Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011

Series produced by Radio Rookies

Caption: Staten Island 2011
Staten Island 2011 

This Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award winning series includes reports told by Staten Island Radio Rookies on everything from surviving Facebook drama to life in the foster care system to coming out as gay in the age of Lady Gaga.

WNYC’s youth media project, Radio Rookies, brought together a group of young people from Staten Island in New York facing varying degrees of personal challenges to bravely and unsparingly tell their own stories. Bright and committed, the reporters went to the heart of what it is like to be a teenager today. Interviews were successfully interwoven into the storytelling, and production quality and writing were strong. The reporters offered great insight into how difficult it can be to grow up including stories about sexuality, mental health and foster care. The illuminating stories offered listeners a unique opportunity to understand how cultural shifts are affecting the generation coming of age right now.


6 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Half My Family Is Illegal
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
"At some point when I was growing up I admit I was mad at my parents for coming here. I was mad that they had to work so hard, that we had to wait ...

Bought by KDNK, KSFR, KUOW, Vocalo.org, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 07:19
  • Purchases: 5
Facebook Drama
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
Ok, truthfully, if it weren’t for my mom I’d go wild on Facebook. But my mom would never let that happen. She tells me “You guys think it’s fun a...

Bought by Vocalo.org and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 06:54
  • Purchases: 2
Coming Out in The Age of Lady Gaga
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
Last year a couple of kids at my lunch table were talking smack about gay people. So I got angry and said “what if I’m gay?” I couldn’t believe I ...

Bought by Louisville Public Media, The Story, Vocalo.org, PRX Remix, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 05:05
  • Purchases: 5
Mental Illness
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
I remember going to my first rock show, the Alkaline Trio, I was 12, a tall 12-year-old. I left there a mess. I had been hit in the face, my shir...

Bought by PRX Remix, Vocalo.org, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 09:16
  • Purchases: 3
Nothing's Ever Permanent in Foster Care
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
When I first went into foster care, I just felt lost. My friends kept saying, “Yo, you’re changing. You’re acting like you’re depressed.” I used...

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh, KUOW, Vocalo.org, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 08:34
  • Purchases: 4
Hip Hop Dedication
From: Radio Rookies
Series: Radio Rookies: Coming Up in 2011
Caption: Staten Island 2011
A lot of teenagers want to make it big as artists--whether acting in movies, singing ballads on American Idol, or making it in the hip hop world. T...

Bought by KSFR, Vocalo.org, KUOW, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2012
  • Length: 06:07
  • Purchases: 4