Youth Radio

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Youth Radio was founded in 1990 on the deeply held belief that underserved youth, ages 14-24 years old, have the creativity, technical skills and entrepreneurial spirit to become leaders in the multi-media industry and the community and to serve as mentors to other youth.

The heart of its pioneering efforts is to train young people from under-resourced public schools, community-based organizations, group homes and juvenile detention centers in broadcast journalism, media production and cutting-edge technology. Youth Radio offers professional development and technical skills training absolutely free of charge with the aim of preparing young people for pathways to meaningful careers. Youth Radio graduates leave with the soft and hard skills necessary to land jobs with employers from KCBS and KQED to the Port of Oakland and Google.

Each year Youth Radio introduces diverse groups of students to a broad spectrum of media-related careers and state-of-the-art technology. Its program goals are to strengthen basic life-skills, motivate them to graduate from high school and attend a two or four year university and prepare them for multi-media and other careers in the 21st Century Marketplace.

Youth Radio currently trains 1,300 youth each year to develop core competencies in audio, video, web and print and to produce the highest quality original media for the widest range of mainstream outlets. Its reporters are heard worldwide through radio, video and the Internet and through print media.

Seventeen years ago San Francisco’s KQED broadcast Youth Radio’s first two minute youth commentary. Today, more than 300 Youth Radio reports and commentaries are broadcast each year on National Public Radio programs such as All Things Considered and Morning Edition, on-line outlets like CNN.com and iTunes and on public radio stations across the country. An estimated 27 million people hear and read the often overlooked perspectives of young people through Youth Radio’s work each year.

Youth Radio has become nationally and internationally known as a cutting edge youth development and media organization, weaving the fast end of the ‘digital curve’ with best practices and innovation in community based education. Youth Radio has received prestigious awards, including a George Foster Peabody Award, two Edward R. Murrow Awards and the Alfred I. DuPont/Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

Series

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2 Pieces

The Peabody Award winning investigation into child prostitution in Oakland, CA.

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10 Pieces

Youth Radio participants share their personal experiences in a commentary on issues that are important to them.

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5 Pieces

Youth Radio's the Best of What's the New What? is a great end-of-year round roundup of the most interesting and provocative trends from 2008. The series includes five stories from Youth Radio's popular weekly NPR series "What's the New What?" This series asks what new trends in youth culture are replacing old trends. In short: What's the New What?


Pieces

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Youth Radio goes inside a police sting to investigate what the Oakland police and FBI are doing to combat sex trafficking.

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, KUER, KFAI Minneapolis, KUOW, and WRST-FM Oshkosh


  • Added: Apr 20, 2011
  • Length: 07:15
  • Purchases: 5
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Part One of Youth Radio's Peabody Award winning series on child prostitution in Oakland.

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, KUER, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, KFAI Minneapolis, KUOW and more


  • Added: Apr 20, 2011
  • Length: 11:45
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: PRX default Piece image
King Anyi Howell visits a farmer's market in Los Angeles aimed at attracting African American customers. The market wants to bring fresh produce to...

Bought by YouthCast


  • Added: Mar 17, 2010
  • Length: 04:02
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: PRX default Piece image
An audio postcard exploring how the recession has changed the way business school students think about ethics.

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Mar 10, 2010
  • Length: 02:06
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Youth Radio's Lauren Silverman reflects on changing her career plans and steering clear of Wall Street.

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio, PRX Remix, YouthCast, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 10, 2010
  • Length: 01:59
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Rachel Krantz reports from New York City's High School of Economics and Finance where low-income students prepare for careers on Wall Street.

Bought by KUOW and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 10, 2010
  • Length: 04:27
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Teens from on the east and west coasts discuss how President Obama has changed the way Americans think about race.

  • Added: Feb 17, 2010
  • Length: 04:10
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Summer Sewell describes living in her own “personal recession” for years, and all the ways she scrimps and saves.

  • Added: Feb 10, 2010
  • Length: 02:02
Caption: PRX default Piece image
Most Hopi teens can’t fluently speak their language, and without it they cannot carry on Hopi traditions and culture. This puts Hopi teens in a tri...

Bought by The Story, Radijojo World Children's Radio Network, New Hampshire Public Radio, KUT, YouthCast and more


  • Added: Feb 10, 2010
  • Length: 05:35
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: PRX default Piece image
King Anyi Howell shares his take on the newest addition to a rapper’s resume: jail time. He has a big problem with instantly making just any ole’ r...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Feb 03, 2010
  • Length: 02:22
  • Purchases: 1