Teachers, save “DIY: HOW TO MAKE A PODCAST by Teresa Chi…” to assign it to your class.

PITCHING PRACTICE: THE ONE-GRAF PITCH A pitch is essentially a paragraph description where you make the case for why your story is awesome and interesting. To practice, you’re going to write the pitch for the first episode of your podcast. When writing your pitch, focus on the essentials — What is your podcast/the episode about, and why will people want to listen? Emphasize the T.A.G.S. (see above) of your story, or why people should be excited about it. And keep it conversational! Write your pitch as if you were talking to a friend. This will keep it from becoming stuffy or formal. For example, here are a few successful pitches from YR stories: EXAMPLE: The Great Gun Emoji Debate (YR/NPR) PITCH: Out of the nearly 900 emoji options available to U.S. teenagers, the pistol emoji is one of the most popular (#75). Teens use it to express boredom (another math test: gun), prompt people to respond faster (are you there? text me: gun), or vent frustration (this line is taking forever!: gun). And most of the time, it seems pretty harmless. But even if the message is benign, the question remains why so many of us feel we have to use violent imagery to express ourselves — often without thinking about it. In this podcast episode, Youth Radio’s Tylyn Hardamon tracks the linguistic and technical history and use of the pistol emoji, quizzing young people on how and why they use it. ________________________________________ EXAMPLE: Are Teens More Narcissistic Than Before? (Youth Radio) PITCH: Are teens today more narcissistic than ever before? Some psychologists are pointing to a personality test called the Narcissism Personality Inventory, which seems to indicate that millennials have a historically high sense of self-obsession. But not everyone thinks the test is a great tool to use on teens, who may need an inflated sense of self to protect themselves against the natural pitfalls of puberty. In this week’s podcast replay, Youth Radio’s teen reporters turn the lens on themselves as they investigate their own narcissism scores, and interview an expert on what this trend might mean for the success of the next generation.