WILL Press Room
WILL-AM “Outstanding News Operation”
Monday, April 20, 2009
WILL-AM 580 News was named the “Outstanding News Operation” for the second year in a row in the downstate radio division of the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association Journalism Excellence Contest. WILL-AM 580 news director Tom Rogers also won first place in the Best Newswriting category.
“For the second year, I’m humbled by this award,” Rogers said. “Judges in other states who award Associated Press honors are also journalists, so it’s gratifying that they recognize the good work that Jim Meadows and Jeff Bossert do, and the importance that AM 580 as a whole places on being a credible source of news in the communities we serve.”
The awards will be presented at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association convention at the I Hotel in Champaign on April 25.
Uni High Student Documentary
Monday, November 03, 2008
Disability, Gender and Race in U of I Athletics
WILL-AM 580
A new Urbana University High School student documentary looks at the University of Illinois’ record on disability, gender equity and race relations as seen through the eyes of athletes and coaches.
Students in the class of 2011 researched and interviewed 16 people who overcame obstacles because of race, gender or disability, talking to them about their experiences, said Uni student Maria Gao, who along with Anne Machesky, produced the hour-long documentary, Competing Against Discrimination: Achieving Equality in Athletics at the University of Illinois. It aired at 6 pm Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, on WILL-AM 580.
“We talked to some amazing people who accomplished a lot at the U of I,” Gao said. “Things are so different today than they were when some of these people were involved in sports at the U of I.” By hearing from athletes and coaches who broke barriers, she and the other students learned to “dream big,” she said.
“I learned about Tim Nugent, who after World War II was the first person to make the college campus accessible to students with disabilities. He made everything accessible with curb cuts and ramps. Now when I see the curb cuts, I know it all started here at the U of I,” she said.
Among those interviewed were Willie Williams, former track athlete, Olympian and assistant coach; J.C. Caroline, former football player and All-American; Karol Anne Kahrs, an administrator who worked for gender equity in athletics; Tony Clements, former football and basketball player; Ted Beach, former basketball player; Shawn Wax, former All Big Ten football player; Joshua George, co-captain of the U of I wheelchair basketball team and a bronze medalist at the 2004 Paralympic Games; Anjali Forber-Pratt, wheelchair track athlete; Gia Lewis, holder of the U of I record in the 20-pound weight throw and discus; and Jean Driscoll, elite wheelchair athlete and eight-time winner of the Boston Marathon.
WILL-AM’s Dave Dickey, who worked with the student producers, said he covered U of I sports for WILL-AM for many years, and knew many of the athletes and coaches. But the students were not familiar with them. “It was fun to see the students have those ‘aha!’ moments,” Dickey said.
WILL Digital Radio on the Air!
Monday, August 25, 2008
WILL has officially launched its digital radio service.
The new FM 90.9 digital service provides three streams of content: FM 90.9 HD1—a simulcast of the FM music service; FM 90.9 HD2 and HD3—the news and information service, also available on AM 580.
To tune to the new service on your digital radio, tune to FM 90.9. After a brief delay, the radio will pull in the WILL FM 90.9 HD1 signal. If you want to listen to the AM service, dial the radio up to HD2.
* Hear a clearer, more reliable sound of music from 90.9;
* Get AM 580’s news and information 24 hours a day in Mahomet, Monticello, Decatur and even further west.
Digital radio dramatically improves reception and sound quality. Within WILL-FM’s primary service area the digital signal will not be subject to interference or fading caused by buildings and other radio signals. And the background hiss heard in communities farther away from our Monticello-based transmitter (including Champaign and Urbana) is gone.
The digital radio installation was funded with a $75,000 federal grant, a major gift from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and generous gifts from a number of Friends of WILL.
Top Award for China Documentary
Monday, June 16, 2008
A U of I student radio documentary on China that aired on WILL-AM last summer was the national winner for radio in-depth reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)‘s 2007 contest.
Ten students, most undergraduates, in professor Nancy Benson’s international reporting course went to China last year to produce the two-hour radio documentary, “China: Beyond the Great Wall.”
WILL-AM news director Tom Rogers accompanied the students, as did WILL’s John Paul, a U of I graduate student, whose reports are included in the documentary.
