Marissa Greenberg of WPUB (Photo: J. Waits)

On Thursday, during College Day at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, the winners were announced in CMJ’s annual College Radio Awards. As is frequently the case, the awards ceremony was full of fun and frivolity. Awards recognized college radio staffers/stations as well as organizations and people working in the music industry.

WKDU from Drexel University in Philadelphia was the big radio winner, taking home awards for Station of the Year and for Biggest Champion of the Local Scene. And, in a nice nod to the struggles they’ve encountered over the past year, KUSF-in-Exile was awarded Best Student-Run Internet-Only Station. This year, the music marketing company The Syndicate swept the industry awards, winning every category except two (which were awarded to Sub Pop Records and to CMJ’s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Hresko).

Winners were chosen based on voting that took place during the CMJ Music Marathon among badge-holding attendees. The complete list of nominees can be found here and this year’s radio winners (see the industry winners on the CMJ website) are as follows:

Station Of The Year:
WKDU (Drexel University, Philadelphia)

Music Director Of The Year:
Omar Husain, CJLO (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada)

Specialty Music Director Of The Year:
Claire Sullentrop, WSOU (Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ)

Biggest Champion Of The Local Scene:
WKDU (Drexel University, Philadelphia)

Will Never Sell Out:
Thor Slaughter, KWVA (University of Oregon)

Biggest Community Resource:
KVRX (University of Texas, Austin)

Biggest Improvement:
WUTK (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Best Use Of Limited Resources:
RLC (Rutgers University and Piscataway High School, New Jersey)

Best Newcomer:
Thor Slaughter, KWVA (University of Oregon)

Most Adventurous:
WFMU (community radio station in Jersey City)

Best Student-Run, Internet-Only Station:
KUSF-in-Exile (San Francisco)

Outstanding Leadership In College Radio:
Marissa Greenberg, WPUB (Pace University, New York City)

CMJ's 2011 College Radio Awards

Yesterday CMJ announced the nominees for its annual College Radio Awards.

Based on nominations submitted by folks who report their playlists/charts to the music publication, the list of nominees includes college and community radio stations, as well as individuals who work in college radio or at college radio-connected organizations.

I was excited to see that my very own college radio home, KFJC, is nominated for most adventurous station and that KUSF in Exile is in the running for best student-run, Internet-only station.

People attending the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City next month will be eligible to vote in the College Radio Awards and winners will be announced at the conference during CMJ’s College Day on October 20, 2011. The list is a mix of stations who have won numerous CMJ awards before (CJLO and KSSU in particular), as well as some newcomers.

And the 2011 CMJ College Radio Awards station nominees (go to CMJ to see the industry nominees) are:

Station Of The Year:
CJLO (Montreal)
KUOM (Minneapolis)
WKDU (Philadelphia)
WLUW (Chicago)

Music Director Of The Year:
Paul Brown, WKDU
Omar Husain, CJLO
Bill Schneiderhan, WSYC
Thor Slaughter, KWVA
Caleigh Souhan, KUOM

Specialty Music Director Of The Year:
Kelly Belfro, CJLO
Kate Estwing, KDHX
Brian Joseph, CJLO
Claire Sullentrop, WSOU
Andrew Wieler, CJLO

Biggest Champion Of The Local Scene:
CFUV (Victoria)
CJSW (Calgary)
KUOM (Minneapolis)
RLC (Piscataway)
WKDU (Philadelphia)

Will Never Sell Out:
Paul Brown, WKDU
Omar Husain, CJLO
Susie Kuo, KSSU
Joni Sadler, CHUO
Thor Slaughter, KWVA

Biggest Community Resource:
CFUV (Victoria)
KCMP (St. Paul)
KDHX (St. Louis)
KUOM (Minneapolis)
KVRX (Austin)

Biggest Improvement:
KRNU (Lincoln)
KRUA (Anchorage)
WHUS (Storrs)
WLJS (Jacksonville)
WUTK (Knoxville)

