iTunes honors IU student radio station

Out of the numerous student-run radio stations across the Nation, WIUX has been chosen as one of the top 11 by iTunes this month.

The iTunes staff picked the IU station as one of 11 staff favorites in October Recognition, said Allie Korosi, public relations director for WIUX.

And what might be a monthly chore for the iTunes staffers is an indescribable honor for the station, said senior Craig Shank, WIUX station manager.

“The iTunes staff recommendation is incredibly exciting,” Shank said. “When I started here at the station three years ago, we didn’t even have a working stream. To go from not having a working stream to being recognized as one of 11 stations by iTunes ... is just incredibly rewarding, and it shows that all of our hard work is really getting noticed now.”

Korosi said the pick not only shows recognition for quality, but also for accomplishment.

“We think it’s because our numbers have increased worldwide, not just in Indiana,” Korosi said. “We’ve had listener input from Germany, from Tasmania – and we’re thinking that drew some attention to us.”

Reasons for the award include the quality of the programs WIUX presents on a daily basis, Shank said.

“I think the award stems from a consistency in our programming,” he said. “We make sure to schedule shows that make sense next to each other and make sure people know what they’re tuning into each day of the week at certain times.”

But Shank speculated it’s not only technology and programming that contributed to the attention.  

WIUX webmaster and information technology director and sophomore Ryan Patena initiated the process of getting the WIUX stream onto iTunes.

“The bigger part of the award is we have a great staff of student DJs who work really hard at making sure their shows sound great and that they are well prepared,” Shank said.

WIUX plays on 99.1 FM every day.

It has several special programs and plays a wide variety of music from jazz to rap and everything in between.