Suburban radio pro now leading Naperville college station
The mark of a good college radio station isn't the awards it wins or the quality of its broadcasts, but the number of alums who work in the radio industry, says the new leader of a station based at North Central College in Naperville.
Zachary DeWitz had a 12-year career in professional broadcasting after his own graduation from North Central in 2005 and his time at its radio station, WONC-FM 89.1.
He's back at his alma mater now, taking over the station manager's job from retired manager John Madormo, who helmed WONC for 38 years.
DeWitz said Madormo was the role model and mentor for generations of budding broadcasters at WONC, and he always kept the station equipped with top technology to prepare students for the professional realm.
DeWitz plans to keep up those practices - along with the station's tradition of accepting any student who wants to join - as he also works to deepen WONC's ties with community causes and teach students the importance of giving back.
The Daily Herald sat down with DeWitz, 34, of Shorewood, for a chat about his radio experience and the future of the pure rock station WONC. Here is an edited version of the conversation.
Q. You spent 12 years with the suburban radio station Star 96.7, WSSR-FM in Joliet, as Josh Cooper. How did that name come to be?
A. There was already someone named Zach and they didn't want two Zachs at the station. I went with Josh because people have been calling me Josh since I was 14. And I just wrote down a bunch of two-syllable last names, went around the office and had people vote. And that's how Josh Cooper was born. They say that the three syllable name - first and last name - sounds best on the air. So Josh Cooper just kind of made sense.
Q. You said you jumped at the chance to succeed Madormo after his retirement earlier this summer. How do you take over for someone with so much experience?
A. I remember back to when I was here - he's the mentor. For everybody who's come through here and had a career in broadcasting, he is the reason they have their career. To think that he was going to be retiring, I know those are some huge shoes to fill. But I feel like, with what I learned from John and then what I learned professionally, I feel like the void won't be so large. I feel like I'll be able to fill that.
Q. What did you learn during your time at WONC, especially your junior and senior years as station manager and music director?
A. Leadership. John (Madormo) obviously saw something in me that I didn't even see in myself. So I was the station manager for two years, and I learned so much just about managing people and organization and how to conduct myself in a professional way, even though I was still just a college student.
And those were things that I took with me when I moved on to a professional career in broadcasting. I'm thankful that John went out of his way to essentially select me as the station manager, to put faith in me, as a 20-year-old kid, to run this radio station.
Q. You said you became interested in radio in high school when a Rockford station did a live broadcast at the shoe store where you worked. How did that experience lead you to North Central College?
A. I was working at Warehouse Shoes and the local radio station (WZOK-FM 97.5) came and did a live broadcast. And I thought, "Wow! This is really cool." And the personality that was there said, "Hey, why don't you come by the radio station, you can check it out." I went and I immediately fell in love.
I had always been a big fan of music and listened to the radio all the time. But I'd never thought it was something I could do until I visited that radio station, and I thought, "I've got to find a college where I can do this."
North Central College has the best radio program in the country. Twenty Marconi awards. No other college radio station has won more. Every year the radio station wins more and more awards, and that was just very appealing to me.
Q. How will you get WONC more involved with the Naperville community?
A. Getting the radio station involved with charitable organizations is important for the students because they need to learn charity and community service while they're young. As you create charitable young people, they become charitable adults, and we need a lot of that right now. We need people who are willing to do things just for the greater good.
The main purpose of a radio station is to serve the community. WONC has always done a great job with that, and I feel like we can take it even higher. Just getting more involved with these organizations locally who need a voice; they need help getting the word out about a charitable event, or just having us there to play music sometimes is all they need just to keep the mood up.
We like to make the station available to any charitable organization who's looking for a little bit of a boost.
Q. What do prospective broadcasters need to know about the radio industry?
A. It's a tough industry. It is definitely a labor of love. And it's very rewarding. You take out what you put in. The more work you put into broadcasting, the better broadcaster you'll become. I've seen people who, they worked and worked and worked and they couldn't find a job. But then they got that one break and then they were there for 10 years. So it is a difficult industry, but once you're in, you can make a really good career out of it.
Being a well-rounded broadcaster these days is vital. Employers want someone who can be on the air and do production and write news and handle social media. So, really, when students come through here, we're giving them that well-rounded education.