"Living with Cancer" - Review

TheJCB - Breast Cancer Cell

Unfortunately, this was quite a sad topic for a radio show. However, I think it was very interesting and informative, and managed to keep listeners entertained throughout the whole three-part episode.
I was so surprised to hear about the legal problems involved with cancer. I would never have thought that people with cancer would go to the courts in order to sue people ruining the environment around them - it makes sense, but I can't imagine it is very easily to do, which the radio show did also mention. Since cancer is an interaction of our genes and environment, how can we blame one or the other? Take the nature vs. nurture debate - how can you choose just one? This was a difficult topic for me to grasp throughout the show, but perspectives were given from each side, eventually relating and realizing that the two work together in causing cancer.
I was also surprised to hear about Holland Michigan (where I went to high school), shout out to them!
In listening to this radio show I was conflicted with what makes the style of radio so unique in comparison to other mediums. I figured there must be some sort of "radio script", which we touched on when we read about how radio really tries to have a personal experience for listeners (using "you" instead of "everyone out there"). I came to the conclusion that radio is and isn't like writing in a couple ways. First of all, radio is more conversational (obviously, but still...). In that, I mean that you can start sentences with "So," and "Well", where you probably would not in formal writing. I think radio is more laid-back than writing because in writing, you have to form a voice; in radio, you already have a voice. This allows radio hosts to put their own twist on news, episodes, interviews etc. that they may not have been able to in writing - everyone reads things differently, but it is harder to misinterpret a voice heard on the radio.
I am starting to appreciate the differences of radio. This episode was actually very interesting, and I enjoyed learning about living with cancer. Listening to a show about something so personal almost brings it to a different, more personal level, which I thought was unconventional and not like simply reading a news article. Thanks Michigan Radio!

First Draft - Radio Show

"Would you date someone 10 years older than you?"


I need to add music/make the last interview louder, which I didn't know how to do! Will work on that for next draft.

SOUND and STORIES review

flickr user all that improbable blue

So I've been a little bit cynical.

In my weekly review I talked about how radio doesn't really do it for me. I can't seem to focus on it and I don't see the need to. However, I have recently had...a change of heart. I wouldn't say that my opinion is changed completely, but in a way I almost feel bad for radio. It's been through a lot. 

That being said, I guess you could say I have found a new appreciation for radio after reading this piece, mostly because I was looking at it through the wrong lens - radio isn't necessarily about picking up every specific detail, it's just about listening to a story. When someone tells you a story, you might not pick up every word and sentence and intonation they use, and that's fine, because that's life. You can't always be alert to every detail of your life, thank god.

One of the things I liked about this article that I hadn't noticed (mostly because I don't listen to radio very often) is how personal radio DJs make the radio experience. It hadn't occurred to me that when listening to radio, one is often times alone, so being catered to on an individual level is something important for full listening pleasure. By forming questions with "you" as opposed to "all listeners out there", the relationship between radio and its listener is intensified – we're practically dating.

In all, what I generally want to say is that appreciating the difference between auditory storytelling and print/video/other media is important. Each have their own positive and negative qualities, all of which are appreciated in different ways through different lenses. Not everybody can write a broadcast for a radio show that engages, inspires and entertains, but most people would find it easier to write a short story – not that writing is a walk in the park, because it isn't, but something about radio, its relatability, voice, and personal experience takes us to a different place than certain stories can and ever will.

w e e k l y . r e v i e w

This week I:

• Wrote "create" creatively
• Responded to Valentine's Day 2013
• Posted my fist Vox Pop pop pop
• Shared some ideas for our radio show on dating
• And posted a photo of my favorite daydreaming window, and favorite window in general

It's spring break woooo! This week before our break has really been one of the busiest in a long time. From midterms to papers to readings to other various unnecessary homework assignments, let's just say I'm pretty happy this week is over and I can relax over spring break. 

