Help High School Students Become Radio Pros

The radio bug hit me during my last year of high school and led me to two great college broadcasting experiences, at the University of Maryland’s WMUC and at Towson University’s WTMD. I’ve worked in radio and media ever since — to this day, the debt I feel to those two institutions and to college radio in general is infinite. And I am proud to know that both schools are still hard at work creating the next generation of quality broadcasting professionals.

Right now, WTMD is going public with a cool new effort to give invaluable hands-on experiences to kids attending high school. Here is the info:

We all know that arts education in schools is under pressure–and that includes teaching kids about radio.

WTMD wants to help one high school buy the equipment they need to make sure their students can learn about how important radio and music are in people’s lives.

KLIK, a high school Internet radio station based in Ft. Collins, Colorado, teaches students from five schools in the community. This revolutionary project is looking to upgrade its equipment and the Pepsi Research Project is willing to fund it–as long as the public votes for it.

KLIK is ranked #28 among Refresh grant candidates; however, only the Top 10 will receive a $5,000 grant when the voting ends on May 31st.

It just takes a few clicks to help KLIK crack the Top 10. Thanks for helping out and maybe some day someone graduating from KLIK will be on the air at [a station near you]!

Isn’t that the coolest? You know what would be cooler? Give to the college radio station nearest you. These efforts — usually local in nature, listener-supported, and grassroots-progressive-public in format —  perform a valuable and necessary service for up and coming radio people. But college radio’s greatest beneficiaries are the communities they serve. All the stations are getting around to their big spring pledge drives — now is your chance! Do some good.

On the Use of “Teabagger”

President Obama is feeling some heat from the Left and Right for allegedly bashing the Tea Party. Progressive commentator Jonathan Alter’s new book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One, features the commander-in-chief opining that the GOP’s kneejerk refusal to cooperate with Democrats over the stimulus package “set the tenor for the whole year … That helped to create the Teabaggers and empowered that whole wing of the Republican Party to where [the radical conservative element] now controls the agenda for the Republicans.”

Many of these Tea Party reactionaries are plenty steamed. Even Democrats as highly placed as Rahm “Non-Lipsticked Pitbull” Emanuel found Obama’s use of the controversial title ill-advised. This is not surprising: The term teabagger has an alternate meaning that can be seen as rather rude in polite circles, and there are many on the Left who use that double entendre to mock the New Millennium Know-Nothings.  But many on the Left employ the term because it is accurate.

The reactionary Right proudly embraced the term Teabagger and obstructionism almost from the start of the Obama presidency. Photo from Brendan Calling

Yes, accurate. Did that group employ tea bags in its protests? It did. Look at the above photo. Thus, as far as I am concerned, those protesters are Teabaggers. I do not in any way refer to a sexual practice; it is not my style. So when I say Teabagger, I mean one who uses tea bags to protest against the Dusky President, progressive values, and equality for all. Period.