It Takes Magic, Insight and Training to be a KALW Audio Academy Member, Check out the 2015-16 Application

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

This was a packed week in the KALW newsroom, showcasing the versatility of Crosscurrents as a program and the interest of the public radio world in the Audio Academy.

On Monday, we considered the implications of Oakland‘s new minimum wage law. As of this month, the city has the highest minimum wage in the country, and we looked at that from the perspective of elected officials, business owners, and local residents. Academy member Jack Detsch reported an insightful piece about how developers and businesses have sought exemptions from a living wage ordinance in the city.

Tuesday, we took on a completely different topic: Magic: The Gathering. Academy fellow Jeremy Dalmas went to a gaming convention in San Jose and put together a sound rich exploration of what makes the game appeal to Bay Area residents. In a fun add-on, we got permission from NPR‘s Planet Money to re-air their exploration of the economics of a collectible card game.

Throughout the week, we had guests from around the public radio and podcast world come in to talk trade with the Academy. They were 99% Invisible producer Sam Greenspan, longtime WNYC reporter and current Litography editor Marianne McCune, and Snap Judgment‘s Ana Adlerstein and Nancy Lopez. They gave an inside perspectives on their work, their pitch process, what they look for in stories, and they even solicited pitches from our trainees. It’s all part of a fantastic month of visitors to our training program, and it’s laying the groundwork for our trained Academy members to jump into the freelance world after graduation.

This week, we also put the call out for the next Audio Academy:

Enrollment Now Open For 2015-2016 KALW Audio Academy

Within the first 24 hours, that site had received more than 400 hits! And within 48 hours, we’d received our first application! There’s plenty of time left, though; the application period closes on Sunday, April 12th.

Meanwhile, we’ll continue to train, work with, and enjoy the current class. Here are a few thoughts from Audio Academy member Olivia Cueva:

By Guest Blogger Olivia Cueva, Audio Academy Member

It’s kinda crazy that there are only three months left of the Audio Academy. Over the past seven months I have produced stories about edible weeds that grow on the sidewalks, a restaurant that fuses two foods from opposites sides of the world, youth marijuana trimmers, and a hackathon for youth of color in Oakland. These stories have been fun to make and it’s been a great experience to report about my community in the Bay.

But there’s still so much I want to learn before I’m out of here! I’ve been trying to focus on my Pro Tools mixing skills and learning how to edit scrips. I also recently got a job at Youth Radio and I’m confident that the skills I’ve learned at KALW will help me in this new position. What’s next for me at KALW? I’m producing a show about shifting identities so stay tuned.