The Public Media Corps is entering its home stretch, and I’m kind of stunned to realize how quickly it’s gone by. In some ways, it feels like we’re just getting started on what needs to be done. With any luck, Dec. 31 won’t mark the end of some of the projects we’ve launched.

One of those is ¿What’s Good DC?, our talk show for teenagers that will air on WHUT-TV in January. You can check out what we have online so far, but we hope to be adding a lot more soon, especially since our target audience of teens is more likely to get involved online than turn on the TV to watch the show. What’s more, the website will offer a number of ways for local teens to continue the discussion about the topics we’ve covered so far—the dropout rate, school reform, STDs and violence.

Simply getting WGDC off the ground ended up consuming much of my time with Public Media Corps over the last month or so. (I’ll update you on the other exciting project in another post.) It partly explains my long absence from blogging here. Much of my background in media has been focused on radio and print journalism, so for me, this whole TV and video thing has been a new and eye-opening experience. Watching the credits of movies and TV shows, I’ve always been amazed at how many people it takes to make the final product. Now I understand a bit better why it takes so much talent—and so much work.

My main task for WGDC was to produce a show about school reform in D.C. Of course I’d heard about Michelle Rhee and the controversy she was kicking up with her take-no-prisoners style. But I admit that, as a resident of Arlington, I’d used my berth across the river as an excuse to skip over the articles about Rhee and her efforts. That had to change once I took charge of putting together the show about school reform.

For our guest I booked Bill Turque, who has been covering Rhee for the Washington Post for the past two years. Turque did a great job of bringing his expertise to the subject, and while school reform might be a bit more abstract to our student audience than some of the other topics we’ve covered, the conversation did seem to hold their attention. I don’t want to prejudge how the show turned out until I see the final cut, but I’m looking forward to that—and to sharing it with you.