WERS makes the grade as nominee for best college station

Emerson College's WERS-FM (88.9) has long looked beyond campus for its listeners. Particularly since it abandoned the usual eclecticism of college radio and established a consistent weekday format of acoustic music and softer new rock two years ago, the station has pitched itself as an alternative to commercial stations like "The River" WXRV-FM (92.5) and WBOS-FM (92.9). But WERS, which calls its format "music for the independent mind," is reaching back to its campus roots this week as it competes for the first-ever mtvU Woodie Award for best national college radio station.

"We're quite excited to be nominated," says Walker Dieckmann, WERS's assistant program director and a senior at Emerson. The Woodie Awards, now in their fifth year, are the creation of MTV's college network, which broadcasts directly to more than 750 campuses and can be accessed online at www.mtvu.com. WERS, Dieckmann says, is largely a teaching tool for the communications college. Professionally managed, with five full-time non-student positions, it is otherwise staffed by more than 120 students, who fill positions ranging from production and promotion to DJ.

"We're not marketed at college listeners as much as the Boston community," says Dieckmann. "If college students listen to us it's quite the bonus."

WERS is the only Boston station among the 20 nominees. These nominees are competing in groups of five for online votes that will decide which stations will continue to the finals. The latest round, which began Monday and will continue until 10:59 a.m. this coming Monday, pits the Emerson outlet against stations from Seton Hall University, Ithaca College, Stony Brook University, and Brown University. The winning station will move on to battle for the top honors, which will be chosen by online voting from Oct. 20 through Nov. 7. The award will be presented on Nov. 12 in New York City at an event that will be broadcast on Nov. 19 at 8 p.m.

MtvU chose the nominees on a variety of criteria, says Ross Martin, mtvU's head of programming. Students were invited to write in nominations online, says Martin, and to comment on others' suggestions. In addition, outside sources, such as the Princeton Review (which has consistently rated WERS highly) and record labels, were also consulted.

"The most important thing is that we listen to our audience of college students," says Martin. From online feedback, he adds, it became obvious that WERS has "passionate fans all around the country."

Highlights of WERS's programming include its annual live music week, which this year will run Oct. 13-17 and feature 50 live performances, says Dieckmann. "Live music in general is one of the cornerstones of our programming," he says.

A radio major, Dieckmann hopes to continue on to a career in the medium. But the station, he stresses, remains open to all. "There are those students who come through here and who learn something new, something outside their comfort zones," he says. "And there are some who come here specifically to learn and to hone a craft. It's a great opportunity for both those kinds of people."

Spinning the dial
WTKK-FM (96.9) has added "The Curtis Sliwa Show" to its weekday lineup. The live talk show, hosted by the founder of the Guardian Angels, debuted this week and will air weeknights 10 p.m.-1 a.m.