ACE Spectrum

Motto for KALW Audio Academy Grads – “You Really Should Record That”

Posted by Martha Sessums on Apr 19, 2016 in ACE Learning Center, ACE Partners, ACE School Report, Continuing Education | 0 comments

By Guest Blogger Ben Trefny, News Director, KALW Public Radio

A few months ago, I published part of an email from one of KALW‘s former trainees, Carolina Andrea Hidalgo Espinoza, about the work she’s been doing since she left the station. The note she shared with me about producing a daily talk show in Santiago, Chile inspired me to check in with Audio Academy graduates to see what they’re up to these days.

Of course, many are still connected with KALW. Liz Mak (’14), Jeremy Dalmas (’14), Liza Veale (’15) and Hannah Kingsley-Ma (’15) are line producers and contract reporters for Crosscurrents, so we see them on a weekly basis. Chris Hambrick (’15) works in KALW’s development department, now, and she’s the producer of Sights & Sounds of the Bay Area. Ted Muldoon (’15) is the sound engineer on that project, and he does extra work for the station mixing stories for Crosscurrents, remixing 99% Invisible for broadcast and producing FSFSF. Colin Peden is managing our My Mixtape project and continuing his engineering training with our news department. Raja Shah (’15) is developing a weekly podcast for Crosscurrents called The Bridge; it will be launching within the next month. And David Boyer recently started work on his next series of stories for The Intersection.

I’ve heard back from several others who have spread around the country. Here are what some of them have to say:

—–

Rachel Wong (’14)

I’m still going full force in my design research career, but I have the desire and intention to make more audio pieces when my schedule allows. These days I always find ways to work with audio in my job, and often record audio for fun, or with particular projects in mind. I was able to attend the Hearsay Audio Festival in Ireland last year, which was inspiring and wonderful. It’s not easy to make time to pursue a new skill, so I’m very appreciative of how the Audio Academy provided a structure that allowed me to stay focused, disciplined, and productive over the course of the program. Now, even when I have a long hiatus from working in audio, I live with a little bird in my ear whispering, “You should really record that.”

Thanks and all best,
Rachel

—–

Todd Whitney (’14)

I’m out in New York producing podcasts for Audible. We’re putting together a bunch of different projects right now and I’m floating between them, picking up different responsibilities for different projects. It’s good because it breaks the monotony of focusing on one story/project. The stuff I’m working on now are ~40 minute stories instead of news features ~7 minutes so I’m flexing a different set of radio skills. But the reporting skills I finessed at KALW are proving to be a help for things I’m working on.

Hope you and the squad are doing well!

—–

Jasmín López (’14)

Things are going well for me in New Orleans. Besides all the love and joy that my nephews bring, I have started some collaborations with other journalists/artists here. One project that I’m working on is looking at issues for deaf people in Louisiana prisons. It will air on Making Contact before the summer, but my collaborators and I intend to take this beyond that. The stories that came out of the initial project are endless.

Another collaboration is looking at a disappearing community along “cancer alley” in Louisiana. The community is surrounded by oil/chemical refineries. We’ll tell the history (that includes a slave revolt) and present story through it’s few remaining residents.

Another project that came my way is a documentary that touches on health care access issues in private detention centers in LA, but it also tells the story through the detained man’s daughter and what she went through. If all goes well, I’ll be there when they reunite in Mexico.

I’m still working on Project Luz as much as I can. And, soon I’ll run radio workshops with a community of day laborers in NOLA. I managed to get them some air time to share last summer and the low power fm stations offered them a weekly show!

Oh, and I got a gig with WWNO. I think I might be their first Latina reporter/producer! I won’t even get started on my personal story projects. One that you’ll hear this summer 😉

Stay tuned, and please let me know if I can do anything for the Audio Academy!

Sending love from New Orleans,

Jasmin

Swinging Through the Poetry Jungle at Yew Chung International

Posted by Martha Sessums on Apr 18, 2016 in ACE Partners, ACE School Report | 0 comments

By Guest Blogger Ming-Mei, ACE Poetry Contest Mascot, Yew Chung International School

There’s no monkeying around when it comes to National Poetry Month! Hi, everyone, I’m Ming-Mei, the Yew Chung International School (YCIS) Silicon Valley, mascot for the ACE Poetry Contest. This is the first year that YCIS Silicon Valley is participating, and our school is going bananas over all the wonderful activities people can do to celebrate National Poetry month.

Here are 10 fun and creative ways to enjoy National Poetry Month with your friends and family:
1. Create an anthology of your favorite poems illustrate them using digital design technology.
2. Make a video of yourself reading a poem at an open mic event at a local coffee shop or bookstore; upload your masterpiece to share with the world.
3. Get ready for Mother’s Day by making a card with lines of poetry; share your cards online.
4. Watch a selection of poets sharing their own poetry on TED.
5. Use the #NationalPoetryMonth on Twitter to tweet about your favorite poems and poets.
6. Go online to Poets.org or Poems.com and read a poem a day.
7. With the presidential election cycle in full swing, there have been many debates on television lately. Hold your own classroom debate with centered around the question, “Does poetry matter?”
8. Create posters about National Poetry Month and hang them around your school.
9. Email original poems with a pen pal.
10. Turn your poetry into a multimedia experience by typing your poem in Animoto. Upload images and music to make it your unique masterpiece.

These activities are sure to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Who knew learning with technology could be so much fun!!!

KALW, America Scores and the KALW Feral Cats Focus on Poetry for National Poetry Month

Posted by Martha Sessums on Apr 13, 2016 in ACE Learning Center, ACE School Report, Continuing Education | 0 comments

By Guest Blogger Riley, ACE Poetry Contest Mascot Who Hangs Out at Alpha Public Schools

Poetry has friends at KALW Local Pubic Radio. That’s where my feral cat friends Tiger Mom, Midnight, Striped Cat and Orange Tabby hang out. They have a cat rap poem they want to share, but first I wanted to give KALW a bark out for their continuing support of student poets.

For as many National Poetry Months as I’ve paid attention, KALW has partnered with America SCORES Bay Area to share poems written by students who play soccer at San Francisco’s public elementary schools. Cool. The “beautiful game” teams with beautiful poems by beautiful young poets. (The “beautiful game” is soccer for all you Giants fans, by the way.)

What is really cool is that the poets get to record their poems, and then they are played on air at KALW Monday through Friday at 4:18pm and at 8:58pm. Check out the cool poets and their poems.

By the way, KALW is also home to the Audio Academy, an ACE Learning Center. That’s where students learn all about community radio, like being real professional in telling stories full of sound. You know, the stories we like to listen to.

Speaking of sound, here’s the howling good poem by my cat friends. They’re the feral cats that hang in the park-ish area next to the radio station. Of course, they are loved by everyone. Well, if you can love a cat that doesn’t want to be touched.

We, Ourselves and Us
By Tiger Mom, Midnight, Striped Cat and Orange Tabby, the Feral Cats of KALW

We don’t need anything to make us satisfied,
‘Cept friends who care, n out n fresh air,
N treats from time to time.

We don’t need anything to make us satisfied,
But those who watch and care a lot,
N support our feral lives.

We don’t need anything to make us satisfied,
We’ll ignore your calls of sweetie doll
‘Cause freedom rules our lives.

Mew mew, mew mew mew, mew mew mew mew mew
Mew mew mew, mew mew mew, mew mew mew mew mew

Freedom does us good and it gets us every time.

See, cats like treats too! Arf, arf!

Treat yourself to a poem!