The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association honored La Movida Radio, Madison’s first and only Spanish-language radio station, with the “Music Radio Social and Digital Media Station of the Year” award for large markets at the 2019 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards Gala at the Marriott West in Middleton on Saturday, May 4.
“It was super special for us to win this award. This is the first time that they gave this award and we were fortunate to win it,” Luis Montoto, station manager for La Movida Radio, tells Madison365. “We’ve done a lot of great work on Facebook and at our website and I think that’s what put us over the other station, especially interviews we did with [Dane County District Attorney] Ismael [Ozanne] and [musician and producer] Emilio Estefan and so many other Facebook Lives that we’ve done for [Latino] rallies.”
Over 400 people were in attendance at the 2019 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards Gala and a total of 123 stations participated.
“It was great to be honored among our peers with all of these great radio and television stations from throughout Wisconsin,” Luis Montoto says. “It was indeed pretty special. To be the first station to win this particular award was also cool.”
“For a lot of the interviews we do on our shows and on El Debate, we do a Facebook Live. When we host a press conference we are always heavy with our social media,” Lupita Montoto tells Madison365. “We’ve really made social media our focus.”
Luis and Lupita Montoto were also presenters since they had won “Station of the Year” last year.
“We were presenting awards and we were receiving some awards. It was a fun night,” Lupita Montoto says.
La Movida brought in quite the haul of awards for the night on top of their big “Music Radio Social and Digital Media Station of the Year” award. La Movida won first place awards for the “Best Live On-Site Coverage” for their press conference on ICE in Wisconsin, “Best Use of Social Media Live Streaming for “El Debate: ICE in Wisconsin,” “Best Interview” for “El Debate with District Attorney Ismael Ozanne,” and “Best Radio Show” for “Jesus Castro El Cachanilla.”
La Movida also won second place for “Best Live On-Site Broadcast Remote” for their coverage of El Grito de Independencia en Viva Mexico Festival and third place for “Best Original Feature” for “On Your Feet! with Emilio Estefan.”
Competition for this year’s awards was as strong as ever with 1,786 total award entries, a new record for the contest.
“The WBA Awards highlight the best that Wisconsin’s radio and TV stations have to offer, including their tremendous service to their communities,” said WBA President and CEO Michelle Vetterkind in a statement. “Broadcasters are committed to serving their listeners and viewers and the awards give our stations a chance to celebrate their shared mission.”
A full list of winners from the 2019 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards can be seen by clicking here.
