Are You In? Watch the GPRX Video! – Signal July 2011

July 2011

The GPRX Slideshow
Sharing is Good
What We’re Listening To
This Just In

Radio Happy

Studies confirm what we’ve always suspected: Radio makes you happier than other media. And lately, radio’s making us all kinds of happy: There’s the GPRX slideshow we can’t wait to share with you, discovering some amazing new youth radio groups, and getting ready for the NYC Digital Waves Festival at the end of next week. Turn it up and pass the lemonade.

Happy reading & listening,
Jones, GPRX Project Director

Yowei Shaw: Philly Youth Radio

Yowei Shaw

We were so struck by the stories from Philly Youth Radio – stories which tackle school violence and bullying with unflinching care and voice – that we had to learn more. Founder Yowei Shaw shed light on issues ranging from covering a touchy topic to getting youth radio groups off the ground. Don’t miss the full interview on the GPRX blog!

Here are Yowei’s tips on the three most important elements to making PYRP succeed:

1. Build a skilled and dedicated volunteer team. (And if you’re able, a willing and excited nonprofit partner). Bottom line: it takes a brilliant team to make a youth radio group happen.

2. Budget enough time for process and product. Set realistic expectations for time and commitment at the beginning.

3. Think long and hard about distribution at the beginning. If we had thought more about distribution at the beginning, we could have built strategic partnerships earlier…Luckily, things like PRX, Facebook, YouTube, and podcasts exist so there are still many ways to reach listeners.

Don’t miss the full interview with Yowei on the GPRX blog, then hear Philly Youth Radio on PRX.

Stations will be programming around these events and subjects. Let us know what you have that fits!

Summer!
September 5 – Labor Day
Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 – Hispanic Heritage Month
Back to School

Listen to YouthCast: “Best Couple” by Vikky Cruz of WNYC’s Radio Rookies. Defying stereotypes at a Bronx high school.

YouthCast on iTunes | YouthCast RSS feed

The GPRX Slideshow

At a YouTube near you

When we had to brag about GPRX for a recent grant application, we asked GPRX members to send in photos, notes and voicemails. And did you all knock our socks off. From Alaska to Albuquerque, youth radio groups filled our mailbox. In fact we’ve been so inspired by the process that we’ve decided to roll up our sleeves and make a GPRX slideshow to live on the site. Check out an excerpt of the video, and see the photos on Flickr. We’ll keep you posted on our next video!

Sharing is Good

Youth Media Project
on PRX

On PRX, producers who have enabled their work for sharing are seeing big increases in listenership and exposure. With a single checkbox (here’s how) you can:

Allow full streams of your stories on Facebook.
Embed full-length pieces on blogs, websites and beyond using the embeddable player – no logging in required.
Let visitors to PRX.org listen to the full stream without logging in.

See how it works in this video.

What We’re Listening To

Here’s where we’ve been tuning our PRX dial lately (a list we’re always updating over on GPRX’s Facebook page):

Cristel Martinez
Sounds of school. Two very different takes, both stop-you-in-your-tracks good: In Soundtrack to School Violence, Cristel Martinez of Philly Youth Radio narrates her day, from metal detectors to locker slams. WHJE’s The Sound of School shows the rhythm in a school day, without saying a word.
Think something as visual as design isn’t suited to the radio? Think again. Roman Mars, the host of Public Radio Remix, is also the creator of 99% Invisible, a podcast with a whole new take on production and sound.

This Just In

Digital Waves Youth Media Festival is coming to NYC on July 30th: Be there! The free event features speakers and lunch, plus the one-of-a-kind Audio Slam, hosted by Blunt Youth Radio. Registration is open until July 25th for the Festival and the Slam.
Remember our Zeitfunk Awards this spring? Now for one of our favorite parts: the Awards Ceremony! Check out fellow producers’ fun trophy photos and speeches.
For those making radio, SaltCast is an invaluable toolbox of stories, techniques and styles. Heads up! The podcast will be morphing into HowSound, so look for a new link, blog and subscription in the next few weeks.

Generation PRX