Senior Caleb Phelps has been the director of Eagle Radio at Oklahoma Christian University for the past two years. Now, he and his show have been nominated for a national radio competition.
Each year, the IBS (Intercollegiate Broadcasting System) hosts its media awards for both high school and collegiate levels across a wide spectrum of categories. Hundreds of schools compete, though each show can only be submitted and judged for a single category.
Phelps submitted his for Best Radio Drama.
What’s your show about?
“My show was a dramatic reading of my game’s script, ‘Zinillion: Primordial Chronicles Part I – Radiant Artifacts,’” Phelps said.
A winner was selected from an average of five finalists in each category. A list of finalists can be found here (see line 63 for Phelps’) while the official winners are listed here.
What do you think made ‘Zinillion’ finalist-worthy?
“I believe I became a finalist because of how I embraced the dramatic element and consistently switched my voice to fit the character I was speaking as,” Phelps said.
Phelps did not win his category, but did place as a finalist.
Phelps said submissions were required to have been produced and broadcasted since December of 2021 and, for Best Radio Drama specifically, he had to choose a 30-minute sample.
Is there a place people can go to listen to your show?
“No. Originally, it was live on Eagle Radio’s stream, and I have yet to upload the files to another location to allow more people to listen,” Phelps said. “If I were to upload them, I would likely put them on my personal YouTube channel.”
Phelps did, however, provide a link to a snippet of Zinillion’s script.
In terms of time commitment, how much work does radio take?
“It depends on a few factors,” Phelps said. “If someone wants to be a DJ, then they could go into the studio whenever they’re free. If someone wants to host their own radio show, then it may take a few hours per show because they have to write a script, or at least a rough outline depending on the type of show, and try to keep a consistent schedule.”
How much knowledge do you recommend someone have before working or joining radio?
“You don’t need to have any sort of knowledge to be a part of Eagle Radio. Training people on the basics of running the studio is really simple and only requires a few minutes,” Phelps said.
What are some short and long-term incentives of working radio?
“I think the incentives obviously include that it’s fun, but it would also be a good resume-builder, and there are also various awards Eagle Radio can be nominated for,” Phelps said.
“I personally think Eagle Radio needs an update soon, but it was still fun to be the director for the past two years. I hope Eagle Radio is still around after I graduate.”
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