Best Use Of Limited Resources:
CKXU (Lethbridge)
KSSU (Sacramento)
KXSC (Los Angeles)
RLC (Piscataway)
Radio UTD (Richardson)

Best Newcomer:
Frank Higuera, KXLU
Joe Iannuzzo, KUMD
Thor Slaughter, KWVA
Andrew Wieler, CJLO
Jess Wiza, WDBM

Most Adventurous:
CFUV (Victoria)
KBUT (Crested Butte)
KFJC (Los Altos Hills)
WFMU (Jersey City)
WVUM (Coral Gables)

Best Student-Run, Internet-Only Station:
CSCR (Fusion Radio) (Toronto)
KUSF In Exile (San Francisco)
Osprey Radio (Jacksonville)
Rainy Dawg Radio (Seattle)
Radio UTD (Richardson)

Outstanding Leadership In College Radio:
Marissa Greenberg, WPUB
Omar Husain, CJLO
Susie Kuo, KSSU
Jon Schober, KUOM
Caleigh Souhan, KUOM

Nominations Open for CMJ's College Radio Awards

CMJ, the industry publication for college radio, has been doing college radio awards for a number of years now. They just opened up the nomination period for the 2011 College Radio Awards and anyone who subscribes to the CMJ New Music Report is eligible to nominate people or stations. The deadline is midnight on September 16 and the nominees will be announced soon after that. Final voting will take place in October during the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City (all badge holders can vote) and winners will be announced during CMJ’s College Day on October 20.

Some of the categories this year include: Station of the Year, Music Director of the Year, Sexiest Phone Voice, Most Adventurous Station and Outstanding Leadership in College Radio.

To get a sense of who has been up for these awards in the past, here are the 2010 nominees, the 2009 nominees and winners, and the 2008 nominees and winners.

What stations and people would be on your nomination list?

Additionally, since interview subjects are only asked “How popular is the radio station?”, the results really can’t be looked at as an endorsement of a specific radio station on campuses that contain multiple stations. For example, University of Kansas made the list and it has both a student-run radio station and a public radio station. Similarly, Brown University has both a commercial and a non-commercial station, while Emerson College has an online-only student-run station as well as a professionally-run public FM station.

This year’s “Best College Radio Station” category (registration required), is actually kind of an interesting mixture of universities, with 11 of the same schools as last year and 9 new schools appearing on the list. The complete list for 2012 is listed below (you can compare to the lists of “winning stations” from the 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 editions of Princeton Review on Spinning Indie). The “most popular” college stations for 2012 are:

2012 Princeton Review’s Most Popular College Radio Stations
(note: I’ve added station names as the Princeton Review only lists school names. Schools in bold were not on the list last year)

1. St. Bonaventure University (WSBU-88.3 FM, St. Bonaventure, NY)
2. DePauw University (WGRE 91.5 FM, Greencastle, Indiana)
3. Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM and VIC Radio, Ithaca, New York)
4. Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM and WECB, Boston, MA)
5. Hofstra University (WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, New York)
6. Knox College (WVKC 90.7 FM, Galesburg, Illinois)
7. Brown University (BSR and WBRU, 95.5 FM, Providence, RI)
8. University of Puget Sound (KUPS 90.1 FM,Tacoma, Washington)
9. The College of Wooster (WCWS 90.9 FM, Wooster, Ohio)
10. Fordham University (WFUV 90.7 FM, Bronx, NY)
11. Providence College (WDOM 91.3 FM, Providence, RI)
12. Stanford University (KZSU 90.1 FM, Stanford, CA)
13. Sacred Heart University (WHRT and public radio station WSHU-FM, Fairfield, Connecticut)
14. Carleton College (KRLX 88.1 FM, Northfield, Minnesota)
15. University of Kansas (KJHK 90.7 FM and public radio station KANU 91.5 FM, Lawrence, Kansas)
16. Wellesley College (WZLY 91.5 FM, Wellesley, Massachusetts)
17. Flagler College (WFCF 88.5 FM, St. Augustine, Florida)
18. Denison University (WDUB 91.1 FM, Granville, Ohio)
19. Chapman University (ChapmanRadio.com, Orange, California)
20. Westminster College (WWNW 88.9 FM, New Wilmington, PA)

