New Program proposals

WNSR students:

If your production efforts are going to center on a regular program, we ask that you fill out the following form and email it to newschoolradio at gmail.com.

The form resides here.  It's a MS-Word document.

Not only is it helpful for our programming department, but it's also a really good exercise for you as you forge your plans and try to set some production goals.

Good luck!

- JB

Drama's RANDOM ACTS

Hi all,

This was in the Weekly Observer this week and could be great for either a short form news or longer feature-type piece:

http://www.newschool.edu/news/index.aspx#random_acts

We'd really like to get the Drama division more involved this semester. (So close! So much talent!) They'd like the coverage, too -- we've just had some trouble getting on the same page thus far. I encourage anyone who'd like to get their feet wet in production to grab some gear and cover this festival!

Hello! this is my intro assignment.

My name is Pablo Zequeira, I am a second year student at Eugene Lang College. I am currently undecided as to what I want to concentrate on as far as my major is concerned. My interest on the newschoolradio is due to the fact that I have been exposed to the radio station environment from a young age. my grandfather had been amongst the first radio personalities in post revolution Cuba, he brought music to the Cuban people through the radio for the first time after the Cuban revolution triumphs. Even so I have no experience in working with anything that has to do with a radio station, but it is something that interest me, mainly music and satirical voice acting, as I like to entertain. I can make most people with a sense of humor laugh a good percent of the time. In prior writing classes some of my professors have complimented  my writing as well as myself by letting me know I can make people laugh, not just in class but in my personal life as well, that does not mean I am a class clown. I try not to make a joke of serious things but I also do not like taking life too seriously as I believe there is enough violence in life and for the most part it is filled with sorrow and way too serious issues. I like creating, and I enjoy what I can conjure up with my imagination. As far as music is concerned I am open to almost all music including country and classical. The one type of music I cannot tolerate is gangster rap or even the more recent rap music, the older hip hop and rap music are the only kind I can listen to without making jokes. I can work in groups although I would rather concentrate on my own work for the most part in order to avoid any confusion, plus this helps me concentrate and create my own material. I am pretty original and I am open to criticism as long as it is helpful. Above all I hope to have a good time even if this is a college course. I look forward in meeting everyone that is partaking in such a fun, and entertaining  radio course.

Pablo Zequeira

feel free to add me on myspace.com/uncubano7

or on the facebook.

Jeff Weiser on WNYC Morning Programs

"Morning Edition" is a straight ahead, standard radio news program with a traditional approach. There are many NPR stories, reported by correspondents from around the world. This morning the top stories focused on the news of the day including the Wall Street crisis, United Nations developments and a story about a Chinese space shot. The production style is traditional with little conversation or chit chat. It is pretty much "just the facts." The shows hosts appear to be following the footsteps of long time "Morning Edition" anchor Bob Edwards, who delivered the news with a deep, resonant voice in a traditional style.

"The Takeaway" is a snappy, more casual news program with rock music bumper sounds and segues. The hosts and hostesses are conversational and try to sprinkle the show with humorous, pithy comments. The program on WNYC is interspersed with local news inserts featuring local stories such as the recent NYPD stun gun police controversy and a story about the Tappan Zee bridge. On the days I listened, there appears to be a liberal editorial news bias. Host John Hockenberry took a listener call poking fun at Sarah Palin, there was an indepth interview with a scientist suggesting the recent hurricanes are being caused by the burning of fossil fuels and today political director Andrea Bernstein featured interviews in a lower income area of Maryland where she said all voters are in favor of Barack Obama. Two days ago, a lengthy segment appeared critical of John McCain's decision to withdraw from the debate. The show host and most callers discussed "multi-tasking" and said McCain ought to be better at handling multiple tasks at once. I did not detect any bias in the reporting I heard on "Morning Edition."

Interview subject/questions

I would like to interview Arien Mack the Alfred J. and Monette C. Marrow Professor of Psychology at The New School for Social Research. The interview would be one that used Dr. Mack for her expertise rather than one about her career. Before I interview her I will read one of her articles: "Is the World a Grand Illusion," published in The Journal of Consciousness studies. To familarize myself with some of her work. I chose Dr. Mack because she seemed to be the resident expert on matters of visual perception and experimental psychology, probably the most likely to talk frankly on the complex and somewhat controversial subject of the aligmighty "freak out." I think it would be entertaining and informative for an audience of psychedelic music to learn about what causes the "freak out" from an expert.

Here are some preliminary questions I am considering before I email the Doctor. I am sure reading some of her work will provoke some better ones.

1. Why would the same external conditions cause two different subjects under the same psychoactive influences to react in opposite ways? (Paranoia vs. Euphoria etc...)

2. What would be a certain way to avoid the "freak out," especially for novices.

3. If we can't be certain about our external reality, then how can we cultivate a state of "awareness."

4. Is there such a thing as to much or not enough "reality?" What would be an example of this.

5. Please explain the concept of "Inattentional Blindness."

6. What happens when we lose our attention? Where does our mind go? Why do we lose focus? etc...

KDVS

One of my favorite college stations from back in my west coast days: KDVS

They have been around since the sixties, and have been one of the best uni stations since I started listening like 10 years ago. I haven't thought about them since like freshman year of college and decided to revisit the site to give some contrast to what we're doing here. They have a full schedule of programing that lends itself to a steady audio stream rather than individual show streams like us. For your listening convenience, they also offer any show individually streamed.

Being that they have such a well-established infrastructure, they have a library and charts (charts are necessary if you want promo CDs to build a library and to get involved with organizations like CMJ). They're last fundraiser reportedly raised over 60K! They also seem to have an affinity for WFMU (this I don't recall from my listening days). Not only do they call themselves "freeform" (I think a misuse of the term), they also have charted the newest WFMU compilation as the most played album at the station. Great infrastructure, but so much for original programing....

Researching other radio station assignment

I took a look at WRSU – Rutgers University radio station. The station has been in existence for 60 years, originally operated by students. The station is non-commercial and is funded by RU and underwritten by area business. Their radio team is made up of seven people, both current students and Rutgers alum. As far as content, the show presents a variety of content ranging from ethnic shows such as “Glimpses of India” and “The Voice of Greece”, to “The WRSU Oldies Jukebox” and “Rock from Classic to Today”

I would have to say that the Rutgers radio set up is nothing like the New School’s. I did not notice any place on their site where you could listen to news clips or segments. The only thing they had was a streaming audio component to listen live.

For more on WRSU, visit: http://wrsu.rutgers.edu/index.php