On-campus radio station earns nominations from Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters

The Christian music radio station 90.9 The Light (WQLU), located on the Liberty University campus and staffed by Liberty students, has received two nominations this year from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters (VAPB) for Outstanding Sports Operation of the Virginias and Best Radio News Anchor.

The annual VAPB awards encompass radio and television stations across both Virginia and West Virginia, and it places the work of college students like those at Liberty in categories alongside professional organizations in medium markets. With two nominees in both of the categories, The Light is guaranteed at least a second-place win.

“Many of the competitions we have available to us are against other university stations; this is against all the best broadcast outlets in medium markets,” station manager Jamie Hall said. “We have won at least one award each of the last five years in multiple categories of news and sports.”

“Our students’ hard work can be seen through these awards, which could be more meaningful to them than an ‘A’ for a project,” added Kornel Gerstner, an associate professor in the School of Communication & the Arts (SCA) and the station’s faculty advisor.

The Outstanding Sports Operation nomination was in recognition of the entire 90.9 sports department and was based on a 15-minute package of highlights and coverage. The department broadcasts live sporting events for nearby Liberty Christian Academy and Liberty University women’s basketball and softball games with play-by-play, color commentary, and interviews with players and coaches; Saturday morning talk shows about Liberty sports and professional athletics; and coverage of Liberty Flames games in 30- to 60-second radio clips and live tweets.

Christian Weaner, a junior studying journalism with a minor in digital media: performance, has served as the sports director for 90.9 since the Fall 2018 semester. He said that to be recognized in a grouping with professional sports broadcasters is a tremendous honor and he is thankful for the opportunities that Liberty and the radio station have afforded him as a student.

“What’s remarkable about it is that we’re a student-run organization, and yet we’re competing for awards on a level with professional departments and radio stations,” Weaner said. “One of the coolest things about Liberty is the hands-on experience and the opportunities we have as students to get involved. It’s one thing to learn how to record audio and edit clips, but it’s another thing to go out and do it, and that’s preparing myself and other students for success.”

The Best Radio News Anchor nomination recognized alumna Macy Hrncir (’19), who studied journalism and minored in creative writing, for her work as a news anchor before she graduated last summer. Depending on the semester, Hrncir would host three-minute news segments two or three times per week in which she would share national, state, and local stories as well as a weather update.

Hrncir said her journalism courses enhanced her storytelling skills for the her radio show and, even though she did not study broadcasting, the station helped open doors in her career.

“The journalism program was a huge help with the radio station because it taught me about research and digging deeper to get a full story,” Hrncir said. “Working with the radio station has opened a lot of opportunities for me, even before I left Liberty, because I got to go to the World Journalism Institute while I was still a student and the main pieces I used in my application were from my newscasts, and I also connected with radio and podcasters there.”

Liberty’s radio broadcasting program has a rich history of training future professionals, Hall noted, with a radio talk show host and a television sports reporter in Dallas, two news anchors in different markets in Ohio, a producer for FOX News, and countless other alumni who serve as play-by-play announcers, reporters, and DJs.

The awards luncheon was originally scheduled for April 18 at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., but COVID-19 restrictions have pushed the announcement of the winners to a later date yet to be determined.