Contact: Gary Reid, WDBM, (517) 281-4677, reidg@msu.edu; or Russ White, University Relations, (517) 432-0923, whiterus@msu.edu

3/14/2005

From left: Joe Berwanger, WDIV-TV and MAB president; John Fournier; Libby Samanen; Gary Reid; Jeremy Whiting; Pat Bowen; and Rob David,  Handyman Productions and chairman of  the MAB Foundation.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. have named Michigan State University’s WDBM “IMPACT 89FM” college radio station of the year.

The Gold Record award was presented at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference at the Lansing Center on March 8.

This is the fifth time in the past six years that WDBM-FM has won the award.

“This is a tremendous honor and one that speaks volumes about the quality of our staff,” said Gary Reid, professional general manager of the station.

News director John Fournier; Jeremy Whiting, production director; and Holly Giesman, production manager, each received three individual awards.

The public service announcement category was dominated by station staffers, with Libby Samanen, station manager, and Jeremy Whiting taking first place. Pat Bowen, Jennifer Langridge and Katie Greer
all took second place.

The promotional announcement category was swept by Noah Ullman, Holly Giesman, Ed Glazer, Brock Elsesser and Jeremy Whiting.

“With this win, the legacy of an excellent program is firmly established,” said Reid. “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 Ph.D. candidates, are working at the station.

“These students run a very professional operation, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, and I am very pleased to see them recognized for their efforts,” said Reid.

WDBM-FM, or IMPACT 89FM as it is commonly known, may be found at 88.9 on the FM dial and may be heard via streaming media on the Web at www.impact89fm.org. The Gold Record award, along with the previous four, may be seen at the station located in G-4 Holden Hall on the MSU campus.

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.

“Staying on the cutting edge technically means nothing without quality content,” Reid said. “The award affirms our ability to be leaders in both the technical and programming areas.”