YNI graduates!

On Friday, August 10 the KFAI celebrated the YNI students at a graduation ceremony, where everyone listened to their radio pieces! Congratulations everyone! Sadly Ayinde couldn't be there because he was on a camping trip.

To here the FINAL PIECES produced by each YNI student, click here!

David McCoy, Week 8: Finally Finale

This week concludes the KFAI Youth News Initiative. My piece, which required me to stay after the past two days is complete, and i feel comfortable with it. I don't know useful this experience will be to my Engineering Major, but it was a fun experience all the same.

Nansi: Week 8

This week was horrible. I didn't even get to finish my piece. Now I have to stay after 12 and finish... not that I hate it here, but my mom has to change her schedule now. I think she is mad at me now. I hope my piece is worth it because I don't think it would take so long. I still have to make my summary too... I have a lot to do and I hope I get it done in the extended time I stay here. But all in all I had fun with Karen because she is epic. Goodbye KFAI.... forever. Karen I will see you when school starts! :) You better sit next to me at lunch. *forever alone* Anyways I was kidding I had lots of fun and will forever remember this experience!..

Ahmad: WeeK 8

This week Is was last and it seemed to also be the busiest around the station. with everyone running around trying to finish up their story's as well as make sure they all sounded good. I finished mine just in time around 11:30 and i am pleased with my story i think it was  was going for a not to stern look at the legal drinking age. I am glad to have finish my story on time and the way i wanted it.

Karen - Week 8 (Last)

This week I finished my radio piece. I kept editing and editing it and now I have 4 versions of my piece. I'm very thankful to Dale, Emily, and my mentor Nekassa for helping me. Oh, and also the technician... sorry I don't know his name, but he helped a lot too. I went around distracting people because sometimes I needed a break from listening to my piece over and over. In the end I'm happy with the results! :)

Satta- Summary

My radio piece is about music, specifically rap and country music, and the stereotypes placed on both. It is very interesting and I got to interview numerous people, each with different takes on the subject. I hope everyone enjoys the piece as much as I had developing it!

Satta- Last Day

Well, today is the last day at the KFAI Youth News Initiative internship. I am working on editing my piece. Overall, I enjoyed the program. The most valuable experience that I will take with me is the editing process, and learning how to do it on Protools!

Ayinde: Week 8

This week I've been re-writing my script and touching up the audio from my interviews. Hopefully I can finish fast enough and still have it sound decent. Tommorrow I will most likley record my narration for my piece.

P.S. Re-writing is hard!

Satta-Week 7

This is the second to last week of the KFAI Youth News Initiative Program. This week I spent alot of time editing my radio piece. I feel this is the week of truth, because it is the week where everything should be coming to play. For me, editing is getting easier the more I use the Protools editing system! I say this, because last week I was a bit frustrated with the editing system. I guess it's true when people say, "everything gets better with practice!"

Nansi: Week 7

I think this week has been very busy for me. I have been doing a lot of editing and have gotten interviews done so far. I am pretty close to finishing since I need to put things together, but I know there are still many things to do. At least I have picked the parts of the interviews that I want to play. I couldn't see my mentor today, so I will see her next week. In the meantime I'll just email her and maybe call her. Hopefully she has gotten someone for an interview, but she's busy so I would understand if she hasn't. I'm glad that Vicki Thorn, founder of NOPARH has some connections and has referred me to John Morales. A man who has gone through the experience, which might just make my story stronger. Overall, this week has been okay, but I feel pressured since time is running out...

Ahmad: Week 7

This week I spent alot of time editing my piece on Photoshop and also going back to get good interviews about my topic. I'm starting to see my piece come together with the help of my mentor, Dale and Emily. I am excited o see the finished project and how it will turn out. I tried to a somewhat boring topic and get youths perspective on the issue as to make the story more interesting. I hope to start getting my story done very soon.

