Dayton’s Ponitz CTC wins national student radio awards

Lovely Lewis-Nalls and Devontae Jackson, students at Ponitz Career Tech High School, host their afternoon radio show on WDPS 89.5 FM last school year. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Lovely Lewis-Nalls and Devontae Jackson, students at Ponitz Career Tech High School, host their afternoon radio show on WDPS 89.5 FM last school year. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Dayton’s Ponitz Career Tech High School won four first-place trophies at the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System’s 78th annual competition in New York City on Saturday.

The event honors the best in high school and college radio, TV, webcasting, podcasting and streaming. Student-contributed programming from WDPS (89.5 FM), Ponitz’s 6,000-watt, non-commercial radio station, was honored in several categories.

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Ponitz entries won first place in high school radio for best station contest (89.5 Days of Summer), best use of sound effects (Back-to-School Driving), best promo series (Great Things are Happening at DPS) and most innovative program (A Place Called Home).

“This accomplishment confirms the Ponitz Media Arts program is among the best in the country,” said Ponitz Media Arts instructor Joanne Casale Viskup.

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Ponitz was a finalist in four other categories — most creative program (Justice for Kylen), best commercial spot (Brian Culbertson at the Rose), best public service announcement (One) and best news feature (Mobile Health Unit).

Media Arts is one of several academic pathways at Ponitz, along with business, health, industrial and engineering options.

The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System is a 78-year-old nonprofit education corporation with more than 1,000 radio, TV and webcasting stations listed as members.

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