Virginia Madsen’s essay on the development of the radio documentary provided some interesting perspectives and context on what I’m learning to be quite a diverse and complex medium. I was particularly interested in the historical periods in which ‘the radio documentary’ flourished: briefly during WW2 and then re-emerging in the 1960s. Furthermore, the examples of programs that uncovered corners of the earth (from obscure countries to working class communities) and supplying voice to the unheard is a rather inspiring notion.

On Wednesday afternoon (after an enduring 5 hour break), Kyla’s first studio class commenced. I selected this studio out of intrigue with what the journalistic and narrational possibilities could be through the medium of radio. I felt that this focus would prove the most valuable for me out of the options, and while I’m slightly nervous about what this semester will bring: I am looking forward to producing my own audio-story. Kyla ended the class with a recording of several hospitalised and critically-ill children. The way the story developed through contextualisation and emphasis on child-like innocence and metaphor was pretty masterful, particularly … Continue reading Radio’s New Wave (First Class)