By Jackson Tabel
This past weekend, KJHK had the honor of attending the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Conference in New York City! Eight of our Executive Staff members attended the conference, and we came back with tons of invaluable new ideas to the station that we cannot wait to share with you all! Although we went to the city for the conference, our itinerary was packed from the second we landed in NYC to the second we flew back home. Below is a recap of our time in the Big Apple:
IBS
The IBS Conference kicked off on Friday and concluded on Saturday. Both days were structured around six sessions where we could go to a selection of panels put on by students and professionals about a variety of topics related to radio, music, and media. Some of my personal favorite (non KJHK) panels were “The Radio Drama: An Audience with Radio Waves Studios” by Sue Zizza from SueMedia Productions and a panel from Z100s Crystal Rosas and Josh Martinez on crafting a radio personality. Through these sessions, we were all able to bring so many new ideas, initiatives, and advice back to the station that we cannot wait to start incorporating into our operations here. Among the panels, KJHK had the honor of giving seven presentations:
Cameron Castaldi and Lauren Braun’s “Concert Coverage and Photography”
Taylor Mayne’s “The College Radio Content Bible” with Jackson Tabel, Cameron Castaldi, and Jaron Holbert
Payton Butler’s “Audio Visual: The Value of Design in the Music Industry” (my personal favorite panel, shoutout Payton)
“How To Get a Press Pass and What To Do With It” with Cameron Castaldi
“Station Manager’s Roundtable” with Kacie Fuller
“Music Director’s Roundtable” with Bryce Davis
Kacie Fuller’s “Building A Positive Office Culture”
Awards
This year, the station was nominated for 13 awards across a variety of categories! We are so incredibly proud of all of our nominees for the absolutely phenomenal work they accomplished and the recognition they received for their contributions. Below are our nominees and the categories they were nominated in:
Best Celebrity or Artist Interview: Taylor Jones interview – Maddie Torres
Best Comedy Program: Cardboard Boat Regatta – Cameron Castaldi
Best Foreign Language Program: French Connection – Bryce Davis and Dot Smith
Best Station Content: KJHK 50th Birthday – Micah Reynolds, Lauren Braun, and Payton Butler
Best Community Outreach Event: Thrift Fundraiser – Lauren Braun
Best Logo: KJHK Pride Logo – Payton Butler
Best Station Promotional Poster: Fall Fundraiser Concert – Payton Butler
Best Promo Series: KJHK 50th Birthday Spots – Jaron Holbert
Best Station Promo: Micah’s MTV Tour – Taylor Mayne
Best Website: kjhk.org – Jackson Tabel
Best Social Media Accounts: Instagram, Facebook, etc. – Bea Norton
Best Music Directors: Bryce Davis and Sarah Fay
Best Production Director: Jaron Holbert
Winners
In addition to our 13 nominations, we are proud to say we brought home three wins! A very special shoutout to our three winners for their outstanding work and excellence in their roles! Below are our three exceptional winners:
Best Community Outreach Event: Thrift Fundraiser – Lauren Braun
Best Promo Series: KJHK 50th Birthday Spots – Jaron Holbert
Best Social Media Accounts: Bea Norton
Taking on NYC
When we weren’t attending panels or at the conference itself, we had a phenomenal time exploring different parts of New York City. The night we arrived, we hit up Times Square for some late-night pizza and to explore the area. We had a free day on Thursday before the conference officially started, and we tried to cover as much as we could in the one full day we had to ourselves.
In the morning, we took the subway from Times Square to Brooklyn for a local bagel shop, lattes served in plastic bags, and a small bakery for cannolis. After that, we headed back to Manhattan to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art for a few hours. The Met’s incredible collection of art was mesmerizing, and I confidently speak for everyone when I say we all found an exhibit or piece that absolutely captivated us. For me, it was the European Paintings exhibition, which housed works by some of my favorite painters like Monet and Van Gogh.
After The Met, we took a stroll through Central Park over to the Upper West Side to aimlessly shop and grab some food at a local burger place. Post-dinner, we headed back to Times Square to hit up the shops that were closed the night we arrived, like the Hershey’s Store and all of the tacky “I <3 NY” stores. During our shopping spree, we happened to catch one of the Times Square Midnight Moments, where a contemporary art show is shown on all of the screens in Times Square from 11:57 to midnight.
The following day after the conference, we hit up Bryant Park and some record shops before heading to the Museum of Modern Art, where we tried to cram over four floors worth of art into an hour before closing. We got to see some iconic artworks, like Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, as well as some installations I had not heard of, like a full-size fallout shelter and collages of stuffed animals hung from the ceiling like clouds.
On our final night after the conference came to a conclusion with the awards ceremony, we headed to a local restaurant for some celebratory Dim Sum, and after that we took the subway down to the Financial District for some views of the Statue of Liberty while our trip came to a close. While heading back, we came across an empty park playground and embraced our whimsy–like true award-winning radio professionals. Our time in New York City was nothing short of unforgettable, and we hold a tremendous amount of gratitude towards KJHK and its supporters for making these opportunities possible for us to go and develop our professional skills in an environment as full of possibilities as New York City. We cannot wait to return next year and bring home more knowledge and opportunities (and, hopefully, awards) while gaining invaluable experience in realm of college radio, and while it was certainly sad to part with the city that never sleeps, it was an honor to get to spend time there representing KJHK.
