Ignorance Isn't Always Bliss

Last class our panel of guest speakers discussed a few different topics that I thought I knew a bit about. However, to my surprise there was actually very little I really knew about the Black Panther Party, the Freddie Gray case, and the general environment of Baltimore. Eddie Conway was the first speaker, and his personal experience within the Black Panther Party brought a completely different view of their role in society to light. Hearing about how he became involved to help young children eat a morning breakfast, and to organize individuals to have their voices heard. Really impacted me because it showed me the little information that we really learn about various topics growing up in school. Then Dr. Brown talking about how many neighborhoods were being torn apart in downtown Baltimore, and how the loss of manufacturing in the surrounding areas of the city were large influences on where Baltimore is today. The switch of class between the city and suburbs of Baltimore magnifies the necessity for new jobs, and wealth to be used in the city of Baltimore to make it even a resemblance of what it used to be.

My group, Group V, is going to be covering the Current Situation and Solutions section for the radio series. I personally am glad that we got this section because I feel as if it is the most important of them all. This is because in this section we can really connect with the community and see what they think can or should be done in order to revive the diminishing life of the neighborhoods. However, I do also think that this section could be the most difficult to tie into the others because we will have to see what the other groups incorporate into their sections, so we are able to effectively summarize what we as a group, and class, are trying to accomplish with this radio series.

What a Voice Can Influence

Last class focused on the five part radio series we are going to produce at the end of the semester. Between the discussion, as a class and a group, as well as listening to segments from the prior class's there were a couple points that made the most sense. One of the major parts of the past radio series that everyone felt was lacking, was the desire or care that they heard from the interviewer. Listening to someone simply go from one question to the next, that doesn't demonstrate the concept of conversation and in turn leads to a deeper care for the assignment and the community. I think to solve this issue the students who go to interview community members should have a list of topics that they should ask or touch on; but the main focus is to create a meaningful communication between one another. By doing so the listener will become more engaged in what they are hearing, to possibly even care enough to want to ask their own questions. Another point that was touched on in class that wasn't really discussed was the fact that the introduction said: "we are going to leave you with more questions than answers"; I did have a lot of questions at the end of each segment, but they weren't about the topic. My questions were more aimed to answer my own confusion about what I had listened to. This ties directly to a way in which we can form our radio series. We can better organize and communicate to the listener exactly what they are hearing for each segment, as well as what each piece of the segment cover. This would force us to do more editing of the audio, however by doing this we can better communicate our topic. I did like from the segments the clear introduction and the way that the interviewees names opened the segment. Also, keeping the background noise of the city streets, as well as the silence from inside buildings were important because they changed the style of audio the listener heard within every 45 seconds to a minute. Personally I felt that group 5, my group had the most creative way to organize the segments. Along with being the most creative, so it's not just a start to finish, but 5 different spheres of the greater topic that all were intermingled. Covering the four largest problems the community currently faces, allows the listener to form their own opinions. Then finishing the series with our/the community's solutions, will make the listener either agree or disagree with the ideas. Creating anything in that an individual chooses a side, makes them more engaged and forms a bond, positive or negative, with our cause.