THE NATIONAL YOUTH IN RADIO TRAINING PROJECT

Due to lack of funding, there will be no National Youth in Radio Training Project conference in 2007. We continue to work towards 2008 and are hopeful that the NYRTP will be back and even better.

In the meantime, young producers and adult leaders are welcome to register for and attend the 2007 Community Radio Conference, April 11-14 in New Orleans. While the CRC is not primarily a conference for producers, there are some production workshops and if enough youth register, we will add more. Registration forms and conference information will be on the web by December 1. Early registration rates for NFCB members are $325 for the first two from a station or organization and $250 for each person thereafter. Rates for non-members are $450 per person.

To give you an idea of what the NYRTP conference is like, this is what we did in 2006:

Last Year's Schedule

The Youth Steering Committee—young people from 6 different radio projects—met via conference calls for months to help plan the NYRTP. They were on hand to meet and greet in Portland on Thursday evening—and they planned many activities to help youth meet other young producers. We officially opened the Conference Friday morning after breakfast with a session bringing together all the youth participants. Our keynote speaker was Irene McGee, host of No One’s Listening. You can read more about Irene at www.irenemcgee.com.

Thursday
5:45PM-6:45PM	Meeting of the Youth Steering Committee
7:00PM-9:30 PM	Meet and Greet
	Get registered and stop in—you’ll meet other young radio producers, have some snacks and have some fun. Organized and hosted by the Youth Steering Committee.
Friday
7:30AM-9:00AM	Breakfast
9:00AM-10:30AM	Opening Session
	Welcomes from the Youth Steering Committee and NFCB
	Keynote Speech by Irene McGee
10:30AM-11:00AM	Beverage Break
Workshops
11:00AM-12:30PM	Media Activism
	Irene McGee, No One’s Listening, San Francisco, CA
	You’re on the air; you could be reaching thousands of people; you have exciting ideas and important information that you want people to hear because you want to make a difference in the world. But you don’t want to bore people to death, and you don’t want to speak only to the people who already agree with you. How can you take those brilliant thoughts and turn them into radio that people will want to listen to?

	Interviewing Difficult People
	Karen Michel, Independent Producer, Pleasant Valley, NY
	Drunk, disorderly, disagreeable, or otherwise disinclined, there are times when we’ve got to interview difficult people. This workshop will deal with ways to get the uncooperative to cooperate. Bring your tales of woe—and solutions—with you.

	Flash Drama
	Scott Bartlett, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA
	Moe Provencher, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA
	90 minute radio theatre! Students will write script, record dialogue and Foley sound effects, edit, and mix a mini drama in just 90 minutes! Improv scripting, voice recording technique, and basic Pro Tools editing and mixing will be covered.

	Listening Session: Features and Documentaries
	Erin Yanke, KBOO, Portland, OR
	Bring your features and pieces of your documentaries (cued up) and get feedback from other youth radio producers. Pieces to be played and critiqued will be chosen by lottery at the beginning of the session, so if you want feedback on your piece, you should be at the workshop at the very start.

	The Too Tight Guide to Radio Journalism
	Youth Radio, Berkeley, CA
	Learn how to get the story right, have fun and not bore your audience at Youth Radio’s interactive workshop!

12:30PM-1:30PM	Lunch
1:30PM-3:00PM	Media Literacy
	Andrea Quijada, New Mexico Media Literacy Project, Albuquerque, NM
	What is the connection between television, cinema, newspapers, billboards and your radio? This interactive, multi-media workshop provides a provocative and humorous look at our ever-changing broadcast media culture. Participants will be challenged to examine basic assumptions about our media in order to improve their skills in their broadcast work. Topics covered include: brain function, techniques of persuasion, media ownership, and media activism. (Do not take this workshop if you are taking the Saturday Intensive "Produce Better Radio, Build Community, and Have Fun". The material covered in this workshop will be repeated in the Intensive).

	Writing for the Ear
	John Severn, Portland, OR
	Writing for radio is a distinct skill—you must write for people’s ears so you can engage their imaginations, knowing they can’t go back and re-read what they have just heard. These skills apply regardless of what you write—a news story, a promo, a theater script, or an intro to a set of music. In this workshop you’ll write and read various kinds of radio scripts.

	The Way I See It….Working Together On and Off the Air
	Jones Franzel, Generation PRX, Cambridge, MA
	I’m always early and you just barely make deadlines; I like to ad lib off notes and you like a written script. I’m from a big city and you’re from the reservation. My father is a coal miner and you don’t know who your father is. I’m African-American and you’re white. How are we ever going to work together? In this workshop we’ll talk about our own identities—what they are and which parts are most important to us. Then we’ll consider how to use that information to be more comfortable with one another and better able to work together both on and off the air.

