KCOU competes for top five slot in mtvU Radio Woodie Award
The top five radio stations will be announced Oct. 26
Published Oct. 9, 2009
KCOU/88.1 has made the top 25 cut off for mtvU's College Radio Woodie Award for the first time in the station's history and is now trying to make the top five.
"I am relatively certain we are actually going to make the top five, and I am actually feeling confident that we are going to win the whole thing," KCOU General Manager Jonathan Hutcheson said. "I've got a whole lot of faith in our momentum and what we're doing that will push us over the top."
The large staff and fan base should be a big help, Program Director Greg Winegar said.
"I think it's pretty much guaranteed," Winegar said. "We have a huge staff this year, and everybody's pretty excited about it. As far as the numbers are concerned, we are not too worried."
The voting started with a pool over 260 university radio stations, and then was cut down to top 100, top 50 and top 25, according to the mtvU Website.
Hutcheson said mtvU will announce the top five stations on Oct. 26.
The competition is similar to a sports match in the sense that each station focuses more on their performance than their competitors, Hutcheson said.
"Really, the way I look at it is it's not like anyone's competing specifically against another station as much as it is everyone is trying to get as much support as they can for their own and I think that we've got the right combination to win it all," Hutcheson said.
Co-Promotions Director Hannah Hayes said she is confident in KCOU's ability to win, due to its newfound fan base.
"Since last semester when MSA was trying to see how valuable we were and came pretty close to shutting us down, I think we gained a huge fan base that maybe had been taking us for granted," Hayes said. "We have a loyalty that hasn't been found in other places I think."
Music Director Kyle McDonald said the music the station plays sets it apart.
"We play a lot of underground artists that don't get air play from commercial stations and such, but from other university stations I think we put a strong emphasis on bands that people like," McDonald said. "I think a lot of it sits on things that we all like, and I think that's what makes the station hit so close to home."
Specialty programs also set KCOU apart from other stations, Winegar said.
"One of my favorite shows at KCOU is called ‘Spit Fresh Midwest,' " Winegar said. "It's on Wednesday nights and it's a hip-hop show, but it's not just hip-hop that you can tune in and hear anywhere else. We bring in live local artists, regional artists, we do a lot of free style rapping, a lot of stuff like that. So it is pretty fresh, pretty exciting."
Among other things, KCOU's airplay and Internet streaming sets it apart from other college stations, Hayes said.
"I think it's really cool that we have been able to play ourselves on the airways and at the same time be on the Internet and really explore how we can reach our audience in different ways," Hayes said. "If you're just online, you are only reaching a certain audience. When we're on the air we are reaching an entire community, which is really cool, and I'm not sure that all radio stations get to do that like we do."