Karen - Week 7

This week we continue to edit our piece. I started recording my voice. I prepared myself for that by practicing with my mentor. She gave me lots of pointers. Emily also helped me. Thanks to you both. However, before I recorded my voice we were having problems. Eventually that was fixed, but during the process of fixing it we saw a bug. Dale killed it with his shoe. :)

YNI is working hard!

The YNI students are working hard editing their radio stories and working on their scripts. Just one more week left!

Ayinde: Week 7

This week I have continued my editing and am reaching the conclusion to my story, but I'm still missing the positive side of stop and frisk. So I hope to get an interview with someone who can help me out with that. Otherwise things are running smoothly for me because I have completed a big chunk of the story and gotten most of my interviews out of the way.

Podcasts from Interviews with the Phillips Neighborhood Mural Project

The interviews the youth did with youth members of the Phillips Neighborhood Mural Project have finally been edited into podcasts! (Check back to the July 3rd post for more info). Click the links below to listen.

Satta & Saleta podcast

Ayinde & Nansi podcast

David & Lani podcast

Karen & Ahmad podcast

David McCoy, Week 6: The MPR Strikes Back

This week at KFAI's Youth News Initiative, we learned the basics of editing in Protools and began work to edit our own interviews. We also visited the Expansive MPR St. Paul headquarters and so how this radio stations operated. This makes our third field trip and completes the triangle of media: TV, Radio, and Newspaper. Finally, we continued editing our pieces while I have sent my story details to be considered by the U of M's Youth Development Department for interviews.

Ayinde: Week 6

This week I've learned more about pro tools and we went on a field trip to MPR. I have continued editing my interviews and better constructing my outline. My piece still needs work, but I am closer to finished than last week.

Nansi: Week 6

This week we had another field trip, but this time it was at the MPR radio station. I liked visiting the place because everything seemed so new. I also didn't know it was in St. Paul... St. Paul must be really cool if the State Capitol, and MPR station is in it. The cubicals made it seem like a classic office type room that made the place look like it is important (I'm not saying that it's not). I think 89.3 was the room (or station. I'm not sure) we visited. We were shown how the playlists and other were used and how twitter and Facebook are where fans request songs and are updated. Later, we saw an old fashioned editing device where a tape was cut? If it was a wrong cut, they needed to fix it with tape. I'm glad that we went to MPR since Toni was so nice. She gave us CD's and "party favors" :)
I'm also glad that I finally interviewed someone. She's only a friend, but she knows people who can give me a professional type of view on the subject. For now, i might just take the recorder home and try to contact Family tree clinic.

Karen - Week 6

This week we went to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) for a tour. We got to understand more what radio stations do. We also started editing our interviews for our youth pieces. We used protools which I already understood how to use. Right now I think I'm mostly done with editing. This week I also did the promo. That went really fast.

Satta-Editing

This week we visted the offices of Minnesota Public Radio, (MPR). We got a tour of the building and a sense for what they do there. This week I also began editing my interviews. Here at KFAI we use Protools as the main editing tool. It is cool and frustrating learning how to use Protools, but once I get the hang of it things shall be fine! I am excited to hear my final piece, but for now there is more work to be done.

Ahmad: Week 6

Around this time last year i would be sitting on my butt on my coach watching TV, but this summer i have visited a lot of great place. This week for example got a chance to visit MPR witch is one of the coolest buildings iv seen. The have cool old vintage radios and old vintage records and tons of other cool equipment there and as well as people who have been working in radio for many years some even more then 20 years. It was a really cool experience to be able to visit and get a tour of the place.

YNI goes to MPR

On Tuesday, July 24 the YNI students went to MPR's studios in St. Paul. They got a tour from Toni Randolph and listened to a piece by a local youth from the Young Reporter Series. They even got to see the studio (top picture) where Justin Timberlake recorded some of his voice work for Shrek 3! Thank you Toni.

YNI goes to MTN...and gets on TV!

