This Sunday folks in Portland, Maine will be able to participate in the Great Northeast Radio Rally.
This free event (PDF) is being sponsored by Blunt Youth Radio and the Maine Arts Commission and will be held at the University of Southern Maine and at the Space Gallery in Portland. “Audio producers” of all ages are invited to attend the conference, which will feature sessions, workshops, panel discussions, and an Audio Slam competition. Some of the topics covered will include tips on pitching stories to NPR, how to cover elections for radio, and information about doing oral histories.
Similar to events such as the Grassroots Radio Coalition’s annual conference and Allied Media’s DIY Radio conference, the Great Northeast Radio Rally should be an excellent opportunity for people getting started in the art of radio.
While you’re checking out the event, you should also take a look at the work being done by the Blunt Youth Radio Project. Through the program teenagers, some of whom are incarcerated, learn how to do radio and end up producing a weekly Monday night show on local community radio station WMPG. Stories created by these young radio producers have ended up airing on NPR and BBC.
If you want to take a listen to other youth-produced radio projects, take a look at YouthCast (where there’s even a piece produced by a Blunt Youth radio journalist about Hurricane Katrina), Radio Diaries (which includes a Teen Reporter Handbook and list of youth radio resources, including stations airing material produced by young people), Youth Radio, MIT’s Terrascope Radio, and Generation PRX.