I don't know how I feel just yet about this audio section of the class. On one hand I do like listening to radio shows that talk you through a story or show you something new, but on the other hand my inability to multitask (that is, listen attentively to the radio and do something else) gets the better of me when listening to a radio episode. In turn, it becomes hard for me to simply sit down for an hour and listen to a radio special such as "Valentine's Day 2013". Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the work being put out there, but I can't seem to appreciate radio episodes as much as visual episodes. It's probably just because I've been so accustomed to a certain level of stimulation - I completely blame the entertainment industry that my generation has been raised by. Why sit and listen to a radio episode when you can race through a track in Need for Speed or watch the stomach-turning dramas of Mad Men?

Sorry radio, I don't think you're making the cut (I'm sure someone still loves you, though).

Radio Show Idea - Dating

Flickr User ZakVTA

So I missed last class when we discussed what the topic would be for our radio show. From reading everyone else's posts, I figured out that the theme was "dating". How that theme stemmed from our class, I don't even know, but I'll go with it.

My idea for the radio show would be to ask couples random, specific questions about each other. We've all seen the shows that say "how well do you know your partner?" Well taking off of that, I figured we could ask couples 

• when their partner's birthday is 
• what their partner's favorite color is
• something their partner hates
• their partner's favorite food
• their partner's favorite book/show/movie

...just to name a few. This could get pretty funny because apparently it seems to be vitally important to know everything about your partner on the spot, or else one of them gets mad. I have a terrible memory, which is maybe why I'm not in a relationship...not that I want to be! But anyways...

If you are reading this, comment below on other (embarrassing, specific, awkward) questions we could ask couples! I think this could be a pretty hilarious dating radio show.

Valentine's Day 2013 - Response

Flickr User Neil Crosby

First of all, let me start off by saying that this radio episode was a little too long for me.

As discussed in class, I think it's hard to listen to a radio episode, especially since (for me, at least) I couldn't do anything else while listening. If I did, I would get off track and then be lost in the whole story - writing about the episode even was hard! So in all, I don't think listening to radio episodes is for me.

However, since this was an assignment, I sat down and listened and had a few reflections on the episode. First of all, if you're thinking of having to see other people, that probably isn't a good sign for your relationship. Don't get me wrong, I understand "taking a break" or even polyamorous relationships, but if you "want more time" at the end of your break period for a relationship you've been in since you were 17, that most likely is an indicator that something isn't going right in your relationship. However, that's just my opinion, and while I don't think it needs to be so black and white, I think that it was a little stupid of these two individuals to take this super serious break...just realize you want to see other people or have multiple partners or break up! It just annoyed me a bit, and maybe I'm being to cynical, but either way I just can't help but feel that these characters needed to figure some stuff out before becoming the messes that they became.

This being said, I don't think I've been this worked up over a form of media in a while. Sure, film and video have a way of working themselves under my skin as well, but I also think this came with the fact that a radio episode really annoyed me. I think that from this experience I learned that I don't like to listen to the radio unless I'm just not really doing anything, which is not often. I would love to listen on a long drive in the car, but not just sitting in my house when I could be doing homework or watching a movie or something. I guess this comes out of my inability to multi task - one of my faults I suppose.

Although I couldn't enjoy this episode as much as other things, I still do think it was interesting, and made me think a lot about radio today and why it just doesn't work for some people - we've become too stupid! That's my conclusion. Good night and good luck.

Radio On - A Review

Flickr User peetje2

"You will never understand radio by listening to it."

I liked reading this article a lot, mostly because it gave me a whole new outlook on the whole medium of radio. The line quoted above really embodies the main aspect of the article, which is that radio goes far beyond simply listening - it is a dream that you are guided through by your auditory senses.
The thing I enjoy a lot about radio, especially when broadcasted as stories (like the one in the article, and the one we heard in class), is how personal the experience ends up being. In that I mean that when listening to a story, your mind has a way of taking you there so you experience it on a whole new level. I think that by listening to a story you become so much more engaged by it, only because that is how we originally were exposed to stories - by word of mouth. Listening to a story through radio broadcast brings back these animalistic senses we once were so fond of and now have through reading, video, watching and more (not to undermine these mediums, which also have their own unique qualities). This is exactly what I think puts radio aside from all other mediums of storytelling - the familiarity. We understand, learn about, and interpret our world through listening and hearing, so when we listen to a story we are automatically transported to a place where other mediums would have trouble taking us. I believe this is the magic of radio, which is far, far too often underrated.