When school closed in March, radio production teacher Geno Heiter wondered how he could keep WWPT-FM on the air.
The answer was right in his basement. The longtime musician had plenty of equipment there. His students were used to broadcasting remotely, for sports.
In a matter of days, 90.3 was back on the air.
Heiter oversees every show from his Milford “control room.” They take place during regular class time, and in afternoons and evenings too. Students — er, the on-air talent — see each other via Google Hangouts. They plan their general talk, sports talk and music shows that way, communicating and improvising and entertaining in real time. If you didn’t know it, you’d think they were all hanging out together at 70 North Avenue.
Behind the scenes — virtually — as the staff collaborates on a WWPT-FM broadcast.
And make no mistake: These teenagers are good. They’ve snagged guests like Monday Night Football and Olympics sportscaster Mike Tirico, and New York Knicks and ESPN announcer Mike Breen.
Tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.) they’ll chat with Stephen A. Smith, host of ESPN’s “First Take.”
“I get the ball rolling. They run with it,” Heiter says modestly.
To see (and hear) how well they run, click here.
WWPT-FM advisor and radio production teacher Geno Heiter, in his Milford basement “control room.”