Youth Radio and Media Programs for Teens

Youth Radio, based in the Bay Area, trains diverse youth in journalism, music, and multimedia. Cool, right? But what does it have to do with your students if they aren't in the Bay Area?

The website could be a great resource for them:

• The reporting covers topics that teens are interested in: e.g., juvenile justice, science, education (e.g., bullying, dropping out, going to college). tech. The New Options desk covers "innovations and policies designed to connect youth to the new economy." And On Our Radar has "News and trends we’re watching and curated content from other youth media sources."
• Students who don't like to read news stories might like the option of reading while listening to the radio story. The website also has some multimedia extras, like video or slideshows to go with radio stories.
• Hearing or reading a story by a teenage reporter might help a student think about what goes into investigating and telling an important and interesting story. This could be especially helpful for students interested in journalism or public speaking.

This evening, All Things Considered ran an excellent Youth Radio story about head injuries in high school football: Kendrick Calkins, High Schools Struggle to Tackle Safety on the Football Field, Oct. 9, 2013. The same story is on the Youth Radio site as Does Your School Protect Your Head?, and there you'll find links to documents like the Texas high school football practice guidelines and coverage of the NFL's treatment of the head injury issue.

If a student does get psyched about working in media, there are Seattle-area programs.

KUOW has RadioActive Youth Media, which offers "intensive and fun introductory radio journalism workshops for 16-18 year olds throughout the year. All RadioActive workshops are free, and participants receive stipends for their completed work." The summer program is during the day; fall and spring workshops are after school. Listen to RadioActive Youth stories here.

Reelgrrls offers a variety of workshops and programs for girls and young women, ages 9-21. Check out their videos here.

The Youth Media Institute has programs for youth in the White Center area. YMI has a YouTube channel. Check out this animated video about planning for college:





Native Lens "teaches digital filmmaking and media skills to indigenous youth as a form of self-expression, cultural preservation, and social change." 

Globalist Youth "provides training for the next generation of journalists and multimedia storytellers. Programs are offered year round and open to youth ages 13-19." (Seattle Globalist is a nonprofit based at the UW Department of Communication.)