards this year includes thirty-one (31) first-place awards, thirty-three (33) second-place awards, nine (9) third-place awards, and twenty-seven (27) honorable mention awards.
Since 1985 WMUL-FM student broadcasters have won a total of two thousand five hundred-sixteen (2,516) awards. That number includes eight hundred seventy-two (872) first-place awards, six hundred twenty (620) second-place awards, one hundred sixty (160) third-place awards and eight hundred sixty-four (864) honorable mention awards.