WXOU takes home state collegiate broadcast awards

By Dan Bodene, contributing writer

WXOU-FM, Oakland University’s campus radio station, picked up a number of awards recently in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation’s (MABF) High School and College Broadcast Awards for 2011.

OU swept the radio sports play-by-play category. Matt Pocket earned first place (his fourth first- or second-place win in four years), Kyle Bauer was awarded second place and the team of Pocket, Camron Smith and Ryan Carroll won honorable mention. All are in OU’s Communication program.

Journalism student and WXOU station manager Andrew Grieve also won an honorable mention in the radio station activities report category.

And, in a first for Oakland, Cinema Studies major Phil Berard was awarded the 2011 MAB Foundation scholarship and Communications major Savana Ciavatta won the 2011 MAB/WXYZ-TV Broadcasting scholarship . Both are $1,000 awards to assist students who are actively pursuing a career in a broadcast-related field at a Michigan college or university.

Faculty adviser Christine Stover said OU’s growing presence in the MABF awards – Oakland has won awards in each of the past five years – is the result of both talent and effort. “It really takes a tremendous amount of work, and we’re very proud of what we do here,” she said. “And, of course, we’re pleased to be able to knock off some of the long-time champs in the awards program.”

Added Carroll, “Any time we can beat Michigan State, it’s a good thing.”

The awards will be presented on Wednesday, March 9 at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference & Expo at The Lansing Center in Lansing.

For more on WXOU-FM (88.3), visit the website at wxou.org.