EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. have named Michigan State University’s WDBM – or IMPACT 89FM as it is commonly known – the college radio station of the year.

The Gold Record Award was presented at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference at the Lansing Center on March 14. This is the sixth time in the past seven years that WDBM-FM has won the award.

“This competition is so important because of everything going on in the broadcast industry,” said Gary Reid, professional general manager of the station. “Being judged by commercial broadcasters as the state’s best for six of the past seven years is a true honor from a profession that many of our students hope to get jobs in.”

Jeremy Whiting, the production director, received three individual awards, and Brock Elsesser, the program director, received two individual awards.

Impact staffers took first place in four categories: Joey Levine, Lauren Filo and Matt Schuler for the daily newscast/news feature category; Jeremy Whiting for the sportscast/play-by-play category; Jason James, Pat Wharton and Brock Elsesser for the public service announcement category; and Patrick Bowen, Katie Greer and Jeremy Whiting for the promotional announcement category.

All entries were judged by professional radio and television broadcasters in Michigan.

“With this win, the legacy of an excellent program is firmly established,” Reid said. “We are seeing high school students choosing Michigan State due in part to the quality and success of the station.”

Approximately 120 students, ranging from freshmen to doctoral candidates, are working at the station.

WDBM-FM may be found at 88.9 on the FM dial and may be heard via streaming media on the Web at http://www.impact89fm.org. The Gold Record Award, along with the previous five, may be seen at the station located in G-4 Holden Hall on MSU’s campus.

“The thing that’s important about an awards program like this is the rallying cry that happens within our staff,” said Reid. “We’ve created such a legacy over the past seven years that it gives our students something to aspire to, and it helps motivate our staff like nothing else would.”

Out of more than 13,000 radio stations in the country, WDBM was the 132^nd overall and the first college station to begin broadcasting the new HD digital signal last fall.

WDBM also produces Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm’s weekly radio address and podcast.

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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 15 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.