ERIC Number: ED312715
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989-Nov-19
Pages: 52
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Turning History into a Radio Program: Broadcast Interns and the National Archives.
Novak, Glenn D.
Most broadcast educators realize the importance of experiential learning as a tool for preparing students for careers in radio and television. An innovative new program was set up between West Georgia College and the Atlanta Branch of the National Archives. A pilot project involved six teams of two students each in a scriptwriting class. Students were expected to visit the Atlanta facility, meet the director and his staff, select an appropriate historical record, transform it into a dramatization, create a script, and produce a 10-15 minute tape suitable for radio broadcast. That is, each student was to function as a sort of part-time intern, learning the techniques of archival research from the director and his staff, and learning the process of scriptwriting from the classroom instructor. Another project involved four students (in a combined internship and advanced radio production course) in the creation of a half-hour radio variety program along the lines of "All Things Considered," but emphasizing historical events. Such projects (1) allow students to continue to enroll in coursework while getting intern experience; (2) place students in a genuine writer-client relationship; and (3) emphasize creativity and writing skills. (Appendixes contain the initial project proposal, sample archival document, a history vignette, a completed radio script, a prototype variety show format, client evaluations, and documentation sheets.) (SR)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A