Soaring On The Air: Tejera-Fabian ’25 at WYSO Radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio
Oct 18, 2022WYSO is a radio station that began broadcasting in 1958, student-run and stationed on the Antioch College campus, with only 19 watts of power, and only broadcasted four hours a day. Now community based, with 50,000 watts and broadcasting 24/7, WYSO is the only NPR News station in the Greater Dayton area complete with flagship programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, news department delivering local/state news, news specials, and thirteen different local music programs. It is also where I have been working for the past three months.
Here at WYSO Radio, my jobs included editing and recording digital productions for use, working with music hosts during programing, setting up and breaking down studios for broadcasting, researching and formatting drafts, assisting coworkers with editing software, and various storytelling projects including Dayton Youth Radio. This line of work coincides with my aspirations in voice over work and editing, and working at WYSO has provided me more than a glimpse into the work that creates a profound impact on the community.
This Co-op made me realize that no matter the profession I choose in the future, I want to make an impact on the world, one way or another, and the opportunity to work at a radio station and speak on air to tens of thousands of people was a fresh start into the direction that I need to go in order to pursue that change that I want to be. I worked closely with two employers, Juliet Fromholt (host of Kaleidoscope)and Basim Blunt (host of Behind the Groove), not just learning about the technology of the studios, but also about the guests that were welcomed into the studios and interviewed during their appearance.
Each guest appearance brought my attention to the intricate pattern of interviewing and broadcasting, the steps it took to set up the studio, preparing for airing, interviewing and steadily maintaining what’s being played on the air, bringing awareness to tragedy and grief and celebrating life, then breaking down the studio when the guests have gone and preparing to do it all over again. It’s vital to report relevant events in the world, whether it be the farthest stretches of the world or right in this country’s door step, and WYSO radio provides that information that people need to hear.
For more information, visit https://www.wyso.org/