The excitement of the 2023 WBA Awards for Excellence banquet is still fresh, and it’s already time to be thinking about your station’s nominations for the 2024 awards.
I joined the Awards Committee right before May’s big event, and in short order, it’s been an eye-opening experience. As many of you already know, the strategy for winning Station of the Year or News Operation of the Year is straightforward, but misunderstandings persist. While it’s true that points are awarded for a first submission from stations in each category, it’s not a case of “pay to win.” Think of it instead as “pay to play.” These are, after all, awards of merit.
It’s important to understand that the awards program is not a money maker for the WBA. The WBA Awards Committee aims to break even every year. But it benefits all of us to have more stations participating.
Per the WBA Awards rules booklet: each station gets one point for each eligible category in which they enter. Even if you submit two entries in a category (two is the limit), you still only get a single point. Then, each third-place award earns your station or your newsroom one more point. Each second-place award earns you two more points. Each first-place award earns you four more points, because winning matters. The station or news operation with the most points wins.
Entering every category twice with the goal of winning Station or News Operation of the Year is an investment, there’s no question. Radio stations which were in it to win it last year wrote checks to WBA for $910. For television stations, it was $1,440. The operators of each outlet need to decide whether this is worthwhile.
Allow me to make the case that it is.
Our Awards Committee Chair Emeritus Lindsay Wood Davis is unequivocal when he says the significance of the WBA Awards is that they tell the industry what’s important. That’s a powerful argument. Forbes Magazine says there are four reasons why industry awards make a difference.
1. They give your station valuable exposure.
2. They build your station’s credibility.
3. They strengthen morale on your existing staff, and help attract new talent.
4. They help you establish and measure your company’s goals.
I work for Civic Media, a relatively new statewide network of radio stations and digital outlets. Many of our local stations are staffed by new hires. Others are run by teams that have been in place for a long time. Our standout performer in 2023 was WFHR in Wisconsin Rapids, which won seven awards, including three first-place awards. In the short time since the euphoria of that night, the WFHR staff has been embracing new initiatives with a sense of enthusiasm and purpose that I like to trace back to the recognition WFHR earned that night. In my mind, the return on the investment of those entry fees is incalculable. It’s every individual station’s call, but I encourage you to think about those kinds of intangibles as you make your decisions about the 2024 Awards for Excellence, and I’ll see you at the gala next year!
Terry Bell
Awards Committee
Civic Media
