Dialed-in destiny

LA GRANGE - WLTL is getting the kind of feedback a radio station welcomes.

The Lyons Township High School station in La Grange for the seventh time has been named Best Radio Station in the Nation at the John Drury High School Radio Awards hosted by North Central College and WONC Radio in Naperville.

The awards began in 2002.

A number of factors play into the station again being honored, said Chris Thomas, faculty advisor and general manager of WLTL (88.1 FM), who has held both roles during the entirety of his 16 years at the school.

“Obviously we have the support of the community around us, from the Rock-A-Thon annual fundraiser to listenership and general interest in the station, and that really spurs on students to do great work because they know the audience is there and cares. It encourages students to produce the best content they can,” Thomas said.

Every year the community, both businesses and individuals, steps up to support WLTL through the station’s annual and only fundraiser, Rock-A-Thon, which started in 1983, Thomas said.

“It began as a 24-hour live pledge drive,” he said. “Today it runs live for 88 hours.”

“Additionally, throughout the year [community members] call in, interact with our on-air staff online and send feedback about our programs and music,” said Thomas, a 1997 LTHS graduate who worked at WLTL during his four years in school. Today, he teaches radio and TV production classes and English.

WLTL, which is 53 years old, has been producing quality content for decades and has students who have gone on to successful media careers on ESPN, CNN, WGN, WXRT, CNBC and elsewhere, Thomas said.

“This makes kids want to carry on that legacy and tradition,” he noted.

Thomas emulates what he learned from his teacher, Kate Singletary, who held the job for 31 years until he took over in 2005, when he started at LTHS.

“It’s a student-run program,” he said. “They drive the show’s content. Music and that ownership is really important. It’s not someone telling them what to do — they are the ones doing it — and I’m proud to say I’m more of a faculty advisor than a general manager, and that helps make it the best it can be.

“It’s going to be reflective of your work,” he added. “Mrs. Singletary treated us that way. One of the unique things about WLTL is that students truly run the show. When they walk in they are handed the keys, and we encourage them to produce content that interests them, because if they are interested in the material and the program, listeners will be as well. This has led to some great content both on-air and online, such as features on community organizations, and musicians, news, sports and talk programs and original podcasts.”

This devotion is reflected in the awards. In addition to top station, the staff brought home five individual Drury Awards (out of just 14 total):

• Best Specialty Music Program:  “WLTL Presents: Black Music” — Andy Danbury and Paul Kraessig
  
• Best News Feature Story: “Pillars Community Health” — Sam Spratford
  
• Best On-Air Promotion — Andy Danbury and Paul Kraessig
  
• Best Social Media Campaign — WLTL Management team
  
• Best Website - http://www.wltl.net — WLTL Management Team

The winning social media campaign involved students assembling Spotify playlists for listeners.

“One of things we kind of have a goal at WLTL is to realize that the media landscape is changing,” Thomas explained. “Back when I did this as a student, radio was radio. You didn’t do TV, online writing or newspapers, but today, if you want to make it in the media world, you have to have all the skills: host a podcast and write a blog or even write an online versus a print story. When something new comes up, we as a standard try to teach the students to learn it, and of course social media was no exception.”

Zach DeWitz, general manager of WONC 89.1 FM – North Central College, which presented the awards, said, “WLTL won the award for best station due to their high degree of proficiency in all areas of broadcasting, including audio production, sportscasting, newscasting, on-air DJing and more,” he said. “They’ve shown for decades that they’re dedicated to their broadcasting program, and they continue to develop great broadcasters. They’re a model for all other high school radio stations in the country.”

The radio station is run by student volunteers, both those who take classes and those who join as an afterschool extracurricular activity. “Typically we have between 100 to 120 students involved in WLTL, but due to COVID we are all working from home when it comes to WLTL,” Thomas said. “But despite this challenge, we still have a staff of around 70 to 75 students involved in the station this year.”

Classes include radio production for juniors and seniors, which is a hands-on class on how to produce shows; a class on the south campus for freshman and sophomores that introduces them to radio and TV but includes projects; and radio management, which requires students to apply. Those accepted “are the student leaders, the ones who make the decisions — the executive board — and they are assigned jobs like music director, marketing director, program director.”

“One thing I always stress,” Thomas said. “While it’s nice to win and a great honor, at the end of the day what it really means is students are learning the most they can. It’s not only valuable for them but a resume builder, and it helps in applying for college. That’s the thing I really learn, that it gives students time to shine and talk with others about the unique experience they have here at WLTL.”