WSOU, the student-run Seton Hall University radio station, recently took home a Marconi Award.
SOUTH ORANGE -- And, for the first time ever, the Marconi goes to WSOU.
The recognition is the equivalent of an Academy Award for radio work, and at a ceremony in Tennessee last month, students and teachers from Seton Hall University accepted a Marconi that named the school's small, student-run radio station the best non-commercial one in the country. Mark Maben, the station's faculty advisor and general manager, called the win "really something that we, as an entire state, can be proud of."
The Marconi, making itself at home at WSOU. (Courtesy Seton Hall University)The school beat out other non-commercial stations across the country, including some that are professionally run, as well as several other college stations.
The win, Maben said, is a "reward for the university's philosophy," which dictates that the station be entirely operated by students. They make all of the decisions, and learn about broadcasting while experiencing it, he said.
"It's been a hallmark of WSOU for decades," he said. "The university has been very clear. It wants the station to be a hands-on place of experiential learning."
But, while students are cutting their teeth at the 2,400-watt station, locals are tuning in to 89.5 FM. The small station, which airs an eclectic mix of music shows and covers Seton Hall sports, has a cumulative weekly listenership of about 100,000 people, plus online streaming.
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Maben attributes the station's success to the students who run it. The medium, he said, is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. College kids who were previously disengaged from radio are flocking back to it, thanks to the popularity of podcasts, online music streaming, sports radio, and other new forms of auditory media consumption, he said.
"Students are coming to college interested in radio again," Maben said.
The station had its highest number of student staffers, 154, last year. The current staff stands strong at 130 members, nearly double the number of students who were involved just a few years ago, Maben said.
Molly Meller, a public relations major in the Seton Hall College of Communications and the Arts, serves as WSOU's station manager. The hope of working at the college radio station that she listened to as a teen was part of what drew her to Seton Hall, she said.
"I recognize what WSOU represents while modifying it to fit today," Meller said in a statement about what she does at the station.
"We want to maintain a core niche of being different, an against the grain type of music and personalities, but also fit into things like social media and web coverage, really trying to reach all sorts of audiences."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.