Nonogirl Radio

The Girl from Empanada

President Obama’s 2009 Recovery Act includes $30 million for expanding the Small Business Administration’s Microloan program. These loans of less than $35,000 put money into the hands of small business owners who don’t have any collateral, but who stimulate the economy by putting money back into their communities.

Entrepreneur, Paula Tejeda could benefit from one of these microloans. She says a lack of working capital is the biggest challenge to running her small storefront where she sells Chilean empanadas.

These pocket-sized meat pastries are a popular to-go food in Chile and Paula says they’re best eaten with a glass of wine. This story shows you how that combination sparked an idea in Paula to take the empanadas out of her store and over to the local bars to stir up some business.

Pueblo, USA

Immigration issues are so polarizing, but here's a documentary by American RadioWorks that helps illustrate the gray areas like:

• How do folks feel when their home town is no longer the way it was when they were growing up
• Why is it ok for immigrants to fill low-wage jobs, but not ok for them to demand their labor rights

as well as explore the figures like:

• Are immigrants a burden on government or do they put money into the economy

This documentary catches people at their most candid and well worth a listen.

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism Boot Camp Fellow

When I didn't get in to journalism school this year, I decided to try and create my own professional development program. So far my program has included the following:

• continuing to write and copy edit for El Tecolote,
• attending the summer audio institute at the Center for Documentary Studies,
  
• taking the basic audio skills classes at Women's Audio Mission,
  
• learning about web video and sound for video at BAVC,
  
• and continuing to pitch and produce stories for public radio.

Most of these classes required an investment by me, but while I was at the CDS institute, I found out that I won a fellowship and scholarship to the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism Boot Camp!

My environmental journalism reporting has been limited to the two stories I did on Maui water issues and a feature on the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. Both took a lot of studying in order to get my reporting right, so I'm really looking forward to the workshops I'll learn at the Boot Camp and the Society of Environmental Journalist conference.

And I'll get to see fall colors on the east coast! I'm taking my camera :)

Mexican Mafia Revealed

Most public radio segments are around four minutes long. Commercial news stations feel generous giving a reporter two minutes. But some stories are so compelling, they demand more time.

This story on Rene Enriquez, a former leader in the Mexican mafia, was so compelling, All Things Considered aired the story in two, 14-minute segments.

So many elements make this story work. It reveals secrets on how Mafia leaders earn thousands of dollars while locked up in windowless isolation cells and Enriquez's diary-like audio tape places us in the inmates' Security Housing Unit:

"What impacts me immediately as soon as I walk in, is the smell. I just stepped outside from the bus and you smell the pines, the redwoods, the forest … these earthy, loamy smells. But as soon as you step into the SHU, it hits you like a wave. It's the smell of despair, depression, desperation. This is a place where people come to die."

These segments are part of a documentary produced by American Radio Works. I'm going to have a listen this week.

Youth Radio and elementary school elections

I only caught the tale end of this segment, but it's brilliant. To teach elementary kids about the elections, they are having a book election.

The fourth grade reporter, Bridget, is amazingly well spoken as she records her stand-ups flawlessly. Students stand in groups to show their support for their favorite book. Some students vote on popularity, some students vote without having read any of the books, and there are even undecideds.

It's suppose to be an on-going series, but nothing new has posted. I hope they follow through with this great idea.

Pacifica showing signs of stress

Conscientious objector, Lewis Hill, started th first listener-supported radio station in 1946 to create a more powerful venue to spread a pacifist message.

Hill's vision grew to encompass Pacifica Radio, made up of a network of stations in Berkeley, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Houston. And while Pacifica stations are the go-to radio for progressives during times of war, in-fighting plagues the institution and mars the movement for progressive media.

But Nicole Sawaya addresses Pacifica's failures in her departure letter from her short tenure as Pacifica's exeuctive director.

Pacifica calls itself a movement, yet currently it is behaves like a jobs program, a cult, or a social service agency. And oftentimes, the loudest and most obstreperous have the privilege of the microphone. There are endless meetings of committees and “task forces”– mostly on the phone – where people just like to hear themselves talk. Sometimes they get lucrative contracts from their grandstanding. It’s been grueling for someone in my position, someone like me who is not a process person, much less a political gamer. I keep asking: what’s the endgame? Paralysis has set in, coupled with organizational drift.

Sound Collage

I picked up a last minute teaching gig last week for the KPFA apprentices on sound collage, or a mix of sound effects, actualities, and ambiance to create a cohesive piece that tells a story.

I put the word out the AIRlist and received several inspiring responses. I asked the apprentices to think about what elements were used in the piece; what they identified as the beginning, middle, and end; and how the piece was scored. The following are the pieces I shared with the group of budding radio producers:

My Bike Had a Burger Bell: A Tragic Tale of Loss and Woe
3:00
By Mia Lobel
Submission to the Third Coast Audio Festival
* We talked about how sound collage can be in the background, how the layering of stolen bike bells created a climax, and how meaning can be placed into the choice of music.

Talia and the Anti-Warriors (search on “special”)
4:30
By David Goodman
Aired on Radio with a View, a hybrid talk, news, music, and public affairs radio program hosted by David Goodman and Marc Stern.

* We talked about the effect of repetition and altering sound on the message. Some folks wanted a better punch line for the end.

Preachin’
1:30
By Dave Gans
More of his "mutilaudio" pieces (digital audio art using existing materials of speech or music as raw materials) can be found here.

* Folks talked about techniques to make things funny including juxtaposition, completing a sentence from one source with a different source, and repeating phrases to highlight their ridiculousness.

Lift
3:18
By Sarah Peebles
More work from the Deep Wireless compilation can be found here.
* Folks talked about the different interpretations they found in this piece without words.

30
7:00
By Robynn Takayama
More of my audio work can be found here.
* We talked about how sound collage can be used in a piece to build to a climax.

What are examples of sound collages that you like?

Nonogirl Radio by PQ

Nonogirl Radio by PQ
Originally uploaded by nonogirl.

I'm late in cashing in on birthday gifts from April, but this one was so worth the wait! My artsy friend PQ created this crafts-y radio from scratch.

I can add this to my collection of Peas and Cues creations.

Same-Sex Marriage

My office is in tears. Why is the right for two loving people to be able to marry even in question?

To celebrate, I dug up one of the first pieces I produced on my own after attending Women's Weekend at the Russian River.

Myanmar’s Hidden AIDS Epidemic

If you listen to the news about the cyclone relief in Burma it's hard to believe the military dictatorship cares about the Burmese people.

But this is not only apparent in crisis situations. Just listen to Orlando de Guzman's two-part documentary on the AIDS epidemic in Burma and you won't be surprised at the inadequate government response to the cyclone.

As you can hear in part two, this is not the first time aid for the Burmese people has been stalled or lost:

de Guzman: The Global Fund's Jon Liden (which approved a series of grants totaling 100-million dollars for Myanmar) says it became clear that his organization could not operate effectively as the government's attitude became increasingly obstructionist.

Linden: It has gone from an attitude that basically says, 'We don't mind if you help our people, although we are not very concerned about helping them,' to 'We don't want anyone around'.

de Guzman: So last August, the Global Fund announced it was backing out of Myanmar.