From guest speakers to the Natural History Museum, week two at AYA has been an incredibly exciting experience. Activities in our classes have brought us closer together as a cohort while teaching us the fundamentals of design and podcast creation. However, the most important lesson learned this week is the power of storytelling, as both a medium, and a force for change.
We started this week off by becoming experts in design through Professor Rogelio Lopez’s Communications 101 lessons. My favorite part about the Communications classes this week was Professor Lopez’s instruction in varying software technologies. I am more familiar with Davinci Resolve and Canva than any of the Adobe software suites, but Professor Lopez dedicated so much time to exploring these resources that I was finally able to navigate the challenging aspects of each. This instruction also gave me the guidance necessary to come up with a topic for our podcast assignment. Many of the lessons focused on how podcasts differ from other media due to their personalized viewer experience. The direct intonation of hosts creates an intimate line of connection with the listener, making them more vulnerable to whatever messaging comes through those lines of connection. While reading one of the assigned texts for the week, authored by Tatiana Siegel and Todd Spangler, I was introduced to the reasoning behind conservative movements as they utilize podcast spaces for harmful messaging. It was interesting to learn how people like Howard Stern took advantage of this new media to reach out to voters who are traditionally ignored.
This idea of new age media dissemination reminded me of the show, Adolescence, providing my group with the perfect topic for our civic engagement podcast. As class progressed throughout the week, my group and I did more research into the phenomenon of redpilling in order to complete our Tuesday Proposal. As we investigated the ways in which social media algorithms and misogynistic podcasters target young, impressionable men, we found alarming evidence of these digital alt-right pipelines being linked to higher rates of misogyny and violence against women in the real world. We chose to continue with this topic because the ideals perpetuated by red-pilled individuals influence all other aspects of society.
In our Journalism 101 class, we began to transition from potential scenarios to real time experience. While writing our scripts in class, we tested out our individual news judgement skills with organizational riddles. This provided a perfect segue to our visit to the Annenberg School building, where we met a very cordial sound engineer who taught us to improve our camera presence. The experience of writing and recording the introductions to our VoxPops from the previous week was extremely valuable as it familiarized us with highly technical studio equipment and etiquette. However, my favorite part of class this week was practicing line producing while my fellow AYA students anchored our short news broadcast. Kai and I tried our best to understand the reasoning behind each call, while crossing out segments on our rundown sheet. Professor Lopez explained the motivation behind each decision in extreme detail, and checked in with us frequently to ensure we were getting the most out of this experience. Once we finished the scheduled anchors, each student in the class had an opportunity to practice reading from the teleprompter. Isabella and I jumped at the opportunity, and pictured below is us as we emulate our best anchor posture.
The most exciting event of the week was our field trip to the Museum of Natural History. My favorite exhibit was a relatively new installation about the culture of Los Angeles. I often visited this museum as a child but was never particularly concerned with anything besides the dinosaur bones. The exhibit on Los Angeles (L.A.) was beautiful to me because I was able to record a love letter to my city while listening to others who have done the same. There are many stories being told at the Natural History Museum, from dinosaur evolution to our own, but the L.A. display made me feel connected to my fellow citizens, and reminded me to be grateful for the beauty of this place I call my home.
These experiences have given me new perspectives and allowed me to grow closer to my peers. As the final week approaches, I hope to continue this spirit of connection, and complete each remaining project to the best of my ability. Thank you to my mentors and friends, who have made every day of this program engaging and exciting.
Works Cited: Siegel & Spangler (2024). Joe Rogan and the Fifth Estate: How the Podcaster and a Group of Cable News Exiles Became More Powerful Than Traditional Media. Variety.pdf
Communicating Change 