I produced the third show of the November 30 taping of ¿What’s Good, D.C.?. I volunteered to produce that episode’s show on sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Despite 5 years of experience in producing weekly and daily radio shows, this was my first time producing a television show. Television and radio are really different. Producing a t.v. show involves a lot more elements, and a lot more people. Also, there is a lot more waiting especially on the day of taping. Every aspect seems more scripted because you are mapping out both visuals and audio so everything has to match up. The first taping of WGDC provided alot of lessons including instituting time for producers and hosts to work on the script. That wasn’t able to be done in the time that we had but i think the process ran a bit more smoothly in this taping.
As a producer of this show, my biggest question was how to approach it with a public and social media focus. Should I do a show on how digital technology is shaping conversations around STD/STIs amongst youth? Should I do a show on whether new technologies impacted the sexual behavior amongst young people? I knew that i wanted to include a guest that was using social media to connect youth with services outside of just facebook. And I wanted the group to be peer led in some way. Metro TeenAIDS seemed to be the best fit for that. Using a text based campaign, they educate, outreach, and entertain their target audience in an effort to increase engagement in the sexual health of young people. They connected me with one of their staff members, Dwayne Lawson Brown.
In high school, Dwayne Lawson Brown was introduced to Metro TeenAIDS by a friend. Soon after, he began working as a peer educator. Along with others, Dwayne helped to spread HIV/AIDS awareness through spoken word, song, and other art forms. He has since worked his way up the ladder at MTA to his current position as Metro TeenAIDS Community Outreach Coordinator. In this position, he works under the social marketing campaign, Real TalkDC. He manages the RealTalk Reps, a group of nine peer educators and guides and gives them the tools necessary to create new media. He is also an HIV tester and counselor, an event planner, and helps run FreeStyle on Fridays.
Here is a link to an action that the RealTalk Reps did in Gallery Place this spring to educate people on the HIV stats of the District. In the background, Dwayne recites a poem.
I also wish that I had time to support students in creating media that tackles a subject from our show like this video from the blackpublicmedia.org:
“Another Statistic is the story of a teen couple who face sudden drama and tough choices when the young girl receives some shocking news. As their names are being dragged through the new digital grapevine, their relationship becomes unhinged. With rumors and all kinds of advice echoing around them, can they reconcile with each other enough to make the important decisions they now face? ‘Another Statistic’ is the work of eight 10th graders who were part of Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School’s BCAMTV video-making elective class last year. What impact can stories told by youth have on illuminating the problems adults usually see from a distance?”
