WSOU, Seton Hall's radio station, has been nominated for three awards by the College Music Journal.
The modern active rock station is in the running for "Station of the Year," "Best Student-Run Station," and "Most Supportive of the Local Scene."
"It would be an honor if we won, it means the students are doing a great job," Frank Scafidi, the station's chief engineer said.
The voting process is performed by a panel of members of the radio and broadcasting industry during the week of Oct. 20 to Oct. 24, which is when the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival occur in New York City.
When the nominations first open up, stations are able to nominate themselves in categories ranging from a variety of categories.
A station chooses where to place its nominations by which categories most apply to it.
"I would love to be ‘Music Director of the Year' but that's just not going to happen," Danielle Maffei, WSOU's music director said.
Maffei added that WSOU is up against college radio stations from across the United States.
Therefore, she said she nominated the station in the categories that it had the best chance to win.
"It would be awesome if we won the ‘Most Supportive of the Local Scene' because that it something that is important to lots of listeners," Jackie Taylor, the station manager said. "The local scene means a lot."
According to Scafidi, the station "promotes local music," with segments like "Yank or Crank," which allows unsigned local bands to send in their music to be played.
Once it is played listeners can call in and vote on whether the song should be yanked, in which case the CD the music came from is smashed with a hammer on air, or cranked.
If listeners vote to crank it, the song will continue to get air time.
"We do a lot with the local scene, like shows with some of the bands around here," Taylor said.
However "Most Supportive of the Local Scene" is not the only award that WSOU hopes to walk away with.
"Most college stations don't have what we have," Taylor said regarding why she thinks they have a chance at ‘Station of the Year.' "Most college stations have an indie format and we're the only metal/hard rock station around here."
Maffei said that the nomination will help the Seton Hall community appreciate the station as well.
"No one knows how legit we are and how well know the station is," Maffei said. This will help our campus recognize that."
WSOU is entirely student run, which is why it is nominated for ‘Best Student-Run Station.'
Scafidi said the students make all the decisions.
Taylor added how grateful the staff is whenever they win awards, because "we're just college students."
Although the station has been nominated for CMJ awards in the past, it has never won any.
It has, however, been named one of the Top 5 Best Rock Stations in 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
WSOU has also won various awards from the Associated Press for broadcasts and was 2008 Metal Station of the Year in "Friday Morning Quarterback," a radio publication.
Jenna Berg can be reached at jenna.berg@student.shu.edu.
