WSBUFM-88.3 The Buzz, made international news late this summer after being awarded No. 1 Best College Radio Station by Princeton Review.
The Buzz is St. Bonaventure’s student-run radio station. In addition to covering the campus, the station also covers the local area. The station plays a variety of music on a rotating schedule, including indie-rock, alternative, hip-hop and classic rock. The Buzz also features news, sports and specialty radio shows daily.
The station was founded in 1948, and continues to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Princeton Review, a college preparation service, publishes multiple curated lists annually to assist incoming college freshmen in their admission choices. The rankings seek to provide an objective view at university life, listing rankings such as best party schools, happiest students, best food, best academic programs by concentration, extracurricular and other demographics.
Although this is the first time The Buzz has made the number one position, it has held a spot in the top 10 for almost two decades. A majority of the schools in the top rankings are in the Northeast, and local schools Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Fordham University and Hofstra University also made the top 20.
Despite being used to the fanfare of previous years, being awarded the coveted number one spot was surreal, said station manager Sean Lynch.
“I didn’t hear about it until it was already online,” said Lynch, a senior journalism and mass communication major. “My friends we’re texting me nonstop congratulations, and I was just in shock at first.”
Even though placing in the top college radio stations in the nation is nothing new for The Buzz, Lynch believes that extra effort over the past year helped to elevate the team to the top-tier.
“I think our biggest improvement by far was content,” said Lynch. “When I came in as a freshman, we were about two years behind on music. We’ve been trying to get back on track but the last year is where we’ve really improved.”
The Buzz recently implemented a new computerized system which allows quicker uploading and a more accessible transfer of music. The team has also worked extensively with production to update the content of the music catalogue.
In addition to the station manager position, The Buzz is run by 18 student board directors. Directors are split into groups based on interests-music, programming, business, sports, news, promotions, production and public relations. Each section of the board also has its own student staffers.
With his direction, Lynch said he would like to see the station advance locally, especially in terms of reputation.
“I’ve always been someone who enjoys coffee shop type venues, and I’d like to get involved with small places locally and even in Buffalo,” said Lynch. “Even bigger venues in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, if we were just to even get photo passes, we’d start growing our reputation.”
In addition to increasing local media reputation, the station also plans to increase their technology spending.
“I know the soundboard works, and it will probably work for another 20 years, but I’d like to see a new one someday,” said Lynch.
According to Lynch, The Buzz is always interested in growing their staff members. Anyone who is interested can email any of the board members or attend weekly meetings.
“I think one of the most important things I’d stress is that you don’t need to be in radio, or necessarily know anything about radio to join The Buzz,” he said. “We have alums all over in countless different fields. Some are working in TV, some in print and even some at iHeartRadio. Even if you’re just trying to get a feel for journalism—The Buzz is a great way to make friends.”
rootcm14@bonaventure.edu
