This blogging beat is not for the faint of heart -- take your eye off the ball for a minute and six weeks goes by! I guess I owe you one...
We have endured -- and apparently survived -- our first Winter storm. And more importantly, after tomorrow, the days start getting longer again. Now that's something to celebrate!
Over at ECA we're working hard on our next edition of Road Kill Radio (to be aired on Jan. 22 on WPKN -- 89.5 FM). http://www.wpkn.org/
The show will include a lot of goodies, such as street interviews, an interview with Diamondayze (a student band), a report on The Forum (a New Haven-based youth group), poetry from the ECA writers and a report on a new oral journaling project being undertaken by the Radio Class in collaboration with the Creative Writing Department.
This year we received an ACES Foundation grant to purchase six digital voice recorders to be loaned to students for the purpose of keeping oral journals. This past month, Radio Class students began taking the recorders home and thus the project was launched. Here are some preliminary reports from four Radio Class participants.
Blake:
When I started, I thought to myself, "How am I supposed to do this?" I have never actually sat there and talked to myself. I mostly express myself with art and stuff -- like drawing. I never write down things - like a journal. So I just decided to go like a diary and go very deep into it. Some things that people don't know about me, I actually said in it...Like things I don't share in everyday life...I took it as more of a very deep project, rather than like, you know, "I'm just going to play around with this cool tape recorder."
Caroline:
I ended up taking my recorder a lot of places. I took it to school, to the ECA bathroom where I was playing my flute, and I spent a lot of time recording at night.. I really enjoyed this experience because I got to say a lot of stuff that doesn't come up in conversation much but really bothers me or really interests me... I felt like I really opened up and it was a lot of fun.
Skylar:
I ended up doing most of my recording at 2 or 3 in the morning. It was actually really interesting. I ended up saying a lot -- it was fun.While doing it I found that a lot of the stuff that I ended up saying is stuff that I had wanted to say for a while but it's not the sort of thing that you can say in every day conversation or gets brought up every day -- so that was really cool...
Lezlie:
When I did it, I actually found myself not knowing what to say -- should I be casual or more deep, but overall it was fun, a new experience.If I had to do it again, I'd probably go deeper, hearing other people and what they did sharing their personal experiences.
Meanwhile, in class... we have been discussing what to do with the oral journals -- e.g. whether to post the audio or transcripts on this website; or broadcast edited versions on Road Kill Radio. Any thoughts?
And coming soon: a report on the Lincoln Middle School broadcast radio project which has been up and running for five weeks.
Have a peaceful holiday -- talk to you later.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Road Kill Radio #21 will air Nov. 27!
Sooooo.... where were we?
It's a date: the new edition of Road Kill Radio (produced by students in the radio class at ECA) will air November 27 at 6 PM on WPKN (www.wpkn.org) and will soon be posted on this site.
But what I really wanted to talk about this week is this question: To Censor or Not To Censor youth voices? When do words and ideas push the envelope (which is cool) and when do they cross the line (which is not -- as in gratuitous profanity, hate speech, etc.)? The current roster of Radio Elective students at ECA have talked a lot about this issue of late. It comes up frequently when we consider how to present edgy ideas, radio plays, music, creative writing or opinions -- the nuts and bolts of youth culture.
If students are staying within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decency guidelines and observing their community standards for speech and self-expression, should there be any topics or language which are out of bounds?
FYI: The FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/) disallows the use of the "seven deadly words" -- long live George Carlin! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words) -- on the air waves during the hours of 6 AM and 10 PM. So we "edit" them out of Road Kill Radio productions.
Who should decide the limits to creative expression and free speech? One of the missions of Youth Radio CT (and the shows hosted here) is to present students with the opportunity to decide this question for themseves.
So what is youth culture, anyway, and how can young people create and explore their world if they are always looking over their shoulders for Big Brother? I'm just sayin'...
And I'm also just askin' -- so I hope this kicks off a discussion of this question on this site (comments link below) and elsewhere.
