What can we do at Kid's Talk Radio to make a difference?

Ghetto Life 101

This is an example of how we can use the power of Kid's Talk Radio to make a difference in each community across the United States.  Please share your ideas with Kid's Talk Radio.

Bob Barboza, CEO/Founder
Suprschool@aol.com

In March, 1993, LeAlan Jones, thirteen, and Lloyd Newman, fourteen, collaborated with public radio producer David Isay to create the radio documentary Ghetto Life 101, their audio diaries of life on Chicago's South Side. The boys taped for ten days, walking listeners through their daily lives: to school, to an overpass to throw rocks at cars, to a bus ride that takes them out of the ghetto, and to friends and family members in the community.

The candor in Jones and Newman's diaries brought listeners face to face with a portrait of poverty and danger and their effects on childhood in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Like Vietnam War veterans in the bodies of young boys, Jones and Newman described the bitter truth about the sounds of machine guns at night and the effects of a thriving drug world on a community.

Ghetto Life 101 became one of the most acclaimed programs in public radio history, winning almost all of the major awards in American broadcasting, including: the Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Ohio State Award, the Livingston Award, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards for Excellence in Documentary Radio and Special Achievement in Radio Programming, and others. Ghetto Life 101 was also awarded the Prix Italia, Europe's oldest and most prestigious broadcasting award. It has been translated into a dozen languages and has been broadcast worldwide.

Super Link For More information on this topic:  http://soundportraits.org/on-air/ghetto_life_101/

 Credits and Funding Info -->Reporters: LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman / Producers: David Isay, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman / Editor: Gary Covino / Engineer: Caryl Wheeler / Additional Engineering: Rick Karr / Funding provided by the Chicago Community Trust as part of WBEZ's Chicago Matters series.

An Interview With Albert Maysles

This PNN.com interview with Albert Maylses took place at the Mendocino Film Festival in 2007. Albert Maysles is a world renown film director, best known for pioneering the style of documentary film.

Making a Video Show

"Before You Get Started"

By Jennifer Jacobson
About this Advisor Professor
The following assignment was created by Jennifer Jacobson, Marketing and Media Director at PNN. Jennifer holds a Master's Degree and Undergraduate Degree from San Francisco State University's Broadcasting School. Jennifer has written many stories for web, film, radio and live performance.

Why This Assignment is Important
The following assignment is intended to equip kids with a working knowledge about making a good movie or show. Since video is such a universal medium, knowing how to approach storytelling through video empowers kids to expand their media literacy skills.

Assignment: Film School on the Fly

Part 1: Know Your Story

Recording is Storytelling

Before you ever pick up the camera to shoot a movie, know your story.

Everything you will do from now on revolves around your story. Visualize your story when you close your eyes and watch it as a movie in your head.

Your story can be about anything and it's your job to make it interesting to an audience.
 

• Think about what makes your story interesting
• Why do you care about this story?
• If something sticks in your mind and says, "hey, listen to me!" it's probably a good story.

Exercise 1
Write out and share the answers to the following questions:
Think about your favorite TV show.
1. What do you remember most?
2. What character is the show based on?
3. Why do you care about this character?
4. How is this character like you?

Now that you've thought about your favorite show, let's look at it more closely.

Exercise 2
Dissect your favorite TV show.

Example: MythBusters
MythBusters is a show that takes urban legends and puts them to the test using science and technology.

Premise (why the show works) It's fun to see if the show's Lead Characters (Jamie and Adam) can build challenging recreations of urban legends and prove or disprove them.
You want to see Jamie and Adam struggle to build setups
You want them to be amazed when they disprove a well known myth
However, you also want them to learn something
You want them to find a way to get the job done
You want to have the upper hand and know the truth behind urban legends.

Bingo! That's the bottom line of MythBusters, "Getting the edge on urban legends with science." This is why the show works.

Through the show, Adam and Jamie become icons for the working class. The show skyrocketed their careers. Audiences felt they could finally have a practical application for science in a social context. This is the premise of good stories: bringing people together.

Your story may be about a sales rep who is trying to break into the world of professional wrestling, or perhaps your story is about a zookeeper who refuses to retire. Whatever your story idea, it's your job to use video and audio in a way that makes your audience care about your character.

Keep in Mind:

A well-planned, weekly story with good emotion and character is far more likely to be enjoyed by your audience than a show that has a lot of content, airs daily and says nothing.

It takes time to make and edit a good show, so try and capture the "soul" of everything you do. Due to the nature of video editing, shoot for quality over quantity.

Exercise 3

1. Write what your story is about in one sentence
2. Write a simple outline of our story
3. Write down who your characters are
4. Write down why an audience will care about these characters

Albert Maysles Quote

"People are people. We're out to discover what is going on behind the scenes and get as close as we can to what is happening."
-Albert Maysles
Documentary Film Director

"Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?"

A Movie Review with a Heavy Message

This week I found out how to tell a powerful story.

What is going on in your community?   Are you about to be kicked out of your own community?   Are your community members asleep at the wheel or do you know what is going on?  

The movie "Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?" is an important film.  It is about saving communities all across our county.  Dr. Watkins took us all to school when she talked about her movie and what it meant to American Society.   This film is a Cape Verdean American Story that is road map for other Americans that care about immigration, community and what America is all about.

We have video and audio on this wonderful movie.  Stay tuned to Kid's Talk Radio.