On Oct. 8, WLTL was named “Best Station in the Nation” at the John Drury Radio Awards for the eighth time since 2002. For other categories, they also took home many other first, second and third place titles. 

“I love it,” WLTL programming director Matthew Walsh ‘23 said. “I love the legacy of WLTL. I’m honored to be a part of it, I just love making content.”

In addition to being titled “Best Station in the Nation,” WLTL was also nominated for a total of 12 individual awards and took home four of those honors: Best Radio Drama, Best Newscast, Best Podcast, and Best Website. 

“We like doing it,” WLTL operations manager Anna Cassioppi ‘23 said. “It’s very fun, it’s not the normal of the school day and we have such a great support staff of people behind us.”

This year, 16 different high schools from 11 different states were entered for the awards and WLTL students submitted more than 50 entries for judge consideration. They received the second highest number of nominations and accepted multiple second and third place honors.

“I’m just proud of the students and the work they did and the accomplishments they have,” WLTL advisor Chris Thomas said. “We don’t always know people are listening to the radio and I think it means more when we get that feedback.”

The awards are run by North Central College in Naperville, in honor of a former Chicago news anchor, John Drury, who used to broadcast on WGN-TV, Cassioppi said. These awards are used to honor students in high school radio and broadcasting.

“It’s not really common to have a radio station at your school and just getting to see the niche group of people who do is fun,” Cassioppi said.

WLTL broadcasts a wide range of topics, they play different genres of rock music, have an on air sports talk show, and the station even airs a newscast. There are also specialty shows and podcasts covering various subjects surrounding LT and the community.

WLTL was also recognized on ABC7 Chicago on Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. for their accomplishments and received acknowledgment for being the best high school radio station in the nation.

“I mean all the work that was submitted and nominated was just amazing,” Walsh said. “We’re honored to have even been there.”