Rowan Radio recognized with Hermes, Communicator awards

Rowan Today, May 21, 2018

Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM was recently honored with five Hermes and four Communicator awards.

The prestigious Hermes Awards May 15 recognized the documentary Behind the Closed Door: Sexual Assault on College Campuses, with a Platinum Award for Best Audio Program. The program, which covered the trend of sexual assaults on college campuses and the steps institutions are taking to make their communities safer, was produced by Julia Kantner, Adam Coughlin and Ellen Unger.

The broadcast of Rowan Football’s comeback win over Kean University last November earned a Hermes Platinum Award for top sports program. The winning entry featured the play-by-play call of Michael Delayo alongside color analyst Joe Stauffenberg. During the game, Rowan running back John Mannion scored a late touchdown to beat the Cougars.

Studio 89.7, a talk show hosted by Rowan adjunct professor and Philadelphia radio veteran Paul Perrello, received a Hermes Gold Award for his November 2017 interview with former 6ABC-TV news anchor Lisa Thomas-Laury. The interview focused on Thomas-Laury’s upbringing, her rise in the media industry and her struggles with illness.

Elsewhere, The Underground and Relapse: The War on Drugs, collected Honorable Mention nods for audio programs.

The Underground was a 30-minute documentary co-produced by former Rowan Radio Assistant News Director Noreen Peebles about the influence of hip-hop on underground musicians.

Ime Mark, Thomas DiNapoli, and Matt LaMar produced Relapse, a program about drug abuse in America.

The Hermes Awards is an international competition that identifies the best in print, electronic, and interactive media.

On May 9, student and faculty broadcasters were honored with four Communicator Awards in an international competition that recognizes the best in interactive and visual media.

Judged by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, the organization’s 24^th annual contest honored the 30-minute documentary Behind the Closed Door: Examining Sexual Assaults on College Campuses, with an Award of Distinction in the Programs category.

The Underground also earned an Award of Distinction in the Programs category for former Rowan Radio Assistant News Director Noreen Peebles and fellow Rowan students Matthew Atkinson, Samantha Gonzalez and Kyle String.

Another Award of Distinction honor went to Relapse: The War on Drugs, which included interviews with law enforcement officials and experts on a range of issues including the nationwide struggle with opioid abuse.

Studio 89.7 earned the station’s final Award of Distinction in the Programs category.

Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM has won 299 regional and national awards since 1993.