Web Smarts

www.radiodiaries.org

What: Radio Diaries Inc.'s Teen Reporter Handbook

This site is a rich resource for teens interested in making their own audio documentaries for radio or the Web. It includes many examples of radio diaries, as well as advice for aspiring reporters.

The handbook offers both practical advice, like what the best and cheapest kinds of recording and editing gear are, and thoughts about why documentary storytelling is important - by everyone from well-known oral historians like Studs Terkel and James Agee to teen reporters.

You can read the handbook on the Radio Diaries Inc. site (follow the link to "Make Your Own"), or download it as a PDF file (click on the icon on the homepage). It was written by Joe Richman, an independent radio producer and reporter who worked for National Public Radio for many years and recently produced the "Teenage Diaries" and "Prison Diaries" series for NPR.