KU News Release

KU student radio station wins five Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards

LAWRENCE — The student-operated radio station at the University of Kansas, KJHK 90.7 FM, received five awards, including two first-place honors, from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters at an awards ceremony held April 2 in Wichita.

The association’s annual awards recognize outstanding efforts in radio, television and Internet broadcasting for high school and college students. Entries are judged on technical and creative merits.

In addition to the first-place honors, KU students received two second-place awards and one honorable mention. This year’s competition recognized 32 winners out of 138 radio entries.

“With so many entries, this year was very competitive,” said Tom Johnson, KJHK general manager and program adviser. “Our students made a great showing, and all of them should be proud of their accomplishments.”

KJHK winners were:

— First place for 60-second station promotion “Hip Hop Hyp” to Laura Watkins, Lenexa senior, and Jason Agron, Overland Park doctoral student.
— First place for entertainment program “The Sporting Life,” an hourlong sports show that featured analysis, interviews, opinion and humor, to Rustin Dodd, Overland Park sophomore; Blake Cripps, Topeka senior; and Ryan Elder, Topeka freshman.
— Second place for entertainment program “The Panel, Episode 11.09.06” to Annie Harrigan, Leawood junior; Ian Hrabe, Olathe junior; and Joe Noh, Overland Park junior. The winning entry was a talk show that focused on comic books and graphic novels with a hilarious trio of hosts, interviews with prolific comic book creators and discussion of all things comic.
— Second place for documentary “DBR,” an interview with Daniel Bernard Roumain, violinist, composer and visiting artist at the Lied Center at KU, to Harrigan. The program was set to a number of his compositions in such a way that drew attention away from the interviewer and, instead, highlighted his music and responses to questions.
— Honorable mention for sports play-by-play for “KU-K-State Men’s Basketball” to Bryan Cisler, Leawood junior, and Dodd.

Through progressive and diverse programming, KJHK aims to provide something for each KU student during the weekly programming schedule. A public radio station, it has been broadcasting from the Lawrence campus since 1975. It is operated as a student organization of the KU Memorial Unions and reports to the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success.

Award-winning students are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names, high school and award.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Leawood 66206
Annie Harrigan, junior in visual art education, daughter of John Harrigan; Shawnee Mission East High School; second-place entertainment program team award for “The Panel, Episode 11.09.06” and second-place documentary award for “DBR.”

From Leawood 66209
Bryan Cisler, junior in journalism and mass communications (news and information emphasis), son of Dennis and Joy Cisler; Blue Valley North High School; honorable mention team award for sports play-by-play broadcast of the KU-K-State men’s basketball game.

From Lenexa 66215
Laura Watkins, senior in journalism and mass communications (strategic communications emphasis), daughter of David and Kay Watkins; Shawnee Mission Northwest High School; first-place station promotion team award for “Hip Hop Hyp.”

From Olathe 66062
Ian Hrabe, junior in English and theatre and film, son of Jeff Hrabe; Olathe East High School; second-place entertainment program team award for “The Panel, Episode 11.09.06.”

From Overland Park 66212
Jason Agron, doctoral student in electrical engineering and computer science, son of Steven and Deborah Agron; Shawnee Mission South High School; bachelor’s in computer engineering from KU, spring 2004; master’s in computer engineering from KU, spring 2006; first-place station promotion team award for “Hip Hop Hyp.”

Rustin Dodd, sophomore in journalism and mass communications (news and information emphasis), son of Frank and Mary Dodd; Shawnee Mission South High School; first-place entertainment program team award for “The Sporting Life” and honorable mention team award for sports play-by-play broadcast of the KU-K-State men’s basketball game.

From Overland Park 66213
Joe Noh, junior in theatre and film, son of James and Chae Sun Noh; Blue Valley Northwest High School; second-place entertainment program team award for “The Panel, Episode 11.09.06.”

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka 66614
Blake Cripps, senior in journalism and mass communications (strategic communications emphasis), son of Bryce and Judy Cripps; Topeka West High School; first-place entertainment program team award for “The Sporting Life.”

Ryan Elder, freshman in pre-journalism, son of Gary and Kimberly Elder; Hayden High School; first-place entertainment program team award for “The Sporting Life.”

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