It starts with an application, dropped by AP Government teacher Amy Cooke on a desk. Then, a phone call from an office in Seattle. After that, an intense interview session spent pitching a story to radio journalism professionals. This was the escalation of events that led to senior Soraya Marashi’s admittance into KUOW’s RadioActive Youth Media program.
KUOW’s RadioActive Youth Media program is a skill-building, 12-week workshop geared towards youth interested in expanding their skills in radio journalism. It offers a hands-on experience with audio recording studios, the drafting process of a radio journalist, and is led by the professionals at Seattle’s KUOW station themselves. Eleven applicants were accepted into the program.
“I’ve met a lot of interesting people since the program is extremely diverse,” Marashi said. “People from all over the Seattle area, especially the inner city, are in the program. I work with a lot of LGBTQ+ people and people of color, and it’s great because hearing their stories and interacting with them is not something that I have the opportunity to do on a daily basis.”
Marashi decided to apply to the program due to her interest in radio journalism. She aspires to become a political commentator.
“I plan to major in political science in college, and minor in radio, preferably, but really any type of journalism,” Marashi said. “I want to be able to inform people of important issues, but have the freedom to take ownership of the story that people need to hear and tell it in a creative way. This program is giving me the opportunity to build skills earlier on and to develop a portfolio of my work for the future.”
While Marashi is still in the beginnings of the 12-week program, she already has her focus on cultivating her skills for the final project of the workshop.
“Our goal is to create several spot stories and a series of podcasts, with the final goal being a feature story that is four-to-six minutes long that will be broadcasted on air at the Seattle KUOW 94.9 station,” Marashi said.
In the few weeks that she’s been a part of the program, Marashi has fallen in love with certain aspects of radio journalism that no other type of journalism has to offer.
“The beauty of radio journalism is that all you get to hear is a voice,” Marashi said. “You can’t judge a voice. You can’t associate race, religion, or sexual orientation with a voice like you could with a news broadcast, which takes away the subconscious judgements that appear the minute you see a newscaster on television.”