Undergraduate Students On Air

For many undergraduates, working while in school is a necessary evil, a way to earn cash to ease the burdens of loans. But for students working in the digital media program at the Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing (CSTW), it's a rare opportunity to learn marketable skills in new media. Together with CSTW Associate Director Doug Dangler, they produce Writers Talk, a weekly radio, television, and Internet show. The students interview national and local writers and edit the digital audio and video that is broadcast over a number of outlets: WCBE (90.5 FM), The Ohio Channel, Educable, Buckeye-TV, and WCRS (98.3/102.1 FM). "Forward thinking outlets like these quickly saw the value in collaborating on programming," says Dangler.

Writers Talk celebrated its one-year broadcast anniversary in September and shows no signs of slowing down, Dangler says. "The success of the show and the digital media work being done at the CSTW is a result of the hard work and effort put forth by our digital media undergrad staff." Recent graduate Anne Adoryan (English and Economics) joined CSTW as a Work Study student in September 2008 for "a job that would give me marketable skills and projects to do on a regular basis," Adoryan says. "The digital media position was ideal because I was given a lot of responsibility and the freedom to be creative, yet there was consistent oversight from Dr. Dangler." Adoryan's first interviewee was Alan Zweibel, renowned Saturday Night Live writer and book author. "I've always been a fan of the show and of comedy writing, so it was great to talk with him," Adoryan says. "I spent more than three hours sitting with him at the campus book store, interviewing him as he signed books. Not many students can say they interviewed authors like Mr. Zweibel and [bestselling author] Sue Miller!" Psychology major Matt Irwin began filming and producing video in high school. Matt has edited most of the Writers Talk YouTube videos because "he has a great visual eye and has immense production talent," Dangler remarks. "I really like the entire process," Irwin says. "Editing the interviews, which can run 40 minutes, means I get to learn a lot about the subjects. I like that I can put the skills I've learned and my creative ideas to use." Journalism major Jamila Williams also came to CSTW as a Work Study student who wanted to polish her writing skills. "I had just finished a digital media class in the English department and saw this as a great opportunity to use what I'd learned and pick up new skills," Williams says. "Today's journalists need new media experience. I can say that I've done on-camera interviews, edited podcasts, and know all sorts of software programs." Williams dreams of creating a magazine that targets African American teenage girls, which she can now do in print or online.

Writers Talk can be heard on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm on WCBE (90.5 FM), with podcasts available on CSTW and on Facebook, and on YouTube.