	Taking the Mystery out of History: Using Archival Material
	Brian DeShazor, Pacifica Radio Archives, Los Angeles, CA
	There is a wealth of recorded programming that can enrich your radio pieces, give them breadth and depth, and place them in context. You can quote Malcolm X, for example, or you can insert a short clip of Malcolm. There is archival tape of literally thousands of people—activists, musicians, authors, revolutionaries, political leaders, scientists, etc. There is archival tape of rallies and demonstrations, hearings and debates. In this workshop you’ll learn how to access this material and how to use it creatively to enhance your productions.

	Listening Session: Commentaries and News Stories
	Voices of Youth, Moab, UT
	Bring your commentaries and news stories and get feedback from other youth radio producers. Pieces to be played and critiqued will be chosen by lottery at the beginning of the session, so if you want feedback on your piece, you should be at the workshop at the very start. Please have your piece cued or track # noted and timed. We'll be asking its length! Should be fun!!

3:00PM-3:30PM	Beverage Break
3:30PM-5:00PM	Producing Features and Promos
	Blunt/Youth Radio Project, WMPG, Portland, ME
	Tips and techniques for producing better features and promos, with lots of examples and small group discussion.

	Talk Good—You’re on the Radio (Limited to 12)
	Dmae Roberts, MediaRites Productions, Portland, OR
	Have you ever had someone recognize you by your voice? Or meet you and say “you sounded taller on the radio”? If you’re a DJ, an anchor, a reporter, an interviewer, a narrator, or any other kind of announcer on radio, your voice is a very important tool. In this workshop, you’ll learn some techniques to sound the way you want to sound (taller, sexier, serious, engaging, authoritative, etc.). You’ll learn physical relations exercises used in actor training. Be sure to bring the page you worked on. We suggest that you do not take this workshop if you are signed up for the Saturday Intensive on Developing Good Radio Chops.

	Next Steps
	Ava Hegedus, KPSU, Portland, OR Silvia Rivera, WRTE/Radio Arte, Chicago, IL Julie Sabatier, Independent Producer, Portland, OR
	Sooner or later, it will happen. You will leave your youth radio program. You may be a good radio producer, but you’ll need more than skill to make your way in the larger radio and media world. This panel will present lots of information on how to present yourself to be taken seriously; how to pitch a story; how to get your foot in the door at college radio; and other tips on taking the next steps.

	Intermediate Radio Journalism
	Rob Manning, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland, OR
	How you write and produce a news story depends in part on how much time you have and what the focus is. A breaking news story that needs to get on the air quickly usually offers just the “who, “what”, “where” and “when”. Another story could be produced with a more relaxed deadline that presents background, focusing more on the “why” or “how”. There could be a story that profiles the significant participants in the story; another that puts the event in historical, political, or social context. In this workshop, you’ll consider one event—and figure out how to cover that event from many angles.

	Listening Session: All Formats
	Shana Sheehy, Alaska Teen Media Institute, Anchorage, AK
	Bring your radio work in any format (cued up) and get feedback from other youth radio producers. Pieces to be played and critiqued will be chosen by lottery at the beginning of the session, so if you want feedback on your piece, you should be at the workshop at the very start.

5:00–9:00PM	Open House at KBOO
	Busses leave from the Hilton on the Salmon St. side (by Starbucks). Check at Conference registration for the bus schedule.
8:00–11:00PM	ON AIR at KBOO
	The KBOO Youth Collective, KBOO, Portland, OR
	15 people already signed to go to KBOO and help dj an hour long radio show: The Ultimonium! Even if you’re not one of the fifteen—you can come to hang out and be part of the party. There will be music, spoken word and a chance to see KBOO. Transportation provided both ways. Be at KBOO no later than 8:00. If you need an escort, be ready to leave at 7:15 PM—meet at the 6th Avenue door of the Hilton lobby.

Saturday
Please attend the Intensive you signed-up for.
9:00AM–5:00PM	Computer Music Making: Creating Background Music for Broadcast
	Noah Kleiman, NW Digital Art Kids, Portland, OR
	The bus leaves at 8:30. Meet at the 6th Avenue door of the Hilton lobby.

