107.7 The Bronc nominated for a “radio Emmy”
By Tatyanna Carman
Rider’s award-winning student-run radio station, 107.7 The Bronc, was nominated for a Marconi Award for College Radio Station of the Year presented by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) on July 20.
Faculty General Manager of 107.7 The Bronc John Mozes found out about the nomination via email on July 20. To be nominated, 107.7 The Bronc submitted an audio reel and a description of what it does in 200 words or less.
“We sent it on its merry way and you think ‘OK, it’s going to go in the black hole of everything else. You’re never gonna hear back.’ And we did,” Mozes said.
Mozes described the Marconi Awards as the “radio Emmys,” or the “radio Oscars,” because the submissions come from radio stations from across the nation.
“This is the people in your industry telling you that you’re good. You know that’s a big deal. That’s why I’ve been trying to explain it as the “radio Emmys” because it’s more like that,” said Mozes.
The Marconi Awards lasts from Sept. 24 to 26 and 107.7 The Bronc will find out if it won on Sept. 26th. If it wins, the one minute video 107.7 The Bronc made will play when the station walks onto the stage.
Junior filmmaking major and student General Manager of 107.7 The Bronc, Jordan Dreyer, described when she woke up to the news about the nomination.
“I was sitting in my bed and I was very overwhelmed. I was crying a little bit and I told my parents, ‘We got nominated for this,’” Dreyer said. “There was so much happiness because it’s been such a hard year with all the work we do for Scream Screen and next year’s [Eggcellent Egg Hunt] and planning and prepping, so finding out we’re up for this award is very, very exciting.”
The radio station is up against other college radio stations from Seton Hall, Montclair State University and Hofstra University. Although Mozes described some of the other nominees as stiff competition, he believed 107.7 The Bronc’s promotions and events made it stand out.
“We mix music, talk and sports, so we kind of do a little bit of everything, almost like the old-fashioned community radio stations that aren’t really around anymore. Then, we do these events. I think the events make us stand out. I mean no other college radio station does a drive-in movie with 1,500 to 2,000 people. Nobody does an egg hunt with 10,000 eggs and $30,000 in prizes. And no one gives away a car,” Mozes explained.
He also reflected on when he started at Rider, 11 years ago, and said that he adopted all that he’s learned from his 21 years in radio outside of Rider and tries to give students real world experience.
Dreyer and Mozes both expressed the importance of every person that contributed to the radio station, as well as the Rider community itself.
“It’s not just one or two students, it’s a whole group. It’s this current executive staff, it’s last year’s executive staff, it’s eight years ago’s executive staff that have helped make this nomination possible, and of course, John Mozes,” Dreyer said. “[It’s] everyone at Rider, all the teachers, all the students, all the staff, even President [Gregory] Dell’omo, everyone’s just helped us along the way and we are very proud of what we can accomplish and we hope to bring it home for everybody.”