Talk to you later,
PS -- For best results post comments as anonymous.
It's a date: the new edition of Road Kill Radio (produced by students in the radio class at ECA) will air November 27 at 6 PM on WPKN (www.wpkn.org) and will soon be posted on this site.
But what I really wanted to talk about this week is this question: To Censor or Not To Censor youth voices? When do words and ideas push the envelope (which is cool) and when do they cross the line (which is not -- as in gratuitous profanity, hate speech, etc.)? The current roster of Radio Elective students at ECA have talked a lot about this issue of late. It comes up frequently when we consider how to present edgy ideas, radio plays, music, creative writing or opinions -- the nuts and bolts of youth culture.
If students are staying within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decency guidelines and observing their community standards for speech and self-expression, should there be any topics or language which are out of bounds?
FYI: The FCC (http://www.fcc.gov/) disallows the use of the "seven deadly words" -- long live George Carlin! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words) -- on the air waves during the hours of 6 AM and 10 PM. So we "edit" them out of Road Kill Radio productions.
Who should decide the limits to creative expression and free speech? One of the missions of Youth Radio CT (and the shows hosted here) is to present students with the opportunity to decide this question for themseves.
So what is youth culture, anyway, and how can young people create and explore their world if they are always looking over their shoulders for Big Brother? I'm just sayin'...
And I'm also just askin' -- so I hope this kicks off a discussion of this question on this site (comments link below) and elsewhere.
Talk to you later,
PS -- For best results post comments as anonymous.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
October update
Wow! Great news today: Educational Center for the Arts (the home of Road Kill Radio) was awarded the Creative Collaboration Grant that we applied for to support our student radio project. Special thanks to the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism and to the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency) for their support of youth media in New Haven.
And speaking of ECA's Road Kill Radio show: last week a team of RKR producers visited the Collaborative Writing elective to record a short piece of fiction and interview some of the authors.
And another team hit the streets to ask people what they are thinking about the ever-evolving
"swine flu" pandemic.
Listen for these segements (and more) in our next RKR broadcast on WPKN in November.
The new show will, of course, be archived here at www.youthradioct.org.
Flash: the Middle School Radio Road Show is heading for Lincoln MS in Meriden!
On November 16, I'll begin helping a group of fifteen middle school students to create their own radio show for broadcast and podcasting. The program is sponsored by the Meriden
REACH program and I am really looking forward to once again working with Lincoln MS principal Leo Lavallee (who you may remember was the far-sighted administrator who first green-lignted the radio project at ECA).
Talk to you later...
And speaking of ECA's Road Kill Radio show: last week a team of RKR producers visited the Collaborative Writing elective to record a short piece of fiction and interview some of the authors.
And another team hit the streets to ask people what they are thinking about the ever-evolving
"swine flu" pandemic.
Listen for these segements (and more) in our next RKR broadcast on WPKN in November.
The new show will, of course, be archived here at www.youthradioct.org.
Flash: the Middle School Radio Road Show is heading for Lincoln MS in Meriden!
On November 16, I'll begin helping a group of fifteen middle school students to create their own radio show for broadcast and podcasting. The program is sponsored by the Meriden
REACH program and I am really looking forward to once again working with Lincoln MS principal Leo Lavallee (who you may remember was the far-sighted administrator who first green-lignted the radio project at ECA).
Talk to you later...
Friday, October 16, 2009
Off and running!
We had a great Youth Radio CT "Live" show on Sept. 18 with six students from the Ansonia HS Human Relations Club, including the club's advisor, Nick Collicelli. Somehow we all managed to shoe-horn into the WPKN FM booth, clustered around 4 broadcast microphones. The discussion focused on issues of tolerance and diversity and the extensive programs developed by these Ansonia HS students.
