“Working on this piece made me realize how lucky I am to be able to listen to radio because I’m curious…and not because I need the information to survive.”
-Brown Student Radio producer Victoria Chao
[Download the MP3 for this week]
Hi, I’m Aaron Henkin, curator for the NPR Station Showcase with PRX, a weekly podcast that highlights some of the excellent stories that are being produced locally at the hundreds of different radio stations across the country. This week, we’re tuning in to Brown Student Radio in Providence Rhode Island. And listeners to the station recently heard a story about Liberian immigrants and the important role that radio has played in their lives, past and present. Victoria Chao produced the piece; she’s a junior at Brown University studying international relations. Here’s what Victoria has to say about the story and her radio career thus far…
As you were putting this story together and learning about Liberia, I wonder if you came upon any new insights or revelations about the power and potential of radio in politically volatile places…
I originally thought this piece would be about John Kollie striving to report honestly in a politically hostile environment. I planned to relate Kollie’s story to the Rhode Island by discussing how airing One Step Beyond fulfills the needs of the local Liberian community. After I finished interviewing community members, though, the story became more about the role of radio in the Liberian rebuilding process and the experience of Liberian immigrants in Rhode Island, and less about John Kollie. Working on this piece made me realize how lucky I am to be able to listen to radio because I’m curious about current events or I feel obligated to know what is happening in the world, and not because I need the information to survive. That reaction relates to all forms of media, of course, but radio is especially important in politically volatile places because it doesn’t require the same amount of infrastructure as the internet or television. Radio is also important in this context because it’s created to require only one of the five senses, whereas the internet or television can rely on images to relay information. This allows radio to be more constantly accessible; listening to the radio while completing other tasks requires less attention than watching TV while finishing other tasks.
Tell us a bit about BSR and your program, “Off the Beat”…
Brown Student Radio (BSR) is a student and community radio station broadcasting on 88.1 WELH Providence. Our main goal is to create “radio that serves the curious listener.” You can learn more about the station at www.bsrlive.com/station.php. Off The Beat is a weekly local news program that focuses on stories and voices in Providence that slip under the radar of other local media. The show is entirely student and volunteer-produced, and has been on the air for three years. More information and podcasts of the past three seasons’ shows (where seasons correspond to academic semesters) are available at offthebeat.bsrlive.com.
You’re a producer at BSR, reporting about a program coming to WRNI – is there a relationship between these two stations?
BSR has no formal connection to WRNI, though over the years a number of Brown students and graduates have been affiliated with both stations. WRNI has also aired a BSR-produced show, “Not Your Classroom,” in the past.
What can you tell us about your background and how you got into radio?
I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. I am now a junior at Brown University studying International Relations with a focus on Political Economy and Development. I am also interested in American urban issues, and I run a Fitness and Nutrition after-school program in an inner city middle school through an organization called Project Health. I became interested in radio this past semester. Previously, I had wanted to work for a non-profit organization such as Project Health. Over this past winter break, however, I began to question whether I truly wanted to pursue non-profit work through a standard community service organization. At the same time, I discovered This American Life and started thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great to be Ira Glass?” When I returned to school in January, I joined Off the Beat. Working for OTB has been a great experience; the producers encourage reporters to start making stories as soon as they join the news team, and they have been tremendously helpful in the writing and producing process. I have really enjoyed working in radio because it allows me to continue serving the community in a different way, and I hope to continue working in radio after I graduate.
Have you got any other exciting radio projects in the works at the moment?
This summer I am interning with WCBE, Columbus’ NPR station. I will mostly take on some production duties and some news-related tasks, but I also have the opportunity to produce a piece independently by the end of the summer. When I return to Brown in the fall, I want to produce a story about Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the Liberian community. TPS status gives Liberian immigrants legal residency and employment in the United States during the TPS period; however, the US government has decided that Liberia is now safe enough that they are expiring TPS status this October. In essence, many Liberians who have been here for the past twenty years may be sent back. Since many of these immigrants have children and teenagers who are US citizens, the community is worried that these families will be separated and their kids will be placed in foster care. Although the local Liberian community expressed great concern for the status of these refugees when I did the Kollie piece, I did not have enough time to adequately treat that issue too. In the fall, I look forward to covering this contentious immigration issue and hope to help raise awareness about it in Providence.
…Victoria Chao is a Junior at Brown University and a producer at Brown Student Radio in Providence, Rhode Island. You can hear other stories from Brown Student Radio online at The Public Radio Exchange. That’s where producers from around the world share their work. Log on, write your own reviews, and have a say in what ends up on the radio, at www.prx.org.