WHIP Radio’s 2018 Year In Review
For WHIP Radio, the 2018 Broadcasting Year was nothing short of monumental.
WHIP Radio took on brand-new challenges, expanded on ideas, and reached even greater distances that were once thought to be impossible.
As the year comes to a close, the team at WHIP Radio wanted to take a moment and reflect back on some of the most monumental achievements and moments from the last year.
Marathons and Special Broadcasts
From the beginning of the year, WHIP Radio had a mission to develop new ideas that were never done before.
With the help of Chief Engineer Benjamin Woodring, WHIP Radio achieved this goal by initiating THREE 12+ hour marathons.
#Vinylthon took place on Saturday, April 21st 2018 in partnership with the College Radio Foundation’s #Vinylthon2018 event. For 24 straight hours, WHIP Radio shut down their automation system in favor of stepping back in time and playing only vinyl records. Everything from classic rock albums, to movie soundtracks, and more were showcased. WHIP Radio was awarded the Golden Slip Mat Award for being one of just a handful of college radio stations participating to take on the 24-hour challenge.
Tape-a-thon, inspired by the aforementioned Vinylthon, was another continuous event to celebrate College Radio Day. This time, WHIP Radio would bring cassette tapes into the mix for College Radio Day. In addition to playing cassette tapes for 24-hours, WHIP Radio partnered with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to help raise money for the hospital. WHIP Radio was proud to donate nearly $400 for Tape-a-thon 2018. To make it possible, Chief Engineer Benjamin Woodring brought in his own personal collection of tapes, and systems to run Tape-a-thon as authentic as possible.
Finally, our A-Z Marathon was a celebration to the start of the new school year. For an entire week, WHIP Radio threw everything we had at our listeners, by playing our ENTIRE music library in our system. The event, which took place over 6 days, was a fully automated playlist that featured thousands of songs with songs being played in alphabetical order. An incredible amount of effort went into this marathon, including recording over 50 liners with the help of our Production Director Nate Weaver, our News Director Tony Pearson lending his voice, and the entire staff coming together and adding even more songs to an already large enough playlist.
In addition, WHIP Radio was proud to feature Special Broadcasts throughout the 2018 Broadcasting year. Here are just a few…
- Dylan Coyle, Adam Diaz Wiley, and Benjamin Woodring hit the road to travel to the Poconos for a special Broadcast with Pocono Raceway. The trio interviewed Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky, President Ben May, and Director of Content and Communications Kevin Heaney in celebration of College Radio Day 2018. In addition, the trio took a ride around the track while offering questions to personnel to get a feel for the NASCAR Circuit. Check out the video here!
- WHIP Radio packed up the studio, and headed to the Line for Temple’s Homecoming Game. WHIP Radio had a full day of broadcasting with a special early-morning broadcast featuring Benjamin Woodring, and Adam Diaz Wiley, and the Broadcast of the Game from WHIP Sports.
- After the tragic passing of Mac Miller, Program Director Michael Carey hosted a special 2-hour broadcast – the Most Dope Celebration. For 2 hours, Michael played Mac’s best tracks from his mixtape days, to his most recent album, Swimming. You can listen to the broadcast here, and read Michael’s personal Thank You letter to Mac here.
Open Mic Nights
In September, our Web Manager Natalie Crane, and our Promotions Director Brittany Rizzo decided to collaborate on an entirely new idea to help promote WHIP Radio more, as well as get more individuals involved.
After the staff expressed their desire for this to come to fruition, Natalie and Brittany started reaching out to potential partners to host the event. The idea was simple – tap into some little, or unheard talent on campus and let their voice be heard and their talent be seen.
Saxby’s Coffee, located on Liacouras Walk on campus, joined WHIP was a partner and was a generous host to WHIP Radio’s first open-mic night. The first ever Open Mic Night blew everyone’s expectations, as nearly 50 guests crammed into the cozy coffee shop on campus. Immediately following this event, the planning for the next one was already in the works.
After Saxby’s played host to the second one, the succeeding open-mic nights were moved to The Soda Bar with the popularity of the open-mic night growing rapidly, and more space being needed.
