A Very PYR Showcase: Stories and Goodbyes

Yep. It’s true. We made it to the final showcase at WHYY!

But before we unveil this season’s stories, we want to share some of our celebration with you, mainly through the amazing pictures that photographer Carina Giamerese took for us.

The evening got off to a great start. We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to fill the huge WHYY auditorium, but we did! Supporters, volunteers, friends, family, and students joined us for a night of youth media. After screening their stories on love and relationships, Dinh, Jaya, and Yingci came up on stage for a behind-the-scenes panel discussion on their stories and reporting process. They answered questions like pros – even the ones from the audience!

Then, Beth and I talked about what Philly Youth Radio has meant to us over the years, how we’re proud of the work we’ve accomplished with our students, and why the project will be on hiatus for now. We ended the night with shout-outs, a Philly Youth Radio tradition where we appreciate people for specific things and then snap fingers. Of course, our students got the final, biggest shout-out – as well as certificates, roses, and their stipends.

And there you have it! Another successful season of Philly Youth Radio wrapped up. We’re so glad you joined us for the ride and are excited to present our stories to you. Enjoy!

“To Date or Not to Date – That is the Chinese Immigrant Teenager’s Question” by Yingci Chen

PYR – Yingci from aidan un on Vimeo.

“What Twilight Didn’t Teach Me About Love” by Jaya Montague

PYR – Jaya from aidan un on Vimeo.

“Head Over Heels for Cooking” by Dinh To

PYR – DINH from aidan un on Vimeo.

PYR on WHYY 90.9 FM for Valentine’s Day!

Stories from the current season of Philly Youth Radio will be airing February 13th and 14th on WHYY 90.9 FM!

Tune in to hear the stories of Jaya Montague and Yingci Chen, on the FM radio dial or online at http://www.whyy.org/91FM/live.php on NewsWorks Tonight from 6 – 6:30 pm.

And remember to please join us for our special showcase at WHYY on 2/26 to see our final audio slideshows and meet the reporters at a panel discussion.

Watch the beautiful trailer for the radio showcase created by Aiden Un: http://vimeo.com/59120070

Philly Youth Radio Presents: 

“At the Heart, From the Heart”

Join us on February 26th

6-8pm

At WHYY (150 N. 6th St.) 

Snacks and Good Audio/Visual Stories will be served. 

Philly Youth Radio Showcase!

YOU’RE INVITED!

On February 26th, PHILLY YOUTH RADIO presents “AT THE HEART, FROM THE HEART”, a series of audio/visual stories reflecting on love and relationships. 

Join us for a SHOWCASE and CELEBRATION of these stories, a panel discussion with our youth radio reporters, and of course, snacks! We will be gathered at WHYY (150 N. 6th St.) on February 26th at 6pm. This is a youth friendly space and all ages are welcome. Come ready to enjoy some youth media!

Since last October, Philly Youth Radio has held weekly audio production workshops where high school students learn how to pitch story ideas, conduct interviews, use audio recording equipment, write scripts, track narration, and edit audio – all with the guidance of professional radio producer volunteers.

Please share this invitation with others and come join us!

Youth radio producers making final touches on their own love stories

By Matthew Graber

Philly Youth Radio has been making leaps and bounds on the stories of season three. For the past two weeks, we’ve been in the studios at WHYY, recording narration and editing the final productions.

Dinh editing her story on Pro Tools

Jaya!

Erin and Yingci!

This comes after weeks of interviews with friends, family, and strangers; selecting the best audio from those interviews; and writing and editing (and editing, and editing…) scripts.

Looks like we’re coming to the final weeks of season three of Philly Youth Radio!

SAVE THE DATE:

We’ll be having a listening party at WHYY on the evening of February 26 – where you can listen to our stories and meet our reporters. More to come on this!

A Report on PYR Workshops: Philly Youth are Story Tellers!

By Matthew Graber

For the past two weeks, Philly Youth Radio has been working with the students to hone and develop their stories, and prepare them to create audio magic. The students have learned how to use their audio recorders, and how to capture sound elements for their stories.

Combined with these technical skills, the students have also continued to edit and conceptualize their stories. They’ve mapped out their stories, identified sources, and written interview questions in preparation for the reporting ahead. It’s hard work, but also exciting to witness our students explore matters of the heart so bravely.

Dinh poses tough questions to Yingci on love and relationships.

We hope you’ll stay with us, as students gather their audio and begin crafting their stories. We may even have audio samples of their work to share with you soon!

Interview skill charades and other radio-learning adventures

By Matthew Graber

On Friday, October 26, Philly Youth Radio had our third workshop of this season, and we had a great time. The students are hard at work developing their radio stories on the topic of “Love and relationships,” revealing details of their own lives which are, quite honestly, seldom explored, discussed, or even imagined by grown-ups like me.

But we don’t want Philly Youth Radio to only be about hard work. We’re also having a great time collaborating with this charismatic collective of courageous young adults. Take the activity that we did this past week: Interview skill charades. Students were given worksheets with tips for conducting a successful interview. The catch? Students and facilitators then had to demonstrate how to do – or not to do – the interview tips.

A few examples of the tips which we acted out with students:

“Record in the quietest place.”
“Put the people at ease: talk about the weather. Joke about the microphone.”
“Watch out for uh-huhs and laughter from yourself.”
“Maintain eye contact.”
“Push for specific stories and telling details rather than generic impressions or positions.”

We feel confident about our students’ stories, and that they’re gaining the skills to craft and share them. Soon they’ll be taking recorders home, collecting sounds, and conducting interviews for their stories.

Thanks for following our work!

Creative juices flowing in workshop #2

By Matthew Graber

For our second workshop, some students came with story ideas in hand, eager to share their tales of love and relationships. Other students developed stories over the course of the workshop, responding to prompts and developing narratives rich with colorful characters and soundscapes drawn from their lives as teenagers living in Philly.

First, students contributed ideas for story prompts: “Is there such a thing as true love?” “Love advice 101″ “My heart skipped a beat when…” “Broken hearted” And dozens of other stimulating ideas to respond to.

Then, students chose their favorite prompts and elaborated on why they liked them.

Finally, students and teachers collaborated together, working in small groups to develop story ideas – complete with focus statements, goals, conflicts, stakes, sound elements, and possible resolutions.

And have these young people got stories for us all!

Stay tuned to hear them… Next week, we’ll be covering the difficult art of interviewing and preparing our students to go out into the world with recorders and microphones.