Home / News / WBA Awards For Excellence: Entry Deadline Is Wednesday 1/11/17

WBA Awards For Excellence: Entry Deadline Is Wednesday 1/11/17

The 2016 WBA Awards Gala will be held on Saturday night, May 6th, 2017, again at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in Middleton. There’s great food, terrific service and an elegant atmosphere. This year the theme of the Gala will be “The Great Gatsby,” giving you lots of opportunity to dress up in Roarin’ 20’s style, celebrate with a few flapper-era cocktails and do a little “Misbehavin!’”

New in 2016

The WBA Awards Committee has lived up to its promise to keep the Awards program fresh. There are a number of changes and additions, so you’ll want to pay close attention in those areas where your station competes.

  • There is one completely new category this year, this time in the ever-changing world of Social and Digital Media: “Best Use of Social Media Live Streaming.” Be sure to read the specifics of how the committee has defined this new arena for your creativity. Importantly, this award will be presented in all three divisions, TV, Music Radio and News and Talk Radio.
  • Speaking of Social and Digital Media. PLEASE make doubly sure that each link you provide when you enter these categories is LIVE and that they are NOT password protected.
  • Our Annual Special Award Category returns, focused, appropriately, on how your station covers the 2016 elections. The rules for the three divisions differ from each other this time, so study up!
  • You’ll note that all the commercial categories have been rewritten to include “underwriting announcements.” With the growing interest in the Awards program by non-commercial WBA members, the Committee has opened up this category further.
  • The WBA Awards for Excellence program welcomes the many new LPFM Radio stations around the Badger State with a special $10.00 fee for each entry. LPFMs will compete in the market size in which they serve (Small, Medium or Large) but, given their across-the-board non-commercial status and largely volunteer-based staffing, the Committee felt that this rate was an appropriate way to help involve these new facilities in “The Big Dance!”
  • In the category of Significant Community Impact (an award competition in all three divisions) there was confusion among a few entrants last year. This is an award for “…an action or series of actions that results in a positive impact on one’s community.” As such, your entry must be a MINIMUM of FIVE minutes long. Additionally, you may submit a ONE-PAGE pdf narrative explaining the entry and its impact in more detail. A single sixty-second announcement is NOT an acceptable entry in this category.

Judges across the nation often report that the quality of entries in the Wisconsin Broadcasters Awards for Excellence program are nothing short of amazing. We want to make sure that those entries are judged fairly and accurately, so BE SURE TO READ AND RE-READ THE “HOW TO ENTER” PAGE AT THE END OF THIS AWARDS BROCHURE. If you are still unclear, pick up the phone and call Linda Baun (608-729-1480) at the WBA office for clarification. Most questions are answered immediately; the rest will be answered within 24 hours.

Here’s one final note: Entries open up on December 1st and close on January 11th, 2017. You need NOT enter everything all at once, but don’t wait until the last minute! Success in the WBA Awards comes to stations and individuals who pay attention to the rules and the deadlines. PLEASE be one of those and Best of Luck to you and your stations!