Check this out: these high school students teach a tolerance and anti-bullying course to middle and elementary school students in Ansonia. They also have an inter-generational program where the Human Relations Club students meet with senior citizens for meals and informal discussions. Apparently, these sessions are hugely popular with both generations and go a long way toward dispelling age-related stereotypes.
Meanwhile, over at ECA, the Radio Class Elective is off and running. These students from five different Arts majors are coming up with some great stuff for their first show (to be aired on WPKN in November -- stay tuned for exact time and date}.
We have already recorded an original song, performed live in our studio by Caroline Salant (ECA music major). Also on the drawing board: a 'collaborative writing' piece from students in the Writing Elective taught by Ian Ganassi; an interview with Hartford-based Latin Jazz pianist Damian Curtis; street interviews and a film review.
We've listened to some stories and segments from This American Life (www.thisamericanlife.org) and from previous Road Kill Radio shows which are sparking a lot of heated discussion and inspiring new ideas for future segments. I'm delighted to say that students have been using this web site as a portal for sampling RKR as well as other youth and independent media.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Welcome to the Youth Radio Connecticut blog page.
Welcome to the first Youth Radio CT blog post!
(In fact, this is my first blog post anywhere, ever!)
First off, a huge shout out to Geno Heiter who made all this possible by building the Youth Radio CT site brick by user-friendly brick. Geno: I promise I won't drive you nuts with continual embarrassing displays of gratitude (hereafter: EDGs). Just let it be said once and for all: You Are the Man!
OK, with Labor Day rapidly receding in my rear view mirror, I will attempt to re-focus my mind from countless swims in oceans, bays, lakes, rivers and ponds and to some great youth radio projects coming this fall:
Road Kill Radio - A new roster of 14 ECA students from various artistic disciplines have signed up for the Radio Class and are ready to learn about independent media and make their own radio show. Watch for their first production coming in early November. It'll be aired on WPKN and archived on this site.
Youth Radio CT "LIVE" is ready to re-launch on WPKN with a new day and time (3rd Friday from 6 to 7 PM). The first show (Sept. 18 at 6 PM) will feature students from the Ansonia HS Human Relations Club who will talk about their upcoming tolerance and diversity projects. Listener call-ins welcome.
There's more youth radio on WPKN (alternate Fridays from 6 to 7 PM) by students from Staples HS. Check the WPKN listings for exact dates.
Finally, keep in touch by sending an email (youthradioct@aol.com ), posting a comment on this blog or using the contact form. Send along any thoughts on past shows and your ideas for future programs.
Talk to you soon,
Richard
Next post: September 28, 2009
(In fact, this is my first blog post anywhere, ever!)
First off, a huge shout out to Geno Heiter who made all this possible by building the Youth Radio CT site brick by user-friendly brick. Geno: I promise I won't drive you nuts with continual embarrassing displays of gratitude (hereafter: EDGs). Just let it be said once and for all: You Are the Man!
OK, with Labor Day rapidly receding in my rear view mirror, I will attempt to re-focus my mind from countless swims in oceans, bays, lakes, rivers and ponds and to some great youth radio projects coming this fall:
Road Kill Radio - A new roster of 14 ECA students from various artistic disciplines have signed up for the Radio Class and are ready to learn about independent media and make their own radio show. Watch for their first production coming in early November. It'll be aired on WPKN and archived on this site.
Youth Radio CT "LIVE" is ready to re-launch on WPKN with a new day and time (3rd Friday from 6 to 7 PM). The first show (Sept. 18 at 6 PM) will feature students from the Ansonia HS Human Relations Club who will talk about their upcoming tolerance and diversity projects. Listener call-ins welcome.
There's more youth radio on WPKN (alternate Fridays from 6 to 7 PM) by students from Staples HS. Check the WPKN listings for exact dates.
Finally, keep in touch by sending an email (youthradioct@aol.com ), posting a comment on this blog or using the contact form. Send along any thoughts on past shows and your ideas for future programs.
Talk to you soon,
Richard
Next post: September 28, 2009
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