New Trier Students Create Over 20 Podcasts, and Counting

Winnetka, IL – When New Trier shifted to remote and hybrid learning during the 2020-2021 school year, the New Trier Educational Foundation (NTEF) saw the need for an emergency 203 Grants cycle to ensure that students can continue having the best possible learning experience while staying safe and dealing with uncertainty.

The Foundation provided funding for New Trier’s WNTH Radio 88.1 FM and the Radio Club to equip students with mobile recording kits for producing podcasts, talk shows, and music radio shows remotely from home. The mic kits provided not only continuity for the students to create content, but also opportunity to produce new podcasts.

"The technology just makes the process easier and the overall quality better," says Jim Syrek, Radio Club Sponsor. "We used to rely on one recording set up in a room next to the radio station. Even if we were fully back in person, this one room would not be enough. This investment addresses that limitation and is a game changer."

"One of the most beneficial elements of being able to provide the mic kits to students is that they were able to have a voice at a time when students were feeling isolated," adds Syrek. "This technology also serves us well by allowing the club membership to grow and the community to have even more radio content to engage with."

Media Faculty John O’Connor has been amazed by how passionate many of his students have become about podcasting and live sports broadcasting after a few months in class. Two of his freshman students, Caden Greco and Ben Glick, co-host The Ben and Caden show (www.linktr.ee/BenCadenPod) featuring sports industry interviews, themed discussions, and random talks.

Days after interviewing Jon "Boog" Sciambi, the Cubs play-by-play announcer, they were at a Cubs vs. Brewers game and the tv camera focused on the two boys — Caden, a Cubs fan, and Ben, a Brewers fan — sitting next to each other wearing rivaling jerseys. Sciambi: “Shout out to the young podcasters…two buddies hanging out together at the ballpark."

The curriculum puts a strong emphasis on developing better storytelling skills, according to O’Connor. This was manifested when Daniel Stein, a sophomore in Syrek's class, became the first student to win first place in the Broadcast News category for New Trier since it was introduced by the Illinois High School Association Journalism Competition in 2012. He took first in both the state sectionals and the state finals this year beating out 19 other finalists.

On the music end, the Radio Club is evolving the WNTH brand to emulate a college station by playing and promoting a lot of emerging bands and artists. WNTH is now a part of the college station community in reporting weekly songs to their charts and has other enhancements in the works.

When WNTH went on the air for the first time on December 10, 1960, it was one of the first high school radio stations in the country. Today, the "Voice of New Trier" showcases various programming ranging from "college-esque" emerging music to live sports and podcasts via their website and Spotify page. The station is completely run by students under the supervision of a few faculty members. Each year, a new group of students is selected to take charge of the station.

"Back in the day, students and the community were more involved in participating and supporting the station," says Syrek. "My aim is to restore those bonds."

You can listen to WNTH summer programming 24/7 at www.wnthradio.com; Instagram @wnth88.1, @wnthsports, @nthsbroadcastjournalism; or Twitter @NTHSMEDIA_WNTH.

New Trier Township High School District 203 serves Chicago's North Shore suburban communities of Glencoe, Kenilworth, Wilmette and Winnetka, most of Northfield and parts of Glenview and Northbrook.