Making of a Hit: Liguez, UTARadio.com garner national awards, industry recognition

Lance Liguez Communication

Since Lance Liguez arrived in the summer of 2009, he’s been busy retooling UT Arlington’s student radio station into an award-winning, nationally recognized organization.

With nearly a dozen years of news talk radio experience, Liguez, a lecturer in the Department of Communication, dived into his role as advisor for UTARadio.com, the university’s student-run Internet radio station. First, he remodeled the campus station after a typical commercial radio station, pushing students to organize remotes, get key personalities to fill high-traffic broadcast times and create advertising for university events and student issues. Next, he jumped into social media, creating Facebook and Twitter accounts for the station to connect with students and faculty and promote UTARadio.com’s new identity.

Liguez then moved to grab the attention of those beyond the campus. He found several regional and national contests and encouraged his students to submit their work. In October 2011, two UT Arlington students, Jillian Dennis and Trey Caron, were recognized with a prestigious Radio Mercury Award for a public service announcement they created about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

“[The Mercury Award was] huge for the station,” Liguez said. “It gives you national recognition … but it also gives you some bragging rights. UT Austin was the only other Texas station to win that category in the last 10 years. It shows potential employers that the students who are graduating, [they] do good work, too.” The win caught the eye of a North Texas advertising company that donated a professional production library worth thousands of dollars. Liguez said the library immediately improved the quality of UTARadio.com. Another student, Dontae Robinson, won a College Broadcasters, Inc. award last year, as well.

Additionally, Liguez has reached out to local and national organizations to find opportunities for his students. During Super Bowl XLV, ESPN and other media entities utilized UTARadio.com personnel as runners at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Advanced students have also earned internships or part-time jobs at local radio stations.

In March, the station joined iHeart Radio, a digital platform with more than 850 stations. And in May, the station announced it would serve as the state headquarters for the national College Radio Day event this fall.

The next milestone for Liguez and UTARadio.com is a big one: will the student-run station make the leap into “terrestrial radio,” get a tower and claim an FCC license just to be heard on traditional automobile and home radio sets? The biggest obstacle, Liguez said, is cost and repositioning the radio station further to generate enough income to meet additional expenses. And as other stations are discovering value in the digital arena, UTARadio.com is already leading the pack.

“We’re in a pretty good position where we are,” he said. “We’ve been doing Internet radio for 10 years. We’re ahead of the curve in some respects.”