2011 mtvU Woodies Come to SXSW

Last fall I kept my eyes peeled for the chance to nominate my favorite college radio stations for the annual mtvU College Radio Woodie Award, but the opportunity never came up. I assumed that mtvU had disbanded the Woodies awards event, especially considering all of the complaints I’d had about the voting process over the years.

Well, it turns out they’ve just moved the Woodies from the Fall to the Spring. And, again, I missed the nomination period! Distracted by the shutdown at my local college radio station KUSF, the Woodie news slipped past me.

According to a press release on the MTV website,

“Once again, mtvU is also honoring 50 pioneering college radio stations committed to bringing students the latest indie and emerging music.  Lauded for championing artists before they achieve mainstream success, these student-run radio stations represent the new music vanguard long since abandoned by traditional FM radio.  The top stations are chosen based off accolades from CMJ College Radio acknowledgements [sic], Princeton Review top list, online nominations through Rate My Professors and Twitter and independent questionnaires completed by a cross-section of record labels.”

Between February 1st and February 8th, 50 nominees were voted on and narrowed down to the top 25 vote-getting stations. On February 15th, the list was whittled down to 10 and the final round of voting is now open through March 1st. The winning college radio station will be announced on March 16 at the Woodie Awards ceremony, taking place in Austin, Texas at South by Southwest this year. The ceremony will also air live on MTV.

Even though I grumble about whether or not any of these college radio awards REALLY bring attention to the best and most interesting stations, I’m still glad to see the attention being paid to college radio.

Here are the 10 college radio stations still in the running for the 2011 College Radio Woodie:

WASU (Appalachian State University, Boone, NC)

KCPR (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA)

CJLO (Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

WRGP (Florida International University, Miami, Florida)

WRAS (Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA)

WRHU (Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY)

WLOY (Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD)

WKPS (Pennsylvania State University – University Park, PA)

WVPH (Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ)

WERW (Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY)

WJPZ (Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY)

WHUS (University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT)

WPTS (University of Pittsburgh)

KUPS (University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA)

KXSC (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA)

WPNR (Utica College, Utica, NY)

WPSC (William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ)

To read about the voting process for the last College Radio Woodie Award (from 2009), take a look at my coverage on Spinning Indie. The 2009 College Radio Woodie went to KUPS and the 2008 College Radio Woodie (see nominees here) went to WICB.

KZSC Lobby at UC Santa Cruz

Today the Huffington Post takes a stab at naming the 9 Best College Radio Stations. They admit that the list may not be complete (how could 9 stations cover it all?) and acknowledge that they drew inspiration from the recent College Radio Awards during the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City last week.

Several of the stations on the Huffington Post list were winners at CMJ and others have been featured in college radio lists compiled by Princeton Review and mtvU (for their College Radio Woodie Award).

No offense to any of the stations named, but it’s important to keep in mind how all of these lists are determined. Princeton Review’s list is actually only an accounting of station popularity on campus according to students at universities polled by Princeton Review (they are asked how popular the campus radio station is).

mtvU’s college radio Woodie awards (which seem to have been discontinued after last year’s ceremony) were based on online nominations and voting. CMJ’s awards were voted on by attendees at the CMJ Music Marathon based on nominations made by stations and industry types who are CMJ subscribers; so the list is limited to that universe of stations with connections in the CMJ sphere. As I mentioned during the nomination process, I was still really happy to see some new stations up for the CMJ College Radio Awards this year, as in the past it seemed that there were many nominees from the same small group of stations.

