On March 3, two UMass Boston students won an award from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) for Best Public Affairs Program. English major and former Mass Media editor in chief Caleb Nelson researched, wrote and produced a 26-part series on the fiftieth anniversary of the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Jacob Sommer, a political science major and a member of the Undergraduate Student Government, lent his voice to the project by hosting the series.

The series was produced for WUMB, the radio station located in the Healey Library. Nelson and Sommer beat five other nominated programs at the award ceremony in New York.

“Their website sucks,” Nelson said, “but the IBS has been a hub

for aspiring television and radio broadcasting students all around the world for 75 years.”

The IBS ceremony was the cap to the conference that was a hodgepodge of all things having to do with radio media. Discussion topics included legal and fair use issues, collecting news and storytelling.

“The conference featured too much legal talk for me,” Nelson said. He continued, “I’m more interested in telling stories.”

Nelson explained that much of the conference was dedicated to the issue of the future of broadcasting. That future is in jeopardy with wireless companies buying broadcasting frequencies to increase their bandwidth. That being noted, Nelson isn’t too concerned.

“The Internet is wide open,” he said, “and I’m sure that as long as there’s a good story to be heard, people will appreciate it, no matter the medium.”