BOLTON LANDING – As announced in April, WSYR-TV anchor team Rod Wood and Carrie Lazarus were inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame last night. But they weren’t the only Central New Yorkers taking awards home from the NYSBA’s annual Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting.
The ABC affiliate was the only Syracuse market television station to take home other NYSBA awards, including Outstanding Promotion Announcement or Series for “Been There, Always Here” and the Outstanding Spot News award for coverage of the April 26th flash flood. The station was up against entries from other stations in the “blue group,” consisting of stations from similarly-sized markets like Rochester and Albany.
Galaxy classic rocker TK99 (WTKW/WTKV) was the big winner among Syracuse radio stations. Glenn “Gomez” Adams, Dave Coombs and Lisa Chelenza were named Outstanding On-Air Broadcast Personality or Team for their work on “Gomez and Dave in the Morning,” which is also heard in Utica on WOUR.
Dave Coombs says, “Obviously all the really great shows either retired or didn’t enter this year. Seriously, we’re honored.” In addition to being honored for the show, Coombs received his own Outstanding Radio Sportcast award, for the “TK99 Sports Punch.”
Galaxy Communications C.F.O. Ed Levine adds, “Being recognized and honored by one’s peers means a lot. I’m very proud of the show and all the successes they have had over the years!”
Elsewhere in Syracuse, Clear Channel rhythmic CHR Hot 107.9 (WWHT) won the award for Outstanding Public Service Announcement/Campaign for the “Syracuse City School District ITC School Campaign.” TK99 and Hot 107.9’s awards were the result of competition with other “blue group” stations in medium markets across the state.
Although NPR affiliate WRVO is generally considered to be part of the Syracuse market on many levels, the station’s geographic location in Oswego puts it in the NYSBA’s “green group,” competing with other stations located in smaller cities.
WRVO’s “Community Forum: The Science of Hydrofracking” earned the station top honors for Outstanding Public Affairs Program or Series. A story about the “Health Risks of Eating Too Many Fish” also earned the station a trophy for Outstanding Feature Story.
NBC affiliate WKTV may not have any direct competition in its own backyard for now – but the station still did well competing against other television stations in the “green group” of smaller markets across the state.
News Director Steve McMurray and his team are celebrating three awards, including Outstanding Spot News for “Bank Robbery/Officer Shot,” along with Outstanding Feature News Story for “Canoe Classic” and Outstanding Local Sporting Event for the station’s extensive coverage of “Boilermaker 2010.”
Aside from the aforementioned awards for TK99 programming which is simulcast on WOUR, all of the NYSBA awards for radio in the Utica/Rome market went to Townsquare Media stations.
News/talker WIBX took home three awards, including Outstanding Spot News for “Shooting at AT&T Store,” along with Outstanding Local Newscast for “Tornado/Flooding News Update.”
The station was also awarded Outstanding Local Sporting Event for Fred Miller and Dave Peroni’s live broadcast of the Class D Boys Basketball State Final where the Marauders from New York Mills High School won the state championship. (You may recall reading here recently that the My Hometown Sports team has recently relocated to Galaxy’s trio of ESPN Radio stations.)
Last but not least, Townsquare’s Big Frog 104 (WFRG) was honored with Outstanding Promotion Announcement or Series for last year’s “WFRG Frogfest Promo.”
Here’s the complete list of awards (PDF file), including those awarded to stations beyond the coverage areas of CNYRadio.com and CNYTVNews.com. Our congratulations to all of the winners!