On the air with the kids of WROK radio

At 7:30 p.m. on July 28, a trio of 12-year-olds take to the airwaves. Jordan Bernhardi gives the weather. Luciano Cirelli gives some sports scores, and talks about a New York Islanders trade with the New Jersey Devils. Then, Ben Thomson shares a news story he found online about a man who dropped his wallet in a manhole, went to get it, and got stuck. Jordan and Ben debate if they would do the same, and how much money the wallet would have to have in to go into the sewer.

For about 15 minutes, the trio of recent James A. Dever School graduates share some interesting news stories from the around the country. Luciano discusses a football trade and Jordan mentions that “Captain America” is currently the top movie out in theaters.

Luciano finds a story about a man who ended up in the hospital after trying to fix a hernia with a butter knife. “Thank you for that very disgusting story,” says Ben.

They got to their first musical break. The first song they play is “The Stranger” by Billy Joel, a favorite of the three boys. Ben, Jordan and Luciano host their show every Tuesday and Thursday night during the summer. Their station, WROK radio, can be found on the usually unused 105.7 FM, after initially starting out on AM.

Broadcasting from the basement of Ben’s Malverne home, the signal reaches about a mile. Ben says that Dever elementary school in North Valley Stream falls just within that range, so most of his classmates are able to tune in. But those living outside of the mile radius can find their show online, and even watch live feed of the boys in action.

Last Thursday night, the boys were also being simulcast on WKID, a radio station in Clearwater, Fla., which added more than 500 listeners. Jordan says that he believes that station and WROK are the only two kid-run radio stations in the United States.

During their shows, which usually last a little more than an hour, the boys spend about 40 minutes on air and fill in the rest of the time with music. They share news stories they find on the Internet. “It has to be a little interesting,” Jordan says about what makes the cut for a story the boys will report. “Short and sweet. Usually not too violent.”