Radio Rookies

GroupAccount image

Radio Rookies® is a New York Public Radio® initiative that provides teenagers with the tools and training to create radio stories about themselves, their communities and their world. Since 1999, Radio Rookies has been conducting workshops across New York, in predominantly under-resourced neighborhoods, training young people to use words and sounds to tell true stories. Upon completion, the Rookies' documentaries air on WNYC - usually during Morning Edition (5am to 9am weekdays on WNYC 93.9 FM, 6am to 10am on WNYC AM 820 and online at wnyc.org) Some documentaries also air nationally, often on NPR's All Things Considered. Radio Rookies typically runs one or two workshops a year, each lasting anywhere from four to eight months. During the workshops, Rookie Reporters learn everything about radio journalism: from how to conduct an interview and develop a story to how to craft a script and digitally edit their audio. There is no fee, and the program provides all the equipment and instruction needed.

Pieces

Caption: Rayon Wright with K-Pop Artist JYP
18 year old Caribbean American, Rayon Wright, sets out to be a K-Pop producer.

  • Added: May 16, 2012
  • Length: 00:08:27
Caption: Staten Island 2011
A lot of teenagers want to make it big as artists--whether acting in movies, singing ballads on American Idol, or making it in the hip hop world. T...

Bought by Vocalo.org, KUOW, and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:06:07
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Staten Island 2011
When I first went into foster care, I just felt lost. My friends kept saying, “Yo, you’re changing. You’re acting like you’re depressed.” I used...

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh, KUOW, Vocalo.org, and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:08:34
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Staten Island 2011
I remember going to my first rock show, the Alkaline Trio, I was 12, a tall 12-year-old. I left there a mess. I had been hit in the face, my shir...

Bought by Public Radio Remix, Vocalo.org, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:09:16
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Staten Island 2011
Last year a couple of kids at my lunch table were talking smack about gay people. So I got angry and said “what if I’m gay?” I couldn’t believe I ...

Bought by The Story, Vocalo.org, Public Radio Remix, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:05:05
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Staten Island 2011
Ok, truthfully, if it weren’t for my mom I’d go wild on Facebook. But my mom would never let that happen. She tells me “You guys think it’s fun a...

Bought by Vocalo.org and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:06:54
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Staten Island 2011
"At some point when I was growing up I admit I was mad at my parents for coming here. I was mad that they had to work so hard, that we had to wait ...

Bought by KUOW, Vocalo.org, and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 00:07:19
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
When seniors at a small public high school in the Bronx cast their votes for "Best Couple" they chose a pair they admire but who definitely defy th...

Bought by KUOW, YouthCast, KDNK, WNIN, and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Jan 26, 2011
  • Length: 00:04:48
  • Purchases: 5
Piece image
Last year at a routine check-up, 15-year-old Raymond Henderson decided to tell the truth. When his doctor noticed bruises on his neck, Raymond admi...

Bought by KFAI, Public Radio Remix, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:09:54
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Kaddeem Wright enjoys reading philosophy and arguing with his friends about history and politics. With his smarts and innate curiosity about the wo...

Bought by The Story, KUT, Radijojo World Children's Radio Network, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:08:55
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
In the past, hanging out with boys has gotten Jacuyra into trouble. But as a 16-year-old who doesn't often think about the consequences of her acti...

Bought by KUT, KVNF, Public Radio Remix, KFAI, and KXOT Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:08:20
  • Purchases: 5
Piece image
Like most of the kids in her school and on her block, 16-year-old Josetta Adams used to listen to hip-hop. But when she slipped into a depression, ...

Bought by Public Radio Remix, KUT, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:09:08
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Keith Harris had a secret when he started school in the U.S. for the first time: he didn't know how to read and write.

Bought by Public Radio Remix and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:09:24
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Krystle loves her mom very much and she feels guilty about how hard her mom has worked to provide a good life for them, but Krystle sometimes wonde...

Bought by The Story, KUT, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 07, 2010
  • Length: 00:07:27
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Rookie Reporter Irina was born in Belarus 6 years after the Chernobyl disaster. She has always seen herself as a Chernobyl victim, but the more she...

Bought by Public Radio Remix and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 01, 2010
  • Length: 00:08:17
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
17-years-old Vikky Cruz struggles to cope with her mother's illness, a rare genetic disease called neuroacanthytosis, and the ways it's taken over ...

Bought by Vocalo.org and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 01, 2010
  • Length: 00:09:37
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Rookie Reporter Erikka Diaz, like many of her neighbors in South Bronx, has lived in poverty her whole life. Her family knows well the anxiety that...

Bought by The Story, Vocalo.org, Public Radio Remix, and KUOW


  • Added: Apr 01, 2010
  • Length: 00:09:17
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
15-year-old Keith Tingman remembers his tenth birthday better than any other birthday before or since. That was the day he watched his mom get arre...

Bought by Vocalo.org, KUOW, and Public Radio Remix


  • Added: Apr 01, 2010
  • Length: 00:07:43
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
14-year-old AJ Frazier reports on how higher standards at his middle school impact his work ethic.

Bought by Public Radio Remix, KUOW, and YouthCast


  • Added: Mar 31, 2010
  • Length: 00:08:55
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Radio Rookie Sunnie Hwang with Producer Czerina Patel
For the first time, Radio Rookies presents an hour-long special, “Growing Up, Getting By”, hosted by WNYC reporter and Radio Rookies founder Marian...

Bought by WHRV, KUT, WNPR, KUNM, and KXOT Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 10, 2009
  • Length: 00:59:00
  • Purchases: 5