YR Media (formerly Youth Radio) is a national network of young journalists and artists collaborating with peers across the country and media professionals to create impactful content
YR Media
has operated as a non-profit production company in the Bay Area for 25 years, starting in Berkeley, CA and moving to downtown

Oakland, CA Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

in 2007. YR was founded by Ellin O'Leary. O' Leary founded Youth Radio in 1992 and served as its first Executive Director. YR aims to invest in future generations by championing the voices of young people and helping build crucial skills in journalism, arts and media. YR has partnered with outlets including '' Teen Vogue'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, Pandora, and ''

NYTimes ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' to further amplify the work of young journalists and artists, and their work has been recognized by awards including the George Foster Peabody Award, Edward R. Murrow Award, and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

Mission

YR Media’s mission is to launch young people on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

pathways in

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

and creative

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. More than 75% of the high school students they serve each year are low-income or from communities of color. Many are from underserved schools.

YR Media Methodology

* Education: YR Media provides six months of digital media and technology education to diverse, low-income 14-to-24-year-old young people throughout the Bay Area in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, music production,

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and code. * Employment: Program graduates are eligible for jobs throughout Youth Radio’s Peabody Award-winning media production company. * Support Services: Participants receive wraparound services including case management, referrals to partner service providers, nutritional support and academic/career advising to support the realization of their personal goals.

Impact

* YR Media journalism reaches an audience of 30 million people. * Last year, YR Media students had a 97% high school graduation rate and an 87% college enrollment rate. * YR Media provides more than 250 paid internships per year to young people and our externship program provides direct employment in the communications sector. * YR Media services are provided at no cost to participating youth.

History

Founded in 1993 in Berkeley during a period of heightened youth violence and homicide, Youth Radio was established as an outlet for Bay Area youth to process their experiences and provide an alternative perspective to the prevailing media dialogue. In 2007, Youth Radio moved its headquarters to downtown Oakland, helping transform an under-invested part of the city into a world-class center of art, commerce, and culture. In 2012, Youth Radio reported on the importance of the youth vote at the Democratic National Convention in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Youth Radio operates bureaus in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. The flagship of Youth Radio is located in downtown Oakland on Broadway and 17th street.

Selected accolades

* George Foster Peabody Award – 2001, 2011 * Edward R. Murrow Award – 2001, 2005, 2010, 2011 * Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award–2010 * President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Award – 2012 * Red Cross Heroes Award – 2010 * Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award – 2000

Divisions of YR Media

ADP.FM / All Day Play: YR Media's eclectic online radio station, featuring music from emerging artists and diverse subgenres. Get exposed to a wide spectrum of musical tastes, news, and commentary from Youth Radio’s all-stars, plus mix shows from top Bay Area DJs. ADP.FM will be going off-air permanently at midnight December 16th, 2022. Remix Your Life: YR Media's music production and distribution label. Adult ISH: A first-of-its-kind, culture, storytelling and advice podcast produced by those who are almost adults. 24-year-olds Nyge Turner (Oakland) and Merk Nguyen (Los Angeles) host conversations with artists, tastemakers and theirs friends about mental health, culture, and more.

Notes

External links

{{commonscat, Youth_Radio
YR MediaFacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagramAll Day Play Live Stream
Education in Oakland, California Non-profit organizations based in California Organizations based in Oakland, California Peabody Award winners Youth empowerment organizations Youth-led media