Andrea Stevenson promotes Columbus Radio Group

Digital Media Production 2014 graduate Andrea Stevenson always loved the radio profession. From her days as on air talent at WRDL to her current position as Promotions Director for Columbus Radio Group, Andrea approached her craft with determination and passion.

In a recent communication with JDM chair Dr. Dave McCoy, Andrea stated that she "really loved her job because one of the biggest perks was that I get to meet a lot of cool celebrities like Ellie Goulding, Charlie Pugh, Rachel Platten, and Andy Grammar." She added that "professional radio promotions is a stressful, but fun, occupation" and that she recommends it to anyone interested in a radio career. Andrea felt that she would not have this important job if she did not work for WRDL in college, as WRDL prepared her for the 24/7 life of a local radio professional.

AUTV-20 Election Special

Journalism and Digital Media students have spent the past few months working on content for the converged media coverage of the Tuesday November 8 election. Beginning at 7 pm on Tuesday evening, AUTV-20 will broadcast a live five hour show that will cover the results from local, state and national races, feature expert commentary from Ashland University professors John Moser, Roger Beckett, Duncan Jamieson, Jeff Sikkenga, Jason Stevens and Christopher Burkett, and provide a panel discussion with students from the College Republicans, Young Democrats and Young Americans for Liberty.

WRDL 88.9 FM will simulcast the audio from the AUTV -20 special and The Collegian will be reporting with live stories on its online site. There will be a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook Live that will give updates and behind-the-scenes coverage of the JDM production.

JDM department chair Dr. Dave McCoy states that "this production is the most ambitious undertaking in the six year history of JDM" as more than thirty-five majors are working on the election special. Familiar AUTV-20 anchor/reporters Kate Siefert, Connor Dunwoodie, Ingrid Schmidt, Brianna Gannon and Noah Cloonan will provide up-to-date information. The coordinating producers of the telecast are Sean Honaker, Sage Haines, Rebekah Hunter, Renee Borcas and Ingrid Schmidt.

For those who cannot receive the Armstrong Cable feed of AUTV-20, the station can be viewed live at this web stream link or here on AU's JDM page.

WRDL Celebrates College Radio Day

On Friday, November 4, AU’s radio station, WRDL/88.9 FM, observed College Radio Day. All across the country, hundreds of college radio stations will be celebrating the rare format that is college radio.

        2016's theme, "Igniting the Soul of College Radio," paid homage
to the documentary aired in the special simulcast at 2 pm.

Crew members took to campus, passing out flyers and giving away prizes to spread awareness of college radio and of all that WRDL has to offer, much of which isn’t available at other college radio stations across the US. “College radio stations are some of the last independently owned stations – that is, not belonging to large media networks – in the country,” says Derek Wood, student General Manager of WRDL. In addition to it being an independent station, “WRDL is unique because it has an FCC license, something which many college stations don’t have,” adds Wood.

That the city of Ashland is smaller than other college “towns” also creates challenges other college stations don’t have to address. Because Ashland is smaller and more rural than its more urban counterparts, WRDL utilizes a 3,000 watt transmitter to reach listeners in 10 counties. Whereas many other college stations use a smaller transmitter to reach listeners in their own city, WRDL’s coverage spans three area cities and, ultimately, a larger audience.

Throughout the day, WRDL also aired special broadcasts, including two presentations of the documentary “The Soul of College Radio,” one of which was part of a special, one-hour simulcast across all participating College Radio Day stations.

Even President Obama joined in by sending a letter to the College Radio Foundation, the organization in charge of College Radio Day. In the letter, he encouraged people to tune in to their local station, marking November 4 as a day on which “we pay tribute to the ways radio has enabled students – and all of us – to help shape a more inclusive society.”

To learn more about WRDL, or to tune in online, visit wrdlfm.com!