North Central College will honor the nation’s top high school broadcasters Nov. 10 at the 10th annual John Drury High School Radio Awards.
Chicago ABC7 News anchor/reporter Ben Bradley will join John Madormo, general manager of North Central College’s acclaimed student-run radio station WONC-FM 89.1, to present the honors.
The by-invitation ceremony begins at noon Saturday, Nov. 10, in North Central College’s theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall, 31 S. Ellsworth St.
Finalists in this year’s competition include students from Glenbrook North, Downers Grove North, Argo Community, Reavis and Lyons Township high schools in the Chicago area. Other nominees represent high school radio stations across the United States, from California to Connecticut.
North Central College’s acclaimed broadcast communication program founded the awards in 2002. Drury personally presented awards to the winning high school students in 12 categories during the competition’s first two years, before ALS forced him to curtail his appearances, Madormo said.
“We named the awards for John because we wanted someone who was not just a professional journalist but whose name would invoke the highest standards of character and integrity,” Madormo said.
Since 2004, ABC7 Chicago journalists who have presented the annual awards have included Alan Krashesky, Phil Schwarz, Stacy Baca, Chuck Goudie and John Garcia.
The awards recognize achievement in 12 categories, including Best Newscast, Best Sportscast and Best High School Radio Station. First-, second- and third-place winners in each category will receive awards. Nominees are eligible for $1,000 scholarships to attend North Central College.
Radio professionals select winning entries. Awards are presented to radio stations affiliated with a high school and licensed as AM or FM facilities and registered with the Federal Communications Commission, as well as online radio stations.
“These radio awards recognize excellence at high school radio stations from across the country and the Drury Awards competition has become a national event,” said Madormo, who worked as a producer and director at WGN-AM 720 before coming to North Central College in 1980 to teach broadcast communication.
This year’s presenter, Bradley, is an award-winning general assignment reporter and Sunday morning news anchor for ABC7 Chicago. A journalism graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Bradley began his broadcasting career in Columbia, Mo., where he worked for both radio and television stations. He worked at a Charleston, S.C., television station before returning to his hometown of Chicago as a reporter for CLTV, Chicago’s 24-hour news channel. He joined ABC7 in 2002 and has earned two Emmy awards for breaking news reporting.
WONC-FM 89.1 is among the most-honored college radio stations in the United States. With a 30-mile listening radius and three state-of-the-art studios, WONC broadcasts a mix of news, sports, traffic, music and public affairs programming 24 hours a day. No other college or university radio station in the country has won more Marconi College Radio Awards than WONC, which has captured 20. The station has also been recognized by College Media Advisors and garnered multiple Silver Dome Awards from the Illinois Broadcasters Association. Its alumni are employed at top radio stations around the country. Visit wonc.org to listen live online or to learn more.
For more information about the John Drury High School Radio Awards, contact Madormo at 630-637-5960 or jvmadormo@noctrl.edu.
