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University News

WMSC Celebrates World College Radio Day

Station is one of four college radio stations in the U.S. to present programming as part of global initiative

Posted in: Communication and Media, University

Photo of WMSC Student Station Manager Kaya Maciak at the station.
WMSC Student Station Manager Kaya Maciak at the station.

Montclair State’s WMSC 90.3 FM is collaborating with more than 600 stations in 40 countries for the 11th annual World College Radio Day (WCRD) powered by Live365 on Friday, October 1. The station will host 34 hours of special programming as part of the initiative that will feature on-air talent, exclusive celebrity interviews and music performances. In addition, the station will close out the 24-hour Global WCRD marathon with the station’s first college radio musical “The Nightmare Before World College Radio Day.”

WMSC’s World College Radio Day event kicks off Thursday, September 30 at 6 p.m. EDT and ends at 4 a.m EDT on Saturday, October 2. Highlights from the station’s programming and participation include:

  • A special two-hour edition of The Morning Buzz.
  • Golf cart karaoke.
  • A live dodgeball game between the student management team and general members.
  • Two hours of exclusive interviews & three live performances.
  • A simulcast en Español produced by WMSC students and staff.
  • A special edition of WCBS 880’s Tom Kaminski and his exclusive WMSC show “Back To The Future.”
  • The premiere of an original musical telling the story of one heroine that revives the world of college radio with the help of her best friend, the Daft Punk duo and a penguin named Joe.
  • WMSC is contributing thirteen celebrity interviews to the two-part English simulcast.
  • One of only four college radio stations in the United States selected to participate.

The mission of World College Radio Day is to harness the combined listenership of hundreds of thousands of college radio listeners throughout the world and celebrate the important contribution of college radio by uniting for one day.

To help spread the word for the worldwide event, WMSC has produced a “This is Spinal Tap” — inspired promotional video; encouraging listeners to unleash the amp-level 11 energy inside them.

“I’m proud of the work my students produced and proposed that led to the station being selected to be part of global broadcast,” says Anabella Poland, General Manager at WMSC FM. “World College Radio Day showcases our students’ full creativity and potential magnified by the ample resources from the School of Communication and Media.”

“Celebrating World College Radio Day is one of the most vital memories you experience throughout your time at WMSC, allowing students to showcase their talents and personalities in a way they haven’t before,” says student station manager Kaya Maciak. “Imagine your senior-year musical theatre performance or last homecoming game but ten times more grand, that’s World College Radio Day. It’s a time when the entire station gathers together and hosts an array of activities to showcase the diverse and creative parts of the station, not solely for potential award recognition but for the pure joy of being a college radio member.”

This theme of the 2021 WCRD is Resilient Radio to highlight the challenges students, faculty and staff have overcome since last spring. This year’s WCRD official ambassador is multi-Grammy award winner, music and comedy legend, and college radio alum, “Weird Al” Yankovic. Students from WMSC FM and WNUW at Neumann University interviewed Yankovic for the marathon.

Support the station by tuning in via wmscradio.com or the iHeart Radio App, and follow WMSC on Instagram @wmscradio and Twitter @WMSC to interact with WMSC members and keep up with all World College Radio festivities. Follow the hashtag #WCRD2021 #collegeradioday, and #resilientradio to join this worldwide celebration.

You can also show support for the students working at WMSC by giving a gift towards The WMSC Excellence in Radio Scholarship and Training Fund, which assists deserving students defray tuition cost and affords them access to vital industry training held by National Association of Broadcasters, College Broadcasters Inc. etc.