Colin Redwood, a fellow Teen Radio Project participant, created a segment on whether violent video games actually promote violence among those who play them.

Redwood's mother's reaction to the video game was very informational. Before playing the video game, she asks her son whether he would ever utilize the violence depicted in the games in real life.

The narration is spot-on, though a bit monotone. The active tape of playing video games and isolated sounds make the segment very visual. The phone interview was an excellent addition, providing an expert's viewpoint on violent video games. The sound quality of the phone interview was a bit off from Redwood's sterile narration, but it transitions nicely.

The ending of this segment was very thoughtful; how many times have politicians pointed the finger at violent video games for the increase in crime rates among teenagers, while simultaneously ignoring other issues that Redwood mentions, such as gang wars, culture wars, and the war in Iraq?

Colin worked as a Teen Radio Project participant over the summer and this segment was the capstone of the internship. As an initial effort, this is an outstanding segment done in a very short period of time, while overcoming many obstacles (ie. difficult editing program, short timespan.) This is a wonderful, inside look into the issue without being overbearing, politically correct or cliche.

Chandra Touch's personal look into her school activities, her Cambodian culture and her mother's disapproval is an engaging piece.

Touch communications to the listener by speaking with her own mother -- a bold move that shows that Touch isn't afraid to interrogate her own parent about why she disapproves of cheerleading or the differences between American and Cambodian culture.

The main detractors of this segment were the narration and pacing. At times, Touch feels righteous, perhaps a bit preachy. Although I empathized with Touch, as I come from a family where my family does not truly understand the importance of my activities or the weight of going to college, I feel that her approach was heavy-handed. Touch's mother speaks in a way that my own mother has; a quiet request for a daughter to remain faithful to her culture.

I loved the mother-daughter interaction, but the narration seemed a bit too righteous and even the questions directed at the mother seemed to be "leading" or suggesting a desired answer.

Megan Haller's segment on teenagers with parents deployed in the war as well as deployment and reunion workshops combines emotional and informative elements for an excellent story.

Haller's first interview with a teenager whose parent is in Iraq presents a voice uncommon in mainstream radio. Much of radio time about the war focuses on those not in the emotional fray of the war itself. Excellent narration throughout the piece guides the listener into information on deployment and reunion workshops.

I have never before heard anything on workshops like these before, and as such, I applaud Haller for presenting a unique facet of a common subject such as the war.

The interview with the teenager and Griggs is well-executed. Clean cuts and clear, concise narration create a professional piece.

Zoe High's investigation of the perceptions of the homeless is an interesting undertaking on a unique subject.

The narration at the beginning of the piece seems a bit forced. The usage of a vox pop in order to gather the public's opinion of the homeless was key in setting up the rest of the segment. Many of the people in the vox pop stated that homeless people could not find jobs, though some did state that homeless people didn't want jobs. High immediately follows the vox pop with the conclusion that most people believed the homeless were too lazy to get jobs or did not want them. However, this is not an accurate conclusion to gather from the preceding vox pop, considering that a minority of those interviewed stated that homeless were lazy.

The rest of the segment centered on interviewing a former homeless person. High definitely could have included more tape from Steven, as he seemed to know a lot about homeless and why they were without jobs. In a longer segment, including interviews from experts, such as sociologists, would be key.

The segment seemed a bit rushed, but the editing seemed excellent. I definitely felt as if the segment could have elaborated a bit more on why homeless people did not have jobs, besides the one reason, substance abuse, that was mentioned by Steven.

Great editing and narrating!

Natalie Marquez and Jennifer Martinez have prepared an interesting take on the new law passed in Illinois that requires students to spend a "moment of silence" for reflection (some say that legislators had been pushing this moment of silence as a time for prayer).

The responses varied, but what was most striking was that only one of the responses was a prayer! One of the responses that talked about how the moment of silence was a step on the slippery slope to dictatorship spoke volumes about how our government chooses to insert itself in our daily lives, in order to affect our viewpoints on larger issues, such as school prayer and the "wall" between the church and state.

This was well-timed, especially since the law is now being contested. Well-put together and clean work! There weren't any rough cuts, and it seemed like the students received a variety of responses, perfect for a vox pop!

Chris' segment on teen drinking seems a bit opinionated and blunt in the first listening. There is quite a bit of information about why teens drink (socially, for example), and he does a good job of conveying that. However, the transitions between the tape and the narration by Chris seems rough around the edges.

The piece was very opinionated, and seemed to be especially harsh on the teenagers who provided the interviews. I felt as if the interviews were a bit too "cookie-cutter" and expected. There wasn't much surprise in this segment, and I felt as if I was hearing a public service announcement on why drinking is wrong, rather than the incentives behind drinking, and how teens weigh the benefits and costs of drinking, especially socially.

The narration was spot-on, though I don't think a narrator should interrupt an interviewee's clip of tape unless it's completely necessary. The subject matter is relevant, though it could have used a tie-in to current affairs, or a few scientific studies.

However, this piece was very informational, even if it is a bit weighted one way.

Heather Tyner's clear, concise narrative provides an interesting look at AP slackers, students who have little to nothing to do after their big tests in May are over. This is a tightly-packed radio segment and disperses quite a bit of information within that time. However, one of the major downsides of the short length of this piece is the rushed interviews. Tyner's report could have been made stronger through a short clip from another student with a differing viewpoint, to parallel the different teachers' methods. Overall, this was a clean-cut piece on a unique topic. Great work!

Jesse Chanin's segment on a family vacation gone wrong is a humorous and insightful look into the mind of a teenager when confronted by a mother's request to have a talk about "mother daughter trust." Chanin's narration is witty and earnest, and the Van Morrison clips were appropriately placed to create the scenery for the disastrous vacation. Jesse guides the listener right into the action, voicing out comments that she probably did not say out loud as the events were occurring. One of the best scenes in the piece was the one about the relatives guessing why Jesse did not want to talk about "mother daughter trust." The voices used for this scene were cheesy and humorous. One of the few detractions of the piece is the Mother's voice -- it seems scripted, and the pronunciation is too slow. Overall, the piece is very earnest and insightful -- an intriguing look inside the mind of a teenager.

Chrysti has a wonderful series! This is truly a useful radio series for listeners. I enjoyed the etymology of the word "epitaph" as well as the various epitaphs found on gravestones. Concise and engaging, Chrysti has a quirky little series that is actually useful to the listener.

Excellent lyrics. I am a performance poet as well and enjoy Polk's lyrical tribute to Chicago. This appeals to a narrow audience: Chicagoans. However, the execution of this piece is nearly flawless. The one, glaring error of this piece is perhaps Polk's monotone voice. Although a listener can definitely hear what Polk is saying and can appreciate it for its artistic value, his poem falls short on what it tries best to do -- to evoke the feelings of living in a city much bigger than most know. If Polk varies his tone in the piece, it would be perfect.

Great reporting and usage of interviews. I liked the creation of the setting and how students were asked how they used Facebook. Excellent sound quality, but a little dry because of its straightforward format.

Excellent lead-in and mix of narration. I liked how at first, there was simply narration and then there was an actual scene, a day in the life of Shannon. It's important to not just have narration, because the audience needs to be shown and not told how Shannon's life was interesting because of ADHD. The interviews from the friend from college and Laura added a lot to the piece, too. I liked her father's explanation of why he would not put on his daughter on Ritalin; his voice had a very "storytelling" quality to it. Overall, this was very well-made. The piece had very high sound quality and a visible beginning, middle and end.