I suppose I'd fit into the category of the younger producers who the "torch" has more or less passed to, although I'd echo Jay's thought that it doesn't much seem like a generational thing.

Why do I want to do radio? The clearest answer is that I love the community of it all. I got inspired in radio storytelling by This American life maybe 4 or 5 years ago because, among other things, I heard them telling captivating stories that had a kind of intimacy of tone. Broadly speaking, public radio is HUMANIZING and this is its best quality. Whether you're listening to This American Life, David Kestenbaum's science reporting, or more recently RadioLab, Public Radio has a kind of implicit mission to relate information and stories in accesible ways. They're stories about people just like you doing extraordinary things, put in extraordinary circumstances and being extraordinarily thoughtful and introspective. (True that a lot of this has to do with finding the extraordinary in the community, but all the better. Now public radio producers are curators of community awe!)

I'm the producer at a radio station in Minnesota associated with Carleton College and I give a lot of thought to what role a college station can play. What I've come up with so far has to do a lot with this kind of humanizing force. Carleton's an amazing place as far as colleges go. But its biggest resource is the people it brings together. Ideally, the productions that come out of KRLX tell stories that come out of our community. Radio can help us communicate our stories, record our folklore, explore our culture and values, not to mention be damn funny and entertaining.

About existing structures and structural change- I have no particularly strong or well informed opinions about the subject, but I was aware of a sense of frustration or restlessness at the conferece. Is the NPR system to formulaic and mainstream? I'm not sure, but if its the case, college radio seems to hold some of the answers, or be in the right place to provide some solutions. For a long time people would tune in to college radio to hear music they couldn't any where else. What about non-music programs?

This blog truly struck at the heart of my life. I am a 16 year old aspiring producer and reporter. Yet, where you say that there is a new wave of youth radio available, I have to disagree. Yeah, youth radio exsists as a separate entity in the big cities (LA, Chicago, and NY) but I've seen no movement here in Indianapolis.

I came to radio because of the medium itself. Public radio provides a much better alternative to newspapers and CNN. There's more than just headlines. I remember when I first tuned in about 4 years ago and realizing that there was nothing else in the media like it.

Personally, I want to be a reporter/foreign correspondent. Maybe even produce my own show, but that's a long way down the road. I like the current institutions and structures of Public Radio and will be happy to work in them. But change is important, and I can see public radio changing more and more in years to come.

On community, I think what radio really needs right now is more shows that bring a community together. And we're starting to bring that about, at least at WFYI. At my local station I've seen at least one community arts focused program arise. Has this happened to anyone else?

yes, I'd like to hear more
from more people
about how they were drawn in.
When I was younger, I figured the more bells and whistles media had, the better. I didn't want to miss out
It was only after I had children that I woke up to the benefits of public radio and its direct simplicity
Only then did I realize how much I'd depended on it
--How'd you get so smart so early? Or maybe that's not the right question--who can offer a story or a little insight?

I've been thinking about this thread. I'm a 21 year old college student studying art. Three years ago I wandered into the student station as a freshman, no experience whatsoever, and now I've been to the Third Coast Festival twice and am more and more interested in radio every year.

There's the medium, and then there's the community.

The medium accessible to us young people. While film requires lots of equipment and teams of people, I could just borrow a minidisc kit from the station and I was set. The lack of bells and whistles is like a game with few rules and much strategy. It drew me in because it wasn't overwhelming, and has kept me enthralled with the twists and turns that are constantly revealed. All of this artistic possibility in such a functional medium. I find the range incredible, as shown in the intersection of journalists and artists at Third Coast.

And then, there's the community. From the group of students who first taught me what a "transcript" is to, well, Jay Allison, radio people are nice! That's pretty simple. I'm young and slightly overwhelmed, and you are experienced and generous with your experience. Pretty amazing, I think. I do feel a sense of community among younger people as well, maybe a sort of underdog club.

I'll echo what Terin Mayer wrote in her post - college stations broadcast music and non-music programs that aren't aired otherwise. My college station (Brown Student Radio) has been an invaluable laboratory to discover my radio interests.

My impression is that young people are fascinated by the medium itself. At least I am. And there don't seem to be as many opportunities as I would have hoped, in public radio outside the college bubble, to push the medium to its limits and possibilites.

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