On Wednesday, July 18 the YNI students went to Minneapolis Television Network and got a tour of the studios from MTN's Youth Programs Instructor, Alex Betzler. The students learned about community television and how to make a basic talk show. They created two 5 minute talk shows, which are posted below. Thanks Alex!

Karen - Week 5

This week we went to the state capital. We had a tour at the press in the basement.I learned that most of the press are down in the capital together. We met people from Pioneer Press, Star Tribune, MPR, and more. I understand what they meant when they said that if you want to be a journalist you most likely will like certain things and topics. An example they said was (I think) they governor from like 50 years ago.We also saw the House Chambers and Senate Chambers.

I interview a person from NAMI. Her name was Sue. She gave me very elaborated answers and was very friendly. I think this interview was a success.

Lunch With Janis!

On Tuesday, July 17 Janis Lane-Ewart (KFAI's Executive Director and Program Host of The Collective Eye) sat down for pizza with the YNI students and chatted them up. Thanks Janis for the pizza!

Ahmad: Week 5

This week we took a very intresting tour of the capital building and the press room and got to meet Pioneer Press writer He told us about how competitive the news company have become in getting the story out first and being the first to break news whether it be through their website or  Twitter. I also finaly got to interview legislature Phyllis Kahn and talk to her a little about here push to lower the drinking age in Minnesota. She had some very interesting answers that I didn't expect from what little research I had done of her.I was happy to finally get that side of the argument represented though.

David McCoy, Week 5: A Capital Week

This week KFAI's YNI group was treated to a trip to the MN capital, and the many news operatives working there. We met with Pioneer Press's Bill Salisbury and learned about the working of written journalism  and how politics play a role in the everyday news. We then saw the various halls and speaking rooms at the capital. That day we left with a better sense of journalism.
Tuesday, I had my first interview for my final project. As nerve wracking as it was, it was great practice for my next interview.

Satta-State Capitol

On Monday we took a trip to the state capitol, which is located in Saint Paul. It may seem irrelevant to go to the state capitol, well atleast for those who don't know how it relates to journalism. Have you ever wondered where most of the media has their offices in Minnesota? The answer to that is the state capitol. Important newspapers such as the Star Tribune, and MPR, and many more have their offices in the basement of the state capitol! We got to see all that first hand. I feel it is a great place for the media to be stationed where the political action takes place. To explain, the governer of our state has his office in the state capitol, political debates occur, politicians make laws, and people protest for new laws at the state capitol. Our tourist showed us the rooms where our politicians make new laws and debate. He also told us that the media is allowed to be there, and showed us exactly where they are permitted to be at political debates. This was a great learning experience and furthered my motivation into becoming a journalist!

Nansi: Week 5

This week we went to the state capitol for our field trip. I never knew that the pioneer press and other news people would be kept in the basement. It is true that newspapers are dying slowly, but I think they could be kept alive through the internet? Anyway, I did agree with what was said about journalism: it can be applied to anything, or almost anything. I also agree with that quote that was on the door in one of the rooms we went. It said something like "If you don't want something to be recorded, it shouldn't have happened." I do not remember the exact quote, but it was kind of like that, and I do not remember who it was by. I agree, but I disagree because Everything that happens is not always easily prevented. To make someone fully responsible is not good...? I think it was fun to go to the capitol, even though I drive by it and the Cathedral on most days. I haven't been there in a while, and have forgotten how cool and beautiful the place was.

Week 5: Ayinde

This week we learned how to edit using pro tools and we went on a field trip to the capitol, where we toured the Pioneer Press's and other news teams workplaces. We were given a tour by one of Pioneer Press's editors, Bill Salisbury, we also learned about how their news rooms functioned and how they did their jobs.

YNI takes a field trip to the Capitol

On July 16th the YNI students took a field trip to the Minnesota State Capitol. Bill Salisbury, of the Pioneer Press, showed them around the basement press room and the Capitol building. Thanks Bill!

