RSU Senior Wins National Broadcasting Award

Congratulations to Gary “Turbo” Webb, who was honored by the College Music Journal for his show Metal Meltdown on RSU Radio.

Gary “Turbo” Webb of RSU Radio, winner of “Specialty Music Director of the Year” at the College Music Journal awards.

Gary “Turbo” Webb, a Rogers State University communications senior from Verdigris, was named “Specialty Music Director of the Year” during the College Music Journal awards for college radio stations in North America.

    Webb received the award during an October 18th ceremony in New York City, beating out station directors from Seton Hall University in Seton Hall, NJ; Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY. Webb, who has been with the station for the past four years, specializes in metal music, hosting the Metal Meltdown show on Tuesday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight and the Midnight Metal Meltdown on Wednesday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

    Webb said the award was very important to his career in broadcasting. “Winning the CMJ award is the final stamp and ­culmination of a lot of hard work that I have put into chasing the proverbial pipe dream of ‘making it’ in radio, particularly metal radio,” he said. “Being ­recognized by CMJ is not only huge for me, but also gives RSU Radio some much deserved press. KRSC is the whole reason I decided to attend RSU. Moving forward, I would hope that the award allows me to me land a job doing what I love, which of course is being a radio ­personality.”

    Webb acknowledged the mentoring he received from RSU Radio General Manager Cathy Coomer and Steve Doyle, ­operations manager, for helping him pursue his dream.

    Honors for his broadcasting work are nothing new for Webb, who was recognized in 2011 with a Gene Dillehay scholarship from OETA, presented to Oklahoma’s most outstanding broadcast students. He also has earned three awards in the annual Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association student competitions, including two second-place awards in the “Radio Personality Air Check” and one first place for “Magazine/Talk Radio” for an interview with musician Rob Zombie.

    Webb will complete his RSU career this spring by serving an internship with The Syndicate, an independent marketing and consulting agency in the New York City metro area. Following that, he is eyeing an internship opportunity with XM/Sirius Radio that will further help ­propel him along his dream of a radio career.

    Coomer said, “I am so thrilled for Gary and for all his accomplishments he has fulfilled while attending college. This award just reinforces what we already knew and what future employers will learn about Gary's ambitions, his talent and career goals.”

    The College Music Journal is an integrated marketing agency specializing in providing its clients access to the college and young adult demographic in the music world. CMJ also connects music fans with the industry with the best in new music through interactive media, live events and print. RSU Radio 91.3 reports to the CMJ weekly with ­information on what the station is playing and is requested in the genres of alternative music, ­electronic dance, metal and world.

    Webb and Garrett Powders, a senior communications major from Tulsa, attended the awards ceremony and industry conference. Powders was a nominee in the Best Newcomer category. The station itself was nominated in the “Most Improved” category. Nominations were submitted by the stations and industry that make up the CMJ radio ­community. 

    RSU Radio is a primarily student-run radio station on the RSU campus in Claremore. The station went on the air in 1980 and continues to operate ­year-round, 24 hours a day. The station is licensed as KRSC and can be found at 91.3 FM. For more information on RSU Radio, visit  www.rsuradio.com.

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