The popularity of the open-mic nights on campus has been growing already, with themes now becoming a part of the evenings. WHIP Radio plans to host more open-mic nights in 2019, so be sure to keep an eye out on all social media platforms for more information!
Check out WHIP Radio’s Instagram for Highlights from our Open Mic Nights!
Podcasts Podcasts Podcasts
WHIP Radio was proud to add the Podcast Department to the family of outlets that WHIP offers.
Being lead by newly-hired Director Sam Cohn, WHIP Radio hit the ground running with a strong lineup of podcasts created entirely by students – for students.
WHIP’s Podcast Department covers a wide variety of topics, from sports, music, entertainment, and news based podcasts so there is something for everyone.
Let’s Talk U with Jimmy Freas, Philly v.s. The World, Backstage Pass, and Piece of Mind are just a few examples of the podcast that WHIP Radio offers. The Podcast Department is expanding by the week, and WHIP is actively searching for new additions to the department!
Podcasts can be heard on Apple Music, Spotify, and Anchor by searching your favorite WHIP Podcast!
Want to have your own podcast? Contact Sam Cohn via our Staff page for more information!
And the Nominees Are….
As the year comes to a close, WHIP Radio’s efforts have not gone unnoticed from the community, Temple University, and award committees. WHIP Radio actively promoted the OwlCrowd fundraiser – a Temple-based crowdfunding initiative to help bring in more funds to media outlets such as Temple News, the Templar Yearbook, and WHIP Radio.
An anonymous donor to Klein College of Media and Communication offered a $2,000 bonus to the organization that can raise the most money. After a back-and-forth exchange of the lead, WHIP Radio had a last-minute flood of donations to secure the $2,000 bonus – raising nearly $4,000 on donations of the $5,000 goal by Klein. The money donated to WHIP Radio will be used to send students to the IBS Awards in New York in March, upgrade new equipment in the studio, and continue our push for more awards.
Speaking of awards, WHIP Radio was proud to be nominated for TEN IBS Awards. The nominations are..
- Best Station Promotional Poster – Halloween Spooktacular
- Best On-Air Giveaway – Halloween Spooktacular
- Best Giveaway Item – Mean Girls Day Trivia Giveaway
- Best News Interview – Robert Carr Interview
- Best Liner/Sweeper – WHIP Jello Liner
- Best Football Play-By-Play – Temple V Cincinnati 2018
- Best Men’s Basketball Play-By-Play – Temple V Tulane
- Best Video Newscast – WHIP Crackdown Episode 3
- Best Video Sports Report – Pocono Raceway Special
- Best Use of Twitter – WHIP Social Media Team led by Siena Sohn
WHIP Radio will send a handful of students to New York in March for the Award Ceremony, thanks to the generous donations from the OwlCrowd Fundraiser.
On to 2019!
To say 2018 was an incredible year for WHIP Radio would be an understatement. The radio station has made incredible strides in just a few months, thanks to the leadership under General Manager Allison Salmon, and Assistant General Manager Adam Diaz Wiley.
2019 will also bring some new faces to the staff as well.
- Gary Lawery – hired as Program Director
- Megan Pulver – hired as Promotions Director
- Maya Tejada – hired as Assistant News Director
- Angel Young – hired as Assistant Promotions Director
- Savannah Arnold – hired as Assistant Social Media Director
WHIP Radio also wants to extend a congratulations and well wishes to Brittany Rizzo, our outgoing Promotions Director, as well as Michael Carey, our outgoing Program Director. Brittany will begin her journey into the working world after graduating, and Michael will move down to Charlotte, North Carolina for an internship with FOX SPORTS and NASCAR. Their contributions to the station have helped make the station stronger, and both are excited to see where WHIP Radio goes next.
We Have Infinite Potential, and that will only continue to grow in 2019!
Authors
Michael is an award-winning radio host at WHIP Radio. He has been a staple host on WHIP’s Wake Up Call, and has recently occupied the role of Program Director for the station.