Youth News Initiative PSAs

Ayinde's PSA on the misrepresentation of his North Minneapolis neighborhood

Karen's PSA on the misrepresentation of anime lovers

Ahmad's PSA on the misrepresentation of his neighborhood

Nansi's PSA on the misrepresentation of Latino workers

Lani's PSA on the issue of child poverty in the Twin Cities


David's PSA on the misrepresentation of African American students' test scores

Satta's PSA on the misrepresentation of her neighborhood

MPR's Stephen Smith comes to KFAI

On Wednesday, July 11 Stephen Smith, Executive Editor of American RadioWorks and host of MPR's Bright Ideas, came to KFAI and gave an informative talk about storytelling. Thank you Stephen!

David McCoy, Week 4: Story Tattle-Telling

This week we at KFAI's Youth News Initiative continued to work on our projects and continue interviewing people from local radio hosts to parents to activists. While my project remains difficult, time and effort is still being put into it.
On Wednesday, we had a speaker on how essential storytelling is to radio. YNI members and our  mentors learned the aspects of a story's purpose, to persuade the audience that the information is interesting, and the components that make a story come alive: sounds, voices, characters and a central point and purpose.

Ayinde: Week 4

This week we set up interviews with people for our radio pieces. On Tuesday I had an interview with Mr. Ascheman, a lawyer that specializes in criminal defense and I also had an interview with my father who was subject to a terry stop before. My project is coming together bit by bit and I think it will turn out great, but it will require a lot of.... editing.

Satta-week Four

This week was a very engaging week at YNI. We all had to schedule interviews and start really deciding on what our radio pieces would contain, and be about. I actually interviewed Lisa Moy a DJ with the radio station, KMOJ the people's station. My radio piece is going to be on the topic of two specific types of music, of which I'm not  exposing at this particular moment. I also interviewed two of my peers on  the same topic. Interviewing was not only an experience, but it was fun because I got to hear other people's takes on my topic. I hope week five will be as engaging as week four!

Ahmad: Week 4

This week we scheduled some interviews and final got to put our interview practice to work. I got to work on a interview with a MADD Representative on what she thought or her reasoning behind the issue of lowering the drinking and why it shouldn't be lowered. We also had Steven Smith come visit us and tell us about story telling and how you can successful make a story interesting. The ideas he brought were great and  i enjoyed the time he spent with us.This week has been busy but also has been interesting.

Nansi: Week 4

This week we started scheduling interviews for our final projects. I've sent many emails, but have not gotten many replies. One woman, the founder of the organization  The National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation & Healing, Inc. wants to be interviewed by me, but  we can't find a time that would be best yet since she is really busy. I also want to get a male perspective who has dealt with abortion or has experienced it, but I'm still looking. I think even a male opinion in general would be enough. As for a female perspective, it's hard to find a woman or someone to interview who has experienced the impact of abortion. It's hard because My friends and family are either religious and haven't dealt with it, or they just haven't gone through it. For this reason I think I might just find someone online? I don't know about that yet. I think I might just interview my health teacher to get a medical perspective besides Vicki's religious views. I was also thinking I might interview someone with legal experience. I hope to remember to make it clear that my topic is not just abortion, but it is "Should men be allowed in the decision-making of aborting their unborn child." I'll probably re-phrase that, but you know what I mean....

Karen - Week 4

This week I scheduled interviews for my youth piece. I interviewed Emily's friend, Joua, about how she dealt with depression. I also will interview a person from NAMI next week. My last interview I scheduled was one with my friend. My interview went well. I learned a lot of new things about depression from Joua. Now I'm working on what to say in my piece.

YNI interviews Phillips Neighborhood Mural Project

On Tuesday, July 3 youth from the Phillips Neighborhood Mural Project came to KFAI and the Youth News Initiative interviewed them about what they're doing in the community. The Phillips Neighborhood Mural Project is a collaboration with local artists and coordinated by Main Street Project, HOPE Community, Little Earth and Waite House. This is the fifth year of the project. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the mural in August!