I do like that the Huffington Post piece explains what sets each station apart (although some of their fact-checking is sketchy– I chuckled when I saw that they wrote that KZSC is funded by the FCC. Licensed would be more accurate.) and in that respect the list is a great jumping off point for college radio exploration.

Here are the 9 Best College Radio Stations according to the Huffington Post:

CJLO (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada)

WKDU (Drexel University, Philadelphia)

WICB (Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY)

Radio DePaul (DePaul University, Chicago, IL)

KZSC (University of California, Santa Cruz)

KEXP (University of Washington, Seattle, WA)

WGRE (De Pauw University, Greencastle, IN)

WERS (Emerson College, Boston, MA)

WCRX (Columbia College, Chicago, IL)

I recently covered even more interesting (and lengthier) list of college radio stations put together on Zoomout. A few from the Huffington Post list are included, but by featuring 82 college radio stations, the Zoomout list is able to give a broader representation of excellent freeform college radio stations from all over the United States and Canada.

What do you think of this particular list? Is it a good representation of what college radio has to offer or are there glaring omissions?

Zoomout's College Radio Map

Wow. I never want to do my own list of favorite college radio stations, but the one compiled by Zoomout is pretty impressive. In a lovely map featuring college radio station logos Zoomout gives praise to the top college radio stations in terms of freeform programming and streaming audio quality.

The map’s creator Sujay writes:

“After discovering two amazing college radio stations in my proximity (KZSU – Stanford and KFJC – Foothill College), I began listening not only from my car but wherever I had a high speed internet connection. Thus I began a mission to identify all similarly awesome stations in the USA/Canada.”

I can’t complain because my own station KFJC made the cut, as well as my previous DJ home: KSPC. Also, lots of great stations that I’ve visited in the San Francisco Bay Area are included (KALX, KZSU, KZSC), as well as some that I’ve been dying to visit (KDVS, KAOS), and many that I’ve featured on my Spinning Indie 50 State Tour (WSUM, KJHK, WRFL, KBGA, KSCR) or have visited on one of my field trips (WZBC, WNYU).

In early September there were 77 stations on the map, but others have subsequently been added based on comments by other college radio fans. Some have noted that the center of the map seems sparse, so if you have any suggestions, it seems worth passing them along.

I applaud this project, as it’s in line with my desire to spread the gospel of college radio in every corner of the U.S. (and Canada too).

2009 CMJ College Day at NYU

Next week the CMJ Music Marathon hits New York City and the surrounding areas from October 19 through 23. The annual college radio/indie music schmooze-fest will include music showcases, panels on the music industry, a special day-long College Day just for college radio DJs, a film festival, Entertainment Business Law Seminar, and a new music and gaming conference called CMJ Play.

I’ve attended CMJ a number of times over the years, including the past two years (which I covered extensively on Spinning Indie and Radio Survivor). This year, unfortunately, I’ll just be monitoring the festivities from afar.

The big highlights for me are the College Radio Mixer and College Day, in which folks from college radio stations get the chance to meet and share stories about their experiences at different stations. At the conference participants can also vote on nominees for the CMJ College Radio Awards and the winners are feted during College Day.  Over the summer anyone who reports to CMJ was able to nominate stations and individuals for these awards and the finalists were announced on October 4.

Here’s a partial list of some of the college (and some community) radio stations getting recognized (the voting also includes radio promotion company categories too). If you’re heading to CMJ, be sure to vote for your favorites between October 19 and 21st at the conference. Anyone with a CMJ badge can vote.

