Our First “Voices From the Valley” Podcast
June 3, 2021
McKeesport Area High School freshmen Vic Evans (right) interviews Ron Vezzani , the founder of Flashover Fire Apparatus & Equipment Co.
Photograph by Dahnayl Champine
Standing (L to R) McKeesport students Dorca Gomez and Casey Oliver, McKeesport firefighters Matt Ursta, JR Baker and Captain Jim Shields.
Sitting (L to R) Propel student Dahnayl Champine and Boys & Girls Club career coordinator Jacques Baynes.
Photograph by Martha Rial
This Voices from the Valley podcast was produced by teenagers from the Mon Valley at the McKeesport Community Newsroom, budding journalists who wanted to tell the story of real people in their neighborhood. The class started online then transitioned to in-person. Hosted by McKeesport Community Newsroom in partnership with Girls and Boys Club of Western Pennsylvania Career Works and Write Pittsburgh, the students showed up week after week at a time when the world around them was filled with uncertainty and Zoom fatigue.
The students learned the art of the interview in real time, walking to the nearby fire station and talking with the men who work to save the lives of McKeesport residents. The students listened back to the audio and noted key points in each interview and crafted a script to introduce each character. They collaborated and drafted this audio story, practiced slowing down and projecting their voices for a listening audience, and fact-checked what they learned from their sources. The students listened to audio stories and interviews from various podcasts and radio spots as examples. They met with Pittsburgh journalists like Brian Cook and Dannys Marrero during class, asking questions about the journalism profession and the art of interviewing.
What you’re hearing is group effort from a small community newsroom of young people willing to dedicate their time and skills during a time of unprecedented obstacles. They did this to uplift the stories of McKeesport firefighters. It was a pleasure to watch these students blossom over the course of the semester. Keep an eye out for these up and coming journalists in McKeesport.
– Brittany Hailer