On the Radio

Made my big debut this week as a radio producer-- for the radio class I'm taking, we produce a weekly magazine-style radio show for the college radio station, KALX. (You can hear the shows at northgateradio.com). We rotate through the various roles over the course of the semester-- reporter, anchor, producer, etc. This week I was producer, and the theme I chose was "underground." I suppose it goes without saying that I found a way to incorporate the song "Down Under" by Men At Work.

We had a story about worm poop, one about being an undocumented immigrant campus, one about digging tunnels in California, one about pirate radio, and one about this weird city north of San Francisco that consists primarily of cemeteries. The content of the show was pretty interesting.

Sadly, the mechanics of the show were a total nightmare. While on air, we essentially had every imaginable technical difficulty. First, we played the wrong CD, then we left the mics on during the prerecorded news, broadcasting our real-time conversation underneath it, then somehow the CD player, which had all of the various stories burned onto it, was set to "shuffle," which led us to broadcast dead air for a shocking 60 seconds, and then for an additional 60 seconds, the two anchors chatted awkwardly to cover up the silence. Whew. Before 10am that day, I had used up my allotment of adrenalin for the week. Sheesh. Anyway, go to the website if you want to hear the results... we were able to edit out much of the pandemonium.

It's Time

Okay, okay. Time for a third round -- yet another attempt at this web-logging thing. There's lots to report.

First of all, I may soon have an actual "big adventure" on which to report. I'm not entirely decided yet, but it looks like I'll be spending June and July of this summer in Sitka, Alaska, working for KCAW Raven Radio, the local public radio station. As expected, I've fallen in love with radio at journalism school, so I've decided to do my (required) summer internship in that field. Apparently, public radio is vital in Alaska, where the people are sparse and often remote-- hence the absence of other, more sophisticated forms of media. I'll be working with a very small radio news team, essentially serving as a staff reporter, going out into the field and reporting on stories, and then producing and airing them. I also have the option of hosting a call-in show, which I imagine would go something like this.

ME: "This is Andi McDaniel for KCAW Raven Radio. Right now we're talking about pants. What's the deal with pants? Do you WEAR pants? Do you have a favorite pair of pants? Call and tell us about it! I'll be waiting..."

CALLER: "Hi, this is, um, Herb, and I like pants. I have some denim pants and some corduroy pants too. Sometimes I don't wear pants..."

ME: "Wow, thanks for your call, Herb!"

Yeah, so. The show might not be worth downloading from the website. HOWEVER, I have no doubt that you will find enjoyment in the many awkward situations, mishaps, and lessons-learned-the-hard-way that I find myself in while I'm there...

Also, I plan on finding a penguin boyfriend (as a sort of stand-in for Eric; we discussed it). I think one of those Emperor penguins will do-- they seem pretty loyal, but they still like to slide on their tummies. I'll keep you updated on that particular search.

In the meantime, I'm finishing up my semester (and thus my first year) working on projects in my 3 main classes: long-form science writing, black and white photography, and radio. To hear my latest piece, which is about being stuck on the community garden waiting list, go here and click on the play button beneath "Dirty Waitlist."

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.