Happy Birthday WONC FM 89.1
After 40 years of winning awards and preparing students
for the rest of their lives, WONC’s future is looking bright

North Central College's student run radio station WONC-FM 89.1 will celebrate being middle aged on July 1st, 2008.  As a place for any student, from broadcast communications majors to political science, WONC draws a number of interests and activities.  Students are able to host their own music show, prepare and read traffic reports and newscasts, work behind the scenes in production, or report at sporting events. 

WONC has won a multitude of awards.  The most prestigious of these is the Marconi Awards, the highest honor that can be given to professional and college stations alike.  WONC has won 20.  No other college station has won that many.  Through the years, students have racked up a number of Illinois Broadcast Association's Silver Domes, awards for small market stations.  Those who compete in these awards are going up against professionals in the field.  John Madormo, the General Manager of WONC, has won awards himself.  In 1994 the College Media Advisors named him “Broadcast Advisor of the Year.” 

Before 1968, the station was a carrier current station and could only broadcast to the buildings on the campus of North Central College.

The signal would pass through electrical outlets. However, this all changed when the station was approved the license for WONC, allowing it to use the frequency of 89.1, and broadcasting out into the community. 

Forty years of being on the air is a long time.  John Madormo recognizes the momentous occasion. "When a person hits 40, there's usually a party.  There are usually black balloons because they don't want to be reminded they're 40, but in radio, it’s a celebration."  In the fall of 2008, the station will invite alums from all over the country to come back to the station and get another shot at being on the air.  Several alumni are working in the field, and many more are using their past experiences at WONC to enrich their current occupations.

People like Scot Bertram, a reporter for ESPN-Radio 1000 in Chicago have come from WONC to make careers in radio.  Others needed to travel farther.  2007 graduate Wayne Randazzo moved to Mobile, Alabama to be the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Mobile Bay Bears (AA Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks).

The future of WONC is looking to exceed its past.  The station is preparing to receive an automation system, which would allow the station to be run by computers.  John Madormo doesn’t want to give the impression that people will be taken out of the mix in automation, rather, automation will take all portable media, such as CD’s, and place them on one giant hard drive, allowing for easier access of media files.

So, as John Madormo says "Everything is not at one unique setting, its easier to have access to them."  Most professional radio stations use automation, and the General Manager of WONC does not want any of his students left out. "When they (students) get jobs elsewhere, they will be able to make a smooth transition from this automation system to the ones they'll find at commercial stations."

NCTV17’s Angela Hager reports.