2010 CMJ College Radio Awards Nominees:

Station Of The Year
CJLO (Montreal)
KUOM (Minneapolis)
Radio UTD (Richardson)
WICB (Ithaca)
WKDU (Philadelphia)

Music Director Of The Year
Omar Husain (CJLO)
Fred Knittel (WKDU)
Justin Lanoue (CFUV)
Reece Lazarus (WICB)
Joni Sadler (CHUO)

Specialty Music Director Of The Year
John Anderson (WEFT)
Brian Joseph (CJLO)
Michelle Krupkin (KXLU)
Maggie Overton (WERU)
Adrian Warner (CJLO)

Best Use Of Limited Resources
CJLO (Montreal)
KSSU (Sacramento)
Radio UTD (Richardson)
RLC (Piscataway)
WKWZ (Syosset)

Best Team Effort
CJLO (Montreal)
KALX (Berkeley)
KWCR (Ogden)
WRMC (Middlebury)
WSBU (St. Bonaventure)

Best Student Run Station
CJLO (Montreal)
KUOM (Minneapolis)
KSSU (Sacramento)
WHRW (Binghamton)
WICB (Ithaca)

Biggest Champion Of The Local Scene
CFUV (Victoria)
CJLO (Montreal)
KDHX (St. Louis)
WKDU (Philadelphia)
WTBU (Boston)

Biggest Improvement
CJLO (Montreal)
KXSC (Los Angeles)
WLCA (Godfrey)
WPRK (Winter Park)
WRHU (Hempstead)

Best Use Of The Internet
BreakThru Radio (New York)
CJLO (Montreal)
KEXP (Seattle)
Radio UTD (Richardson)
WFMU (Jersey City)

Most Love For The Game
Krissy Agathos (WUSB)
Nichole Bennett (KVRX)
Omar Husain (CJLO)
Susie Kuo (KSSU)
Reece Lazarus (WICB)

Most Adventurous
CHUO (Ottawa)
KALX (Berkeley)
KDVS (Davis)
WFMU (Jersey City)
WNRN (Charlottesville)

Best Newcomer
Disney Bolin (WPRK)
Kayla Dowdy (WWHR)
Mary Kate Kennedy (WBWC)
Adrian Warner (CJLO)
Tyler Wardell (KZSC)

WZBC at Boston College. Love that station!!

I keep meaning to do a master list of amazing independent radio stations, so I was really happy to see today that Paste Magazine devoted their List of the Day to “The 40 Best Little Radio Stations in the U.S.” The emphasis of the list is on terrestrial stations that are 5000 watts or less that air mostly independently-produced programming. College radio gets lots of praise, as well as a few high school radio stations, and even some stations on the AM dial.

First of all, I’m just happy to see a list of this kind celebrating not only independent radio, but also terrestrial radio; so kudos to Paste for showcasing the range of amazing sounds to be found on the airwaves. But as with any list it’s easy to get fixated on the omissions (I’m partial to WZBC, KDVS and the station where I DJ-KFJC), so for that reason, readers are invited to add their favorites in the comments section.

Although I shy away from doing my own “Best College Radio Stations” list because I find there to be so many worthy stations, I do think it’s important to showcases the multitude of radio options all over the United States. Often there’s a fixation of radio stations in big cities and on the coasts, so one of my goals on Spinning Indie has been to profile college radio stations in each of the 50 states. That project has helped introduce me to many stations that weren’t on my radar before and that are worthy of attention.

How do you learn about independent terrestrial radio stations and which stations would be on your list of small, but mighty stations?

2009 CMJ College Radio Awards

Even though I complain a lot about bogus radio station accolades, it’s still nice to see awesome stations getting recognition from their peers and the powers that be.

For the past few years college radio trade publication CMJ has been hosting a College Day during its annual CMJ Music Marathon in late October. As part of the festivities, college radio DJs and stations are feted with an awards ceremony honoring their efforts.

If you or your station reports playlists and charts to CMJ then you have an opportunity to suggest nominees for the awards. Now until September 27th you can nominate your choices for Station of the Year, Music Director of the Year, Most Adventurous Radio Station, etc.

You can see some of the individuals and stations who were nominated and won last year here. As always, I think it would be great to see nominees who haven’t made these lists before, so I encourage anyone involved with college radio to nominate and vote.