The Migration Project: A Youth Radio Special from KUOW and Generation PRX
From KUOW
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Producers: Jenny Asarnow
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Review of The Migration Project: A Youth Radio Special from KUOW and Generation PRXSome of the best youth-produced pieces on PRX are here, compiled into a hour-long special that's easy for stations to use. The Migration Project tackles a broad cross-section of issues raised by immigrants (and emigrants) with a vibrant host and production team that have managed to create a coherent piece out of diverse segments. The eight segments, ranging from a year old to newly posted, are bookended with background information on the producers and interesting follow-up material. Host Dinorah Flores-Perez is not a dispassionate narrator, either. She weaves her story of migration throughout the show. This show includes a wide variety of stories from youth who have come to the United States of America from around the world: Mexico, the Bahamas, Hong Kong, the Philippines, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, and Columbia. Perhaps the most powerful message that migration is not just about crossing into new countries, but also about crossing into new cultures comes from Machlyn Blair, a native of the hills of Kentucky. By not distracting listeners with an immigration policy debate, this show will go a long way towards helping the audience understand how youth who have migrated by choice and by family feel, and what issues they face. This is an hour of audio worthy of prime airtime. |
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Review of The Migration Project: A Youth Radio Special from KUOW and Generation PRXWhat?s it like to come to a new country? To learn a new language and have your parents depend on YOU to translate? How does it change you? This 54-minute special covers these questions through the eyes of teens. They?re from Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Mexico, El Salvador, the Bahamas, Columbia, and Jeremiah, Kentucky. Now, they?re all in America ? which, as we hear, doesn?t necessarily make them Americans. This show pulls together work from youth radio groups around the country. Producer Jenny Asarnow has found a slew of it ? all of it skilled, none of it redundant. It testifies to the strength of youth radio and the value of Generation PRX, the show's coproducer. Asarnow has built a nice structure for the material. Short interstitials mix tape, music, and copy to underscore themes like borders, language, and home.
From KRCB, a young man tries three times to cross the US-Mexico border. His young translator reads the story in English, with evocative overdubs and techno underbeats. It?s long but it works. From Radio Rookies, a teen born in Sierra Leone doesn?t have her green card ? even though her dad does. We hear her outraged uncle as she threatens to go on radio about it. And from WAMU?s Youth Voices, we get what?s almost a reporter?s piece about parents who depend on their kids to translate. Almost all of the pieces were made by teams, something you can't help noticing. And eighteen-year-old host Dinorah Flores-Perez is a find. A poet and activist, she adds several bridges that keep the narrative going. So there?s lots here ? including some new spins on the immigrant experience. Despite the vote in Congress, the issue isn?t going away. This special can help advance the discussion. Consider it for Labor Day. Anthea Raymond
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Broadcast History
KUOW July 4, 2007 9-10 am
Transcript
SEGMENTS:
1. "The Cruz Azul" by Claudia Villa for KRCB's Voice of Youth.
DESCRIPTION:
Edgar Medina walked from Mexico to California to see his father, who'd been a voice on the phone for years. Then Edgar walked into a California radio station, wrote down his story, and disappeared. Cruz Azul is his favorite soccer team.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Claudia Villa translated and produced Edgar's story when she was 19. Voice of Youth produces a weekly radio program on KRCB in Sonoma County, California.
2. "Roberto: We don't live in Huts" by Crystal Johnson, Fiona Meinert, and Allison Kolowich for Uniquely Spoken and the National Youth in Radio Training Project. With help from Blunt youth radio.
DESCRIPTION:
Roberto Cartwright grew up in the Bahamas. He thought American streets were paved with gold. Now he lives in Baltimore and gets asked if he grew up in a hut. Roberto says 't...
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Timing and Cues
***Language advisory:***
"Bitch" at 29:50
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Additional Information
- Produced: Jul 04, 2007
- Added to PRX: Jul 05, 2007
- This piece is in English
Megan Martin
Posted on March 03, 2008 at 03:03 PM | Permalink
Review of The Migration Project: A Youth Radio Special from KUOW and Generation PRX
Since I'm working with migrants on the other side of the border, this piece is extra-intriguing to me. The immigration debate is so charged in the U.S., it's nice to hear refreshing, honest personal stories from youth producers. The topic needs diverse perspectives, like the ones found in this hour-long montage of pieces. It would be a great addition to any immigration discussion on the airwaves. I highly recommend it.