Tag Archives: WWPT-FM

90.3 FM — News You Need, Now!

Posted on August 31, 2011 | 1 comment

Whichever way you listen to radio — in a car, on your computer or through a plain ol’ battery-operated set — you should tune in to 90.3 FM.

WWPT — “Wrecker Radio” — is playing a continuous loop of a post-hurricane briefing by fire inspector Nate Gibbons.

Clearly, succinctly — but very comprehensively — he delivers a spectacular amount of information, advice and tips to all Westporters.

Well contamination, generator safety, how to ensure the electricity is turned back on in flood-damaged homes, clearing debris from private roads — it’s all there, to learn from and pass along.

WWPT-FM is the Staples High School radio station.  Right now, the fire department has commandeered its airwaves to pass along crucial, hard-to-find information.

At a time when “local radio” is almost non-existent, here’s one more reason to be thankful for what we’ve got.

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Posted in People, technology, Weather

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Live, From Westport — It’s STN!

Posted on February 18, 2011 | 6 comments

In the 1960s, Staples’ WSRB was cutting-edge — one of the first student radio stations in the country.  Its range was 1 mile.

In 1972 WWPT — all 330 watts — became the 1st student-run FM station in the state.  Over the years it increased its power.  Today 90.3 can be heard throughout Fairfield County.

In 2009 the Staples Media Lab added TV.  STN — the Staples Television Network — quickly became an integral part of the school.

Think “network” is a bit grandiose?  Think again.  STN is streamed live (as is WWPT).  So while Westporters can watch Channel 78, shows are also available any place on the planet, in real time.  All you need is an internet connection.

STN’s bread-and-butter is sports.  They televise home football games, and boys and girls basketball.  (The events are simulcast on WWPT.)

STN has also done indoor track meets — perhaps the 1st time that sport has been covered on TV anywhere, at any level.

But as good as DJ Sixsmith, Eric Gallanty and the rest of the sports crew is — and they’re very, very good — STN is not exactly ESPN.

They’re much more diverse.

Eric Gallanty and DJ Sixsmith on air during a Staples football game. (Photo courtesy of Westport Patch)

The Staples TV station has broadcast Candlelight Concerts, graduations and elections.  As with sports, coverage of those events features multiple cameras, sophisticated graphics, and plenty of inside knowledge.

STN also televises live bands — who come to the studio as part of Staples’ audio production courses.  (The Media Lab’s talented instructors, Jim Honeycutt and Mike Zito, also teach TV production and radio production.)

This spring, STN hopes to televise baseball and girls lacrosse.  Next fall they’d like to add boys and girls soccer, and field hockey.

To do that — and more — they need money and equipment.

They can’t sell advertising — something about pesky FCC regulations — so they’re asking sports teams (and anyone else) for checks.

Their equipment wish list includes:

  • LCD or plasma television/display
  • SD-SDI recorder or tape deck (instant replay solution)
  • VHF and UHF radios  or walkie-talkies (RF Communications)
  • Broadcasting headsets
  • Graphic or text generators
  • MacPro or MacBook (or another omputer running some form of Apple OSX)
  • Cameras with S-Video connection

This being Westport, plenty of folks have that stuff lying around in attics or garages.  Others have access to it through work (legally, of course).

If you can help Staples Television Network with a check, a computer or anything else, email staplestelevisionnetwork@gmail; call 203-341-1379, or write the Media Lab, c/o Staples High School, 70 North Ave., Westport, CT 06880.

Then sit back, and enjoy the show.

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Posted in Education, People, Sports, Staples HS, technology, Teenagers

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Wrecker Radio Rocks

Posted on November 14, 2010 | 8 comments

Anyone who has listened to WWPT-FM broadcast a Staples soccer, football or basketball game knows:  It’s like no other high school radio station in the nation.

Now the rest of the country knows it too.

Yesterday, at the John Drury Awards in Illinois, “Wrecker Radio” earned several huge honors.

DJ Sixsmith’s sportstalk show was named the best in the US.  So was his daily sports update show, in the “Best Sportscast” category.

There were 3 individual 2nd place finishes:  Eric Gallanty for “Best Public Affairs Program”; Sixsmith, Ben Meyers and Jake Chernok for “Best Sports Play by Play,” and Gallanty for his sportscast.

Finishing 3rd were Gallanty and Sixsmith –twice.  One award was for their play-by-play of last Thanksgiving’s Staples-Greenwich football game; the other, for their sportstalk show.

Brendan Rand was a finalist for 2 separate newscasts.

And The Big One, for which the entire staff (and school)  should be proud:  WWPT-FM was named the 2nd Best High School Radio Station in the Country.

You won’t hear a lot of chest-thumping about those awards on Wrecker Radio.  The high school students are too professional for that.

So we’ll do it for them.  

As your motto says:  Don’t stop the music.

