It's inspiring to see some young producers addressing topics important to the African-American community -- Jazmyne does a great job of choosing interesting stories in the news and providing spirited, insightful commentary about them. One area for improvement however, would be to bring in some more voices during the commentary sections -- for example, during the part about Black fraternities and sororities, it would have been interesting to perhaps hear from someone who is or was part of a fraternity or sorority. Another suggestion is to add more supporting evidence from outside sources to reinforce the opinions that are stated -- for example, in the adoption piece, Jazmyne states that parents need to be aware of the cultural, historical, and racial sensitivity that comes along with adopting a Black child. This could have been an excellent place to give a more concrete example of these challenegs -- perhaps a relevant story or statistic. These techniques would add greater depth to commentary that is already hitting on some good points. I look forward to seeing more from this group in the future!

In full disclosure, I was first exposed to this show because a coworker of mine was interviewed on it this past week about issues surrounding cable franchising in Massachusetts. While I was already familiar with some of Free Press' work, I was unaware until then that they had a weekly radio program, so I've been going back and listening to older episodes. Anyhow, enough about me, and more about the show, which is excellent! I would even go so far as to say that this series is a must for any community radio station, as it provides succinct but in-depth coverage of subjects such as media bias, journalism, policies impacting community media and freedom of speech, and other topics that are sure to be of interest to anyone working in (or a fan of) community media. The hosts are lively, and have been providing an enjoyable and informative five minutes of essential media activism news for the past few years.

This piece is well structured; it makes good use of statistics in appropriate places, and brings in outside voices, such as an ACLU lawyer and a police officer, to provide a richer perspective. However, there is room for improvement on the technical side, as the sound on the interviews could be cleaner -- all of the people in the interviews had good things to say, so it's important to make sure that fuzzy sound doesn't obscure that. My other suggestion for making this a stronger piece would be for the announcer to convey to the audience a bit more of his enthusiasm for the topic. This is obviously a very substantial topic that has an impact on many teens, so it is important to keep in mind that because the audience can't see you, it is essential to use your voice in a manner that draws the audience in, as opposed to the more casual tone that one may use everyday. Aside from the technical elements though, this is a thoughtful, interesting piece in terms of both content and concept.

How can a small group of students make an impact on the most daunting environmental challenges facing our planet? Portland High School students in the school’s environmental club reflect wistfully on the fact that, despite the positive work they have done at their school, confronting global warming requires much larger systemic changes. This is an honest piece about that sinking “but I’m just one person,” feeling that all of us – from activists to the average person – get from time to time when thinking about the problems facing our world. One small suggestion for improvement would be to add a bit of music – some intro and outro music would make a nice addition.