This year’s SPJ contest attracted more than 3,400 entries in 39 categories from collegiate journalists.
In announcing the awards, Neil Ralston, SPJ’s Vice President for Campus Chapter Affairs, said, “I encourage media executives who are looking for the next wave of high-quality journalists to pay attention to the winners of SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Awards. These young men and women represent some of the best that journalism programs have to offer, and we’re proud to be able to honor them at the national level.”
Links:
Edward R. Murrow Awards
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
WILL-AM 580 News won two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in electronic journalism from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
WILL-AM reporter Jim Meadows was named the winner of the hard news category for his story about the last dance of the University of Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek. Meadows, news director Tom Rogers and reporter Jeff Bossert won in the news series category for their stories on World War II veterans.
The station competed with other small market stations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Their winning stories become eligible for national awards, which will be presented in October.
To listen to the winning World War II stories, visit the WILL Central Illinois World War II Stories Web site.
###
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
Public Information Coordinator
Associated Press News Awards
Friday, March 21, 2008
WILL-AM 580 News was named the “Outstanding News Operation” in the downstate radio division of the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association Journalism Excellence Contest. WILL-AM 580 News also picked up four other awards, including second place in the Best Newscast and Best Newswriter categories.
In other awards, news director Tom Rogers and reporters Jim Meadows and Jeff Bossert placed second in the Best Series/Documentary category for their World War II: Central Illinois Stories series. Rogers placed second in the Best Light Feature category for his story on the POW camp in Hoopeston during World War II.
“I’m humbled and honored that Associated Press judges regarded our work as among the best in the state,” Rogers said. “It’s a testament to Jim Meadows, Jeff Bossert and other AM 580 reporters who work tirelessly to tell the stories of east-central Illinois plainly, accurately and innovatively.” The awards will be presented at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association convention in Springfield on April 19.
To listen to the winning stories, visit the WILL Web site.
###
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
Public Information Coordinator
WILL AM-FM-TV
(217) 333-1070
Central Illinois World War II Stories
Saturday, September 01, 2007
More than 70 World War II veterans, their families and others involved in war service have volunteered to be a part of WILL’s Central Illinois World War II Stories, an effort to capture and share stories of central Illinois during World War II.
In conjunction with the airing of Ken Burns’ The War on WILL-TV, WILL reporters, producers and oral history interviewers talked to local men and women, who describe how the war altered their lives and the lives of their families.
Links:
Leonard Named General Manager at WILL AM-FM-TV
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Mark Leonard, general manager for Central Washington of KCTS-TV in Seattle, has been named the new general manager of WILL AM-FM-TV-Online and director of broadcasting for the College of Communications at the University of Illinois, pending approval of the U of I Board of Trustees. He succeeds Donald Mullally, who retired in 2005.
Announcing the appointment, effective June 15, Ron Yates, dean of the College of Communications, said Leonard’s career spans more than 27 years in public broadcasting, including senior management positions in Seattle and Yakima, Wash., and at WXXI in Rochester, N.Y., where he was vice president for television.
“He brings vision, energy and creativity to WILL and the Division of Broadcasting at a time when public broadcasting needs such qualities,” Yates said.
As general manager for Central Washington at KCTS-TV, Leonard manages all station operations of KYVE, KCTS’ Yakima station. He was chief administrative officer at KCTS-TV from 2000-2003.
Leonard said he is looking forward to heading up WILL’s operation, in part because it’s a combined public media service with radio, television and new media. “It’s an opportunity to innovate with new models of service for public media,” he said.
WILL is a station with a long history and great tradition that has already built a solid history of service to its local communities, Leonard said. His experience at other stations has reinforced his understanding that localism is an essential value of public broadcasting, he said. “With the overall consolidation of commercial media, localism is an increasingly rare but important asset. As a result, public broadcasting has a unique opportunity to build and expand upon local strengths,” said Leonard, who worked briefly in television production for WILL-TV in 1982.
Leonard is a past president of the Washington State Public Broadcasters Association, where he successfully reversed declining state support for public television. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and participated in the Executive Development Program at the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.
###
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
Public Information Coordinator
WILL AM-FM-TV
217-333-1070