The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System held its 81st Annual Conference virtually from March 2-6, 2021, and thousands of students from more than 75 schools participated. WRSU Rutgers Radio, one of the oldest college radio stations in the nation, was named a finalist in five categories and won awards in the News, On-Air, and Online categories.

 Joey Bloch’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt won for “Best News Interview.” Holt, an award-winning journalist, was Rutgers University–New Brunswick’s 2020 commencement speaker. “Off the Record with Long Beard: Monarch” won for “On-Air (Programming) Best Live Music Broadcast,” and the WRSU Music Blog won for “Best Station Blog.”

 Journalism and Media Studies major Emily Teubner ’23, a WRSU station manager and blog contributor who covers Soul/R&B, said: “I have so much fun working on my writing and interviewing skills for the music blog. It’s great to have an outlet to talk about my passion for music and collaborate with other writers and journalists on campus. I am especially grateful for the leadership of Music Director Bennett Rosner and Broadcast Administrator Mike Pavilchko.”

 Danielle Ciampaglia ’21, a JMS and Political Science double-major, was thrilled that the award-winning live music broadcast happened on the WRSU “Bruh Meets World” show she and Allen Uzoma ’21 co-host. “Having Long Beard on the show was a really fulfilling moment creatively. It was the most hands-on we had ever been with recording and editing, so it was a lot of work, but it solidified the fact that this is what I wanted to do forever. Emily Teubner and SC&I alumnus Jordan Levy ’20 were involved with audio mixing that entire session. I’m super grateful to Allen for setting it up, to the band for playing, and to everyone who contributed. It feels great to know that it’s not just me who thinks what we did was really cool.” 

Discover more about the IBS 2021 Media Awards and watch the broadcast on the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.

Photo: Courtesy of WRSU