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High School Students Take Over Airwaves for the Annual KQED Youth Takeover

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Milpitas High School students came to KQED headquarters to record their pieces for Youth Takeover 2022.  (Amanda Vigil / KQED)

Throughout this week, KQED will broadcast segments and stories co-produced by Bay Area high school students and reporters and producers from KQED. 

The fifth annual KQED Youth Takeover week starts today, with high school students from around the Bay Area making their voices heard on KQED programs like Forum, The California Report Magazine, Rightnowish, Perspectives, Bay Curious, Above the Noise and more.

Launched in 2018, the KQED Youth Takeover empowers young people to create and broadcast stories alongside KQED reporters and producers about the issues that impact them, their families and their communities. KQED radio and digital audiences will get an authentic and insightful look into the ways the next generation sees our world, our future and the challenges before us.

“The KQED Youth Takeover is a fantastic opportunity for KQED to showcase young people and remind ourselves how important and valuable their voices, perspectives and experiences are by dedicating the space on KQED’s broadcast and digital platforms to elevate their stories,” says Holly Kernan, Chief Content Officer at KQED. “We recognize that young people’s ideas and leadership matter and our communities will be stronger, more inclusive, and more equitable when we include their voices in the public conversation.”

KQED Youth Takeover is a unique year-long program that partners San Francisco Bay Area high school classrooms with KQED journalists and content producers to help students pitch, write and produce audio-feature stories destined for KQED’s broadcast, podcast and online programming. Participating teachers receive curricular support and customized assistance from KQED, and classes were invited to KQED’s newly renovated headquarters to record their pieces in a professional newsroom and studio setting.

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For many participating students, the KQED Youth Takeover is an opportunity to build professional skills, as well as confidence in their voices. “KQED gave us real-world experiences. The thing is, they didn't have to, but they did,” says 10th grader Jessie Lin. “Throughout this process, I felt secure as the Youth Media team constantly checked in and pushed us in a direction that allowed us to grow.”

This year’s KQED Youth Takeover participants come from high schools that include Castlemont, East Bay Innovation Academy, Tennyson, and Fremont in Alameda County; John Henry in Contra Costa County; Milpitas in Santa Clara County; Mission, Lincoln, Independence, Hilltop, Burton and Washington in San Francisco County; Woodside in San Mateo County; and Hollie R. Piner in Sonoma County.

Experience all these students’ stories on the KQED Youth Takeover website as they become available during the course of the week. 

About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source and leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas. kqed.org

Media Contact:
Liana Holmberg
lholmberg@kqed.org

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