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USI named Radio School of the Year

The University of Southern Indiana was named Radio School of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB) at its 2009 College Radio Competition. USI's WSWI AM 820 "The Edge" beat out 16 member colleges to claim the prize and took top awards in six of nine categories.

Ben Weber won first place and Kelly Orsby second place for Radio Spot Production, Andrew Bolin and Orsby won first place for Radio Air Personality, Monica Wathen won third place for Radio Newscast, and Joe Barniak won second and Orsby third for Radio Copywriting. The station also took first place for Radio Imaging.

IASB is composed of 16 universities including Ball State University, Indiana State University, and DePauw University.

John Morris, instructor of radio/TV and faculty advisor/general manager for WSWI, said, "Obviously we're honored to have been named the IASB School of the Year. It shows the dedication of the students and the entire communications department. These students have gotten some fine training."

He added, "These students are not "playing radio." They take it very seriously. They take pride in the work they've done and truly deserve the honor. It reflects on the chair of the department, J. Wayne Rinks, all the way up to Dean David Glassman.

"They made sure we have the resources and equipment we need to be competitive on the state level. We placed in more categories and nobody had more first place finishes than us. Our students have worked hard across the board."

Weber also recently placed in a national competition, taking third place for Public Service Announcement, Promo or Commercial from the Broadcast Education Association for a PSA he produced for Academic Skills.

Weber is the outgoing production director at WSWI. He graduated May 9 with a bachelor's degree in radio/TV and minors in advertising and sociology. He chalks the station's success up to its dedicated staff. �We had a close knit management team this year," he said. "It was a thriving staff. We pushed each other to do better and it really paid off."

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