88.9 WRDL Receives IBS Awards

This year, AU's radio station, 88.9 WRDL, was recognized at the 2017 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards in New York City in a variety of categories.  Those from Ashland University receiving honors in the radio category as finalists or winners were:

JDM senior Kate Siefert (top 7)
   - Best Newscast - The Early Bird's Word

JDM senior Derek Wood and JDM sophomore Noah Cloonan (winner)
   - Best Women's Basketball Play-by-Play - AU vs. Grand Valley State

JDM senior Derek Wood (top 5)
   - Best Use of Facebook - WRDL Facebook

JDM senior Derek Wood (top 6)
   - Best Show Promotional Poster - WRDL 

IBS is a not for profit education corporation that seeks to provide information and resources for educational affiliated radio stations.  Each year at its annual international conference, IBS seeks to recognize the exceptional programming of its members.  To learn more about IBS, visit their website. 

Instructor Maggie Cogar attends Ohio Scholastic Media Association state conference

Maggie Cogar, professional instructor of journalism and digital media, recently attended the Ohio Scholastic Media Association (OSMA) state conference. OSMA is the state scholastic press association for high school journalism students and their advisers. The OSMA state conference was held on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 26 and was attended by over 400 high school students and their advisers.

At the conference, Cogar moderated journalism contests and presented sessions on how to use attribution in journalistic writing and how to create an award-winning publication. As an OSMA Executive Board Member, Cogar was also active in association meetings and as the Journalism Education Association (JEA) state director, Cogar presented the JEA Ohio Journalist of the Year award to senior Emma Steifel from Lakota East High School (pictured) at the state awards banquet Friday night.

Cogar presents the Ohio Journalist of the Year award to
seniors Emma Steifel and Jamie Landers.

Cogar said attending the annual OSMA state conference is one of the most rewarding professional experiences.

“There’s nothing better than being around hundreds of excited high school journalism students. It’s rewarding to be involved in an organization that allows them to celebrate their work and share ideas with other students from all over the state,” she said. “The passion and energy the students bring to the conference is contagious, and you can’t help but feel grateful to be a part of it all.”

Students work on editing news stories and laying out a
newspaper during the OSMA Editor Team Challenge
contest Cogar moderated on Friday afternoon.

Cogar is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Communication and Information with a focus in mass media from Kent State University. She is active in the world of scholastic journalism and serves as an executive board member for the Ohio Scholastic Media Association as well as the state director for the national Journalism Education Association. She recently received a research grant through the JEA and will be using it to fund her dissertation research on censorship in scholastic journalism.

Elite Eight AU Highlights

The JDM sports team (Kate Siefert, Tyler Lance, Noah Cloonan, Bree Gannon) and Operations Manager John Skrada along with JDM alum Dan Shade created this very nice look at the AU Women's basketball team run in the NCAA Elite Eight.

WRDL 88.9 FM to carry live broadcast of AU Women's Basketball Elite Eight game

Journalism and Digital Media's broadcast radio station WRDL 88.9 FM will carry the Tuesday March 21st AU Women's Basketball NCAA Elite Eight game. The pre-game is set for 5:30 pm and tip-off is scheduled for 6 pm. WRDL General Manager Derek Wood and Tom Nesbitt will host the pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage. WRDL Program Director Tyler Lance and sportscaster Noah Cloonan will call all of the game action.

Listeners in the Ashland area can hear the game live at 88.9 FM. Fans can also go to the WRDL site to listen to the station.