“Quiet on set!”
From podcasts to broadcasting, Week 2 at USC’s Annenberg Youth Academy was full of insight, experience, and collaboration.
As our second week of the program comes to a close, I’m genuinely in awe of how much can be learned in just four days. It’s remarkable to see how everyone has settled in, becoming not only more comfortable with our academic environment but also with one another. The connections I’m building with both my peers and professors feel meaningful, and I’m deeply appreciative that I’ve made friends and am surrounded by such a supportive cohort. This week seemed to fly by significantly faster than the last, and I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a slight bittersweetness in knowing that my time as an AYA student is already coming to an end.
Nonetheless, this week in Communications 101, we focused on storytelling, specifically podcasting, as an effective means of civic engagement. According to Renée Hobbs in her book, Create to Learn: Introduction to Media Literacy, we are able to connect with an audience more emotionally through telling stories that integrate “bits of human wisdom,” which have the potential to not only teach and entertain but also inspire others.
Each morning I commuted to USC, I listened to a new assigned podcast. What stood out to me most were the variety of production styles the podcasts utilized, how each podcast was edited and organized, accurately reflecting its mood and tone. I noticed that each podcast had its own unique feel, ranging from layered audio sound bites, music choices, and how the hosts interacted with one another. I’ve realized just how powerful audio can be in civic engagement, and how I had previously underestimated its impact. My favorite episode that I had listened to was “Three Miles” from This American Life, where, in a distinct, intimate storytelling manner, the host explores the real-world impact of how a school program that connected students from different socioeconomic classes together had changed the trajectory of some students’ lives. Similarly, Radiolabs’ The Political Thicket stood out in the way the story kept me engaged through the podcast’s conversational tone, with seamlessly edited sound bites transitioning the story along smoothly.
Our second media project for Communications 101 revolves around creating our own 2-3 minute long podcast, tackling a civic matter. Team Guava has decided to discuss “red-pilling,” and we’re continuing to closely collaborate with one another to ensure our projects’ successes.
On Thursday, we had a refreshing change of scenery. Instead of gathering in our usual space, downstairs in the ASC Building, for our Communications 101 class with Professor Rogelio, we crossed the street to visit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This was my first time visiting, and I was very excited about seeing dinosaur fossils and learning more about the origins of Los Angeles. The exhibits made me especially think about how appreciative I feel to live in Los Angeles County, where I have access to a myriad of resources and opportunities — like the ability to easily visit museums and engage with history.
Similarly to our Communications class, this week in Journalism 101, we also explored podcasting. We recorded introductions to our vox pops in the new Wallis Annenberg Building, fostering a proper recording studio environment. I truly enjoyed working in a real studio, learning to follow audio cues, and getting hands-on experience on what a real recording session feels like. Later in the week, on Thursday, Professor Allan Lopez assigned me the entertainment and sports anchor role for our class broadcast. I read lines our class had produced the week prior in a true broadcasting setting, learning to set up my own mic and navigate a teleprompter. Experiences like these continue to remind me just how fortunate I am to have opportunities like this program, where learning is immersive and enriching for me as a student and, potentially, as a future professional.
Ultimately, Week 2 demonstrated how, although I’m in AYA to learn, I’m walking away every day with so much more than just knowledge.
Works Cited:
Hobbs, R. (2017). Digital Audio and Podcasting
[Podcast] “Three Miles” – This American Life (2015)
[Podcast] “The Political Thicket” – Radiolab (2016)
Communicating Change 