Or the sports.  Or news.

Congratulations to all at WWPT-FM!

Celebrating yesterday at the John Drury Awards ceremony (from left): Mike Zito, Eric Gallanty, DJ Sixsmith, Brendan Rand and Jake Chernok.






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Posted in Staples HS, Teenagers

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Zee-to!

Posted on November 6, 2010 | 6 comments

It’s not often a high school organization advisor gets a national award.

Then again, it’s not often the advisor is Mike Zito.

Mike Zito, in action.

The popular, soft-spoken veteran media teacher was honored recently by Ithaca College.  Zito — whose last name is also his nickname — received a S’Park Media Mentor Award from the Roy H. Park School of Communications.  He and 3 other high school instructors from across the country were lauded for their “commitment to inspiring passion for media in students.”

Zito advises both WWPT-FM, and the Staples Television Network.  He brings decades of experience — nearly 40 years in radio, and 21 as a teacher — to his work.

Zito teaches a full schedule of radio production, TV production and narrative film.

He’s not the only Staples media person to win national honors.  His students have won MSG Awards, and the prestigious John Drury High School Radio Awards.  Zito’s classes have been launching pads for many successful careers.

Zito’s own career is not too shabby.  He’s too modest to mention it, but this is not his 1st national prize.  Like his students, last year he was cited by the John Drury folks.  Zito was named Best Radio Station Advisor in the Nation.

Stay tuned for more.

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Posted in Staples HS, technology, Teenagers

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Radio Soccer

Posted on November 20, 2009 | 2 comments

When “06880” announced earlier this month that WWPT — Staples’ award-winning FM radio station — was streaming its broadcasts around the world, we never imagined we’d be part of the story.

But, wearing our other hat — as Staples’ varsity soccer coach — we quickly experienced the power of the internet.

Some of the 1st special streams were soccer broadcasts.  Thanks to promotion on StaplesSoccer.com, hundreds of listeners tuned in to the Wreckers’ state tournament 2nd round match against Newtown.

WWPT-FM covers all the legal -- and illegal -- moves made against players like Sean Gallagher (left) and Mikey Fitzgerald. (Photo by Lisa Krosse)

They were fanatics to start with — they’d have to be, to huddle around computers during work to hear a high school soccer game — but they were treated to an amazing event.  Staples — okay, we — blew a 2-0 lead, and the game was decided by penalty kicks.  If you don’t know soccer, that’s like walking a tightrope without a net, blindfolded.  Only far less fun.

We — okay, our kids — prevailed, when Newtown’s final kicker sent his shot sky high.  Around the world — yes, there were folks listening in Europe and Asia — Staples soccer fans screamed in joy.

Wednesday night even more listeners clicked on the stream.  They heard the Wreckers win another cliffhanger, this one 3-2 over previously undefeated (and #4-in-the-US) Glastonbury.  Three goals in the 3 minutes before halftime stopped hearts around the world.

A mother with sons on the JV and freshman teams reported that her own mother listened in England until 2:15 a.m. — and chatted (a feature of the live stream) along with dozens of others.  “Imagine what she would have done if her grandsons were on varsity!” the mother said.

A Westport native now living in Idaho — where her son is a high-level youth player — listened to WWPT’s live stream with her family.  She said that her son wished he lived in Westport, and could play for Staples.

Tomorrow, the Wreckers meet New Milford for the state championship.   The game will be played in Ridgefield, at noon.

Staples is shooting for its 12th state crown.  I sure hope they — we — get it.  But the outcome is not certain.

One thing is for sure, though:  If WWPT-FM streams the game (technical issues remain to be solved), the Wreckers will set a world record for most radio listeners of a live-streamed high school soccer game.

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Posted in Sports, Staples HS, technology

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Wrecker Radio A Winner

Posted on September 1, 2009 | 3 comments

WWPTWWPT-FM — “Wrecker Radio,” the Staples station — has limited range.  But its signal is making waves across the country.

PT’s student broadcasters were named finalists for 5 John Drury Awards.  Nominees and winners for Druries — the most prestigious high school radio achievements in America — are chosen by Chicago broadcast professionals.

In the final 5 are:

  • Best Sports Talk Program:  DJ Sixsmith, Mike Nussbaum and Eric Gallanty (Two Guys and a “Gal”)
  • Best Sportscast:   Eric Gallanty (Sportscast Update)
  • Best Radio Drama Adaptation:  David Roth’s acting class and Jim Honeycutt’s audio production class  (A Christmas Carol)
  • Best News Feature Story:  Mike Friedson and Naveen Murali (The Challenge)
  • Best Sports Play by Play:  Ryan Crofts, Eric Stefenson and Brendan Rand (Staples vs. St. Joseph basketball)

Thanks to success in these categories, WWPT is now in the running for Best High School Radio Station in the country.  Winners will be announced November 7.

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