GINGER HOUR
Junior Isana Pogosov uses her radio show, “Ginger Hour”, as an opportunity to embrace herself publicly. From playing unique music to including comedy and coverage of current events, she makes an effort to maintain a balance between it all.
“We do joke around on our shows,” Pogosov said. “But we have news and weather and we do talk about current events, not just goof off for an hour each week.”
According to Pogosov, the freedom and natural feel of her show makes it even more interesting.
“The show is spontaneous,” Pogosov said. “[We] start off with a topic, but no one knows where [we] will end up. It is just like holding a conversation with a friend, [and] we’re teenagers, we get off topic.”
Pogosov explains that there is a distinct purpose that she has with her show. She feels very lucky to have the opportunity to share her musical taste on WGBK.
“I love having my own show,” Pogosov said. “My show is mostly music, and music is a big part of my life and sharing that with people just seems like a great thing to be doing.”
By providing her listeners with indie and alternative rock music Pogosov says she’s providing her listeners with a different playlist than they’d hear on the average station. She likes that she can bring something original to WGBK.
“I don’t listen to the radio that much to be honest,” Pogosov said. “The music I like doesn’t get played, which is a huge reason that I love being on WGBK.”
BEN AND BEN
Juniors Ben Kraus and Ben Wittenstein spend about three to four hours a week preparing for each show. The boys believe that this factors into what sets them apart from the other shows on WGBK.
“Doc Oswald, head of radio, has drilled into our brains that broadcasters need to be well-read,” Kraus said. “Making sure that you’re current throughout the week is going to help you be better at improvisation. If you know the subject of which you are speaking then it makes it easier to just bounce off of each other’s ideas.”
The pair focuses on debate ranging from breaking world news to sports topics. They cover all major professional and collegiate sports, as well as sports-related political issues. While it is enjoyable and entertaining to discuss topics on the lighter side, the boys feel a responsibility to discuss serious issues on their Monday afternoon show from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
“There were some pretty big pieces of NFL news during the time that Osama bin Laden was killed,” Wittenstein explained. “That day, there was no getting around the world news, we had to talk about that. So, if there’s something really newsworthy like that, then we’ll cover it.”
The boys have also brought their differing interests and strengths into the studio. These come together and compliment one other enough to create a solid, diversified sports show.
“The fact that one of us may not know as much about a sport as the other feeds into the idea that people who are listening may not know as much,” Wittenstein explained. “We can then relate to that person that doesn’t know a lot and follow where they’re at.”
Both Wittenstein and Kraus have aspirations to go into journalism after high school.
“Radio is all about giving people information and that’s a huge journalism aspect,” Wittenstein said. “It’s important to get people to be interactive and know more about the world around them. That just makes people more knowledgeable about the situation, especially if they disagree on something then they will be more likely to look it up themselves.”
BEATS OF SOUTH
Flashing vivid lights, lively electric music and energetic dancing ended this year’s Variety Show. This enthusiastic performance was centered around one individual who played on the electric keyboard, senior Marcel Bujnowski.
Bujnowski hosts his own radio show, “Beats of South”, which airs Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m. Bujnowski explains that it’s different from the average radio show.
“My show has a different kind of music,” Bujnowski said. “It’s all dance electro. Not many radio stations have that these days. So, [that’s] a lot of fun with lots of entertainment.”
According to Bujnowski, the show is great because it wakes people up early in the morning. He also features upcoming events at South in addition to covering issues happening around the world. Bujnowski gets his interns involved by incorporating their ideas.
Even though Bujnowski has faced some difficulty hosting his show alone, he’s overcome that struggle by coming up with strategies.
“Being clear with speech is a little bit harder for me,” Bujnowski said. “I’ve tried to do some exercises like deep [nasal] breathing. Just focusing on what I want to say works too.”
Bujnowski explains that whenever there is extra time on the show, he loves exhibiting some of his own musical talent on the keyboard by playing some original techno or electric sounds.
Overall, Bujnowski recognizes the incredible experiences that he’s had at South by being involved with the radio program.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Bujnowski explained. “It’s one way to show other people who you are and what you can do. Doc [Oswald] really helps me with that a lot.”
