Monday, May 20, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Students from Marshall University’s public radio station, WMUL-FM, received one (1) Award of Excellence and six (6) Awards of Distinction in the 30th Annual Communicator Awards 2024 Audio Competition. WMUL-FM was notified May 7, 2024, by email that its entries had won.
The Communicator Awards is the leading global awards program honoring creative excellence for marketing and communications professionals. The Communicator Awards come from the International Academy of Visual Arts that recognizes outstanding work in the communications field. Entries are judged by industry professionals who seek out companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. The 2024 contest had more than 3,000 entries from radio stations, ad agencies, interactive agencies, production firms, in-house creative professionals, graphic designers, design firms, public relations firms, corporate communications departments and government entities. The Communicator Awards is widely recognized as one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.
“The entries into this season of The Communicator Awards were such a great representation of our three decades of celebrating innovation and creativity in all forms of communications. I couldn’t have wished for a more diverse and brilliant body of work to be placed in our jurors’ capable hands,” said AIVA managing director Lauren Angeloni. “I want to congratulate all of the honorees for their well-deserved wins. I also would like to extend sincere thanks to our jurors, who always put in so much time and heart into the review process.”
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, “Earning an Award of Excellence is a tremendous accomplishment and recognizes our broadcasting students as having produced an exceptional sports package covering the Mountain State Derby. The six Awards of Distinction showcased other student broadcasters’ efforts in daily hard news reporting, a feature news package about the Memorial Fountain Ceremony, an interesting interview with band members from Kindred Valley during the radio station’s ‘Communication Breakdown’ and another timely sports package all in direct competition with professional practitioners. The Communicator Awards have a two-year window for entries. I am proud and grateful for the honor these Communicator Awards bestow on WMUL-FM, the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the College of Arts and Media, and Marshall University.”
For more information about the Communicator Awards, please visit www.communicatorawards.com
Award of Distinction Winning Entries
Audio/Radio/Single Episode – Sports Package
“Mountain State Derby Recap,” written and produced by Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Thursday, October 20, 2022, and made available online.
Audio Spot News Package
“Abortion Protest,” written and produced by Abigail Cunningham, a senior from Charleston, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Monday, April 17, 2023, and made available online.
Audio Spot News Package
“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 Feature News Package
“Marshall Memorial Fountain Package,” written and produced by Makaylah Wheeler, a graduate student from Huntington, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Monday, November 14, 2022, and made available online.
Long-Form Audio Interview
WMUL-FM’s “Communication Breakdown”—featuring “Kindred Valley” band members. The interview was conducted by the program’s host, Abigail Cunningham, a senior from Charleston. The program was broadcast and posted online Friday, March 3, 2023.
Audio Sports Package
“Morgan Zerkle Hiring,” written and produced by Ben Anderson, a sophomore from Ironton, Ohio, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88,” Thursday, June 30, 2022, and made available online.
Audio 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.
The Communicator’s prestigious Award of Excellence is presented to those entrants whose ability to communicate makes them the best in their field. In addition to the Award of Excellence, The Communicator Awards 2024 Audio Competition also gave the Award of Distinction. The Award of Distinction is awarded for projects that exceed industry standards in production or communication skills. The Award of Excellence and Award of Distinction winners are listed on the Communicator Award’s website https://www.communicatorawards.com/winners/winners.gallery.
Winners of The Communicator Awards come from radio stations, production facilities, advertising and public relations agencies, corporate communications departments, government entities, technicians, narrators, writers and other professionals associated with the production of audio broadcasts and materials.
With the addition of these seven awards, the WMUL-FM student broadcasters have won eighty (80) awards during the 2023-2024 academic year. Two contests remain to be judged for this academic year. The remaining contests are the Hermes Creative Awards and the Jim Nantz Collegiate Sportscaster of the Year Awards. 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 eighty (80) awards this year includes twenty-four (24) first-place awards, twenty-six (26) second-place awards, nine (9) third-place awards, and twenty-one (21) honorable mention awards.