Media Meditation #2: Making Media

DJ Nasty on air - Photo Credit: Samuel Parker


It doesn't really seem like it, but I have been making media on the radio for over a year. I am a DJ for the Champlain WAVE, Champlain College's own internet radio station. Getting a gig on the Champlain WAVE was as easy as sending an e-mail to Matt Grasso with a showtime and attending a 10-minute training session. Everything past that I learned from experience.

My show is called the DJ Nasty Radio Hour and it features me in my radio guise, DJ Nasty (shown at left). I usually plan my show for at least a couple hours, so the production value is rather high, honestly, for a volunteer college internet radio station. Some of my most common and popular bits are reading the news over "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band, making funny responses to Craigslist Missed Connections, responding to funny Yahoo Answers questions, and writing eBay sales pitches in a segment called "Sell it to me DJ Nasty". As you can see, most of my radio bits have to do with participatory media, brought on by our Personal Shift, from personal to participatory. Integration of participatory media seems to be a common thing these days. I also interact with fans on my Facebook page (another participatory media).



Here is a mockumentary I made of my radio experience under the alias "Victor Del Monte" or "VD":




Being on the radio is like having a conversation with thousands of people at once (or in my case, hundreds of thousands). Someday, I hope to pursue a career in the field, but until I get a pro job, the WAVE is my best outlet of creativity.

I occasionally take callers, and it's something I should probably work on if I want to break into the industry. It is a great way to connect with listeners and that is the most important part of the radio industry; making a solid collection with listeners. What I've learned in my limited radio experience is that the benefit of radio is its local content. To my knowledge, no other prominent media offers a 24/7 local experience. This is the sole reason I think radio will survive the fire it has come under. Even if they don't know it or show it, I think people truly need a local experience on a nearly daily basis. Some people say radio is on the downturn, but I disagree. As long as there are people who care about their community, there will be people who want to hear about it.

I'm open to talk about my radio experiences, so feel free to comment about it.

Media Meditation #1: Rediscovering and Ancient Media Form

This is not an illusion - Those are 2 real, live CDs in my hands

About a month ago, I received word from a friend that a couple of my favorite musical artists, Ray Lamontagne and Ryan Bingham, were both coming out with new albums. I responded, "Awesome, I'm gonna pirate the shit out of those." But over the course of a week or two, something changed inside me in the most non-medical way. I had developed a strong urge to buy the two CDs in hard-copy form, from a real person, using real money.

The release date of both albums arrived and I slipped out of my class and headed downtown. I didn't understand where I was supposed to go (do record stores only sell records?), so I was a bit of a wanderer at this point; please bear in mind that the last time I bought a CD was ages ago - even before "Jersey Shore" existed (or the B.J.S. era in the MTV-Gregorian calendar). I arrived at Pure Pop Records and was amazed to discover that they did, in fact, sell CDs. It was like I was in heaven, but not really sure if heaven was still in style...so I played it cool, bought my CDs, and didn't hang around very long.

When I got home, I did the same thing I used to do when I bought CDs: unwrapped my gifts, popped both in my stereo (I knew I brought it up here for a reason), and relaxed. The sound quality literally blew me away. I felt guilty about what I had been missing over the past few years. Those who know me know that I am an unusually ardent supporter of illegal file sharing. My philosophy has been that artists should do whatever they can to get their music listened to, or else they aren't really artists. I still stand by that statement, but it did feel good to kick some money at a couple excellent musicians, even if it never trickles down to them. Through this CD-buying experience, I learned that the Technological Shift that we've undergone, going from analog to digital, doesn't have to dictate our future. Although I would love for the media world to embrace digital file sharing, it's still nice to stay connected with the analog world every so often for a sense of accomplishment.

Here are a couple favorable (obviously) reviews of the albums:
Ray Lamontagne - God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise
and
Ryan Bingham - Junky Star

Total damages of both albums: $25.12
... but I feel like I can't put a price on experiencing a gem like "New York City's Killin' Me" by Lamontagne...

Give it a listen:



I've declared this my favorite song between the two blues/folk/country albums, but there is plenty to choose from. If you like what you hear, they are a couple excellent artists to get into and I won't tell anyone you jumped on the bandwagon late. Buy a CD and enjoy it that much more.

Imagine the Colosseum with a Jumbotron...

Myself in Venice (on a beautiful island called Burano), Italy this summer

I'm Devon McGarry, a Junior Communications major from Westford, MA.

This summer I traveled to Italy and noticed the prominence of media and the juxtaposition of ancient ruins/structures next to modern technology. One