	Produce Better Radio, Build Community, and Have Fun (Media Literacy)
	Andrea Quijada, New Mexico Media Literacy Project, Albuquerque, NM

	The Ways and Means to Features: From Idea to Air
	Karen Michel, Independent Producer, Pleasant Valley, NY

	Talk Radio
	Mario Armstrong, NPR’s News and Notes, Baltimore, MD
	Kate Welch, KBOO, Portland, OR
	To be held at KBOO in Portland. The bus leaves at 8:30. Meet at the 6th Avenue door of the Hilton lobby.

	Airstage: Creating Radio Theatre
	John Severn, Portland, OR

	Adult Leaders: Inspiring Youth and Developing Organization
	Judy Fiestal, KBOO Youth Collective, Portland, OR

9:00AM–12:30PM	Art of Sound/Soundscaping/Field Recording
	Moe Provencher, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA Scott Bartlett, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA

	Professional Radio Interviewing Skills
	Dick Brooks, ActionMedia, Minneapolis, MN

	Developing Good Radio Chops
	Marilyn Pittman, Trainer and Comic, San Francisco, CA

1:30PM–5:00PM	Art of Sound/Soundscaping w/ Pro Tools
	Moe Provencher, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA Scott Bartlett, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA

	Developing Good Radio Chops
	Marilyn Pittman, Trainer and Comic, San Francisco, CA

7:30-11:00PM	Party
	You’ve done some great work in the last two days. Now you get to do some great play. The Youth Steering Committee organized the party, which will be at the Food for Thought Café in the Smith Center on the campus of Portland State University.

Sunday
10:00AM	Meeting of the Youth Steering Committee

Registration for the NYRTP is $125.00 per person (youth and adults). Registration includes all workshop sessions and the Intensive, breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday, the social events on Thursday and Saturday night. Students may attend any workshop at the Community Radio Conference on Friday and Saturday instead of the NYRTP workshops. If you wish to attend the Community Radio Conference on Thursday, you must register and pay extra for that day.

Read the registration form and fill it out carefully. A registration form must be filled out for every person attending the National Youth in Radio Training Project. We are limiting attendance to 200 people (youth and adult leaders). Register early to guarantee your place.

Parental/Guardian

Permission Every registrant under the age of 18 must have a signed permission form from a parent or legal guardian on file with their local youth program.

Hotel

The Conference Hotel is the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, 921 S.W. 6th Avenue; reservation number is 800-HILTONS. Be sure to say you are with the NFCB Conference. Room rates are $105 plus 12.5% tax. These rates are good through March 19, but we urge you to make your reservations before then—as soon as you know you’re coming.

Financial Support

The Youth Initiatives Project of the Open Society Institute is again providing funding support for the NYRTP, but NFCB has been unable to raise any more money to help subsidize your attendance beyond a minimal level.

The OSI support enables us to keep the registration fee low ($125 per person). Beyond that, we can offer somewhere between $300-$500 per group towards lodging and travel. We will know the exact amount of the subsidy after February 24 when we know how many groups have registered. We will keep you informed via email.

Questions about financial support? Call Ginny Berson at NFCB at 510 451-8200. For all other questions about registration, contact HB Associates at 727 937-3232 or info@hbassociates.net.

Some options to save money:

All rooms at the Hilton are $105 plus tax (currently 12.5%). Four people in a room for 3 nights comes to $354.38. NFCB will provide you with email addresses of other project leaders to facilitate your finding roommates if you have an odd number of attendees.
There are two hostels in Portland, charging between $18-$25 per person per night. Both are about 1.5 miles from the Hilton and are served by public transportation. One is at 1818 NW Glisan St; 503 241-2783. The other is 3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd; 503 236-3380. Both are part of AYH Hostelling.
There is a Days Inn City Center Hotel 6 blocks from the Hilton at 1414 SW Sixth Avenue. Rates are $65 plus tax for all rooms (including quads). Reservation number is 800 899-0248, ext. 275. Refer to the “CGNYD6” rate.

You must register and pay for the NYRTP by February 24 to be eligible for financial support. No support will be awarded after February 24.

Adult Leaders: Please fill out the Financial Support section on one registration form for your entire group. If you need less than $500 for lodging and travel, please indicate the amount you need. Financial support is only available to youth and adult project directors. Attendance at the NYRTP is open to all. All attendees must pay $125.00 registration fee.

Travel

When you’re ready to make your travel plans, we suggest you call On the Mark Travel. They have arranged for discounted fares to Portland. You reach them at 1-800-618-6275.

Reimbursement

All reimbursements will be made after the Conference. You will have to pay for the travel and hotel rooms and we will let you know what paperwork to submit for your subsidy.