WSOU news director honored with 2 national journalism awards

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SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — WSOU-FM news director Bob Towey was honored in October with two awards from the College Media Association. As part of the organization’s Pinnacle Awards, Towey was awarded first place in the “Best Radio Newscast” category and second place in the “Best Radio Special Event Coverage” category. WSOU is operated by Seton Hall University as part of the College of Communication and the Arts.

The Pinnacle Awards are a nationwide contest for individuals and organizations working in college media. The awards include broadcast, online and print categories, and draw thousands of entries annually. Information on this year’s winners may be found online at https://tinyurl.com/y9e5frto. Towey’s entries were for anchoring a WSOU newscast in the spring of 2018 and his coverage of the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this year.

“We are putting more resources into training and mentoring our student newscasters and earning these Pinnacle Awards demonstrates the progress we’ve made,” WSOU general manager Mark Maben said. “Our ultimate goal is for WSOU to be as well known for its news reporting as it is for its heavy metal format and Seton Hall sports broadcasts.”

Since joining the station during his freshman year, Towey has been active with both the WSOU News and Sports Departments and was elected news director for 2018-19. His activities at the station were influential in securing an internship with CNBC.

“To have my on-air reporting recognized at the national level is a true honor,” Towey said. “But I owe so much credit for these Pinnacle Awards to my family and to my friends at WSOU, who constantly motivate me to seek ways to improve the quality of my broadcasting and the content that WSOU News releases.”

Photos Courtesy of Mark Maben