art.net.dortmund's net radio for the youth. This text was written for an exchange project between Dortmund and Kopenhagen, 2002.
Without any doubt there is a gap between the commercial entertainment industry and the thinking of media competence in a critical way. In Germany, for example most of the projects are still nothing else than how to use a word processor, but only a special one from Redmond, made by Microsoft. But that is not the way to understand media. If you like to learn how to type, just visit a course or try it for yourselves. A typewriter and a word processor are just tools. This is the same with video software or any software, thinking of them as ?stand alone? programs. But the computer is nowadays quite more. And it is more than a complete home entertainment center. It is a medium. To be competent in using and consuming mass media you have to do it for yourself. To build up a live transmitting radio, a so-called grass root radio, all you need is a Linux box and a web server, and sometimes just a good connection via DSL at home. And with this you can experiment and experience your own shows.
radio lowlive, a project for the youth, realized by hartware medien kunst verein on Dortmund?s net.art platform art.net.dortmund.de, has shown how to install and use it. During a workshop with the mediactivist Micz Flor (Berlin/Prague), a complete radio infrastructure was built up from scratch. Nearly ten kids produced jingles, set up the server for initial testings and learned how to administrate it. The whole concept is based on Linux technology to make everything affordable and to avoid license fees. The workshops started with a brief introduction in the Linux/*nix concept and a short glance on TCP/IP and command line usage to administrate a remote system. In another step Linux? multimedia application where explored to get music signals in the computer and to create own jingles and a basic web design.
radio lowlive was first launched in September with the transmitting of a musical event at hartware?s within the framework of the city?s yearly museum?s night event. For seven hours any signal from the auditorium was streamed out. Two of the participants are still at work, and the younger brother of one of them steps now in the steps of the elder. Now we are planning other workshops to teach some editorial stuff.
How do we learn to be aware of the functioning of mass media such as radio or television or the internet? At the university it maybe best to analyze anything concerning the networks of media and the structure of shows, but one has to be very careful with the ideas of the adults in regard of the needs of the youth. But you can focus on one maxim: Catch them where they are and pick them up. In general we experienced far ranging skills with the computer and we didn?t have to explain anything from the beginning. Our participants where highly motivated and brought a wide range of knowledge and experiences in using and understanding computer technologies into the workshop.
But to evoke awareness of simple everyday facts and to feedback them to the situation of the kids will create a need to express it. And to express is a basic need, a must for young people. The internet as the newest mass medium helps to provide tons of non-structured information. The ship of TV is sinking in regard to quality. The faster it gets, the more trash will be transmitted. If it is also a must for democratic societies to built on a vivid critical media scene one has to be creative in teaching it.
With radio, many things are possible: You can motivate via the very important taste of music. Let the kids mix their own program. It is a real satisfaction to listen to a self made program. In Dortmund we are now setting up on hartware?s initiative a strategic network for radio working with youth so that our workshop participants will use the production places. Participation is one of the goals of nonprofit public media (radio and TV stations) written in the German law for media. In Dortmund a non-profit radio station for everybody now provides the technical equipment and a professional studio and the transmitter for terrestrial radio. radio lowlive will use it. The city?s government has interests in developing the image as the silicon valley of Europe, because it?s a fact that Dortmund has the most employees and companies in that economic sector on one single area. It?s in the neighborhood of the university that has Germans biggest faculty for information technology with more than 10.000 students. Furthermo
re the office for developing economic activities supports us, including the office for school affairs because everybody has noticed that?s not enough placing personal computers in the classrooms. So any kinds of strategic thinking in regard to hartware?s youth work is embedded in the city?s real situation and tries to feedback and closes some circles and draw links between offices and people extensively.
It is easier to arouse interest, if you can take a close look on a topic. It is more than a fact that not everyone of the participants will be a journalist in the latter life, but if you start to learn how they work and if you realize an editorial board, you will gain the privileges of reporters to come inside wherever you want to. This means one has to take the youngsters in their reporting work seriously. Understanding media ? not in Macluhans term ? is on the one hand learning how the technique works, on the other how a story will be reported vividly. This will be the matter of another workshop in autumn 2003 within the framework of an exhibition project with game software recreated by international software artists. It takes place in a closed steel plant and there the workshops will be held. Our goal is to create a continuous program where the talents for critical media may spin off. This will help to strengthen democratic thinking and to give content via production and self-expression versus passive con
sumption in front of the screen.
If you need technical instructions on how to set up a commercial free internet radio station without paying anything except the hardware and connection don't hesitate to mail me.
