WBFO Announcer Wins Local "Muddy" Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Blues host Jim Santella of WBFO 88.7 FM, the National Public Radio affiliate operated by the University at Buffalo, has received the 2003 Muddy Award for Special Achievement from the Blues Society of Western New York.

Recipients of the award, named after legendary bluesman Muddy Waters, are selected based their ongoing commitment to supporting and educating the public about the blues within the Western New York community.

Santella, host of "Weekend Blues Show," has been a part of the Western New York broadcasting community for more than 35 years.

In the 1960s, he was a founding father of the FM Underground that is the cornerstone of today's album, adult and alternative formats. He has worked on various television programs at WNED-TV, including the "Mark Russell" series, and as an announcer at various Buffalo radio stations, including WEBR-AM, WPHD-FM and WUWU-FM. He writes as a freelance reviewer on music, film and theater for The Buffalo News and is co-host of WBFO's "Theater Talk" which airs on Friday.

Kim Buckner -- "Blues Gal Kim" -- of WBFO, who is responsible for the station's monthly "Women in Blues" program, won last year's Muddy Award for Special Achievement.

The Blues Society of Western New York is a non-profit organization dedicated to unite, educate, promote and inform the public. For more information visit the society's Web site at http://www.wnyblues.com.

The blues can be heard on WBFO from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For more information regarding WBFO, visit the station's Web site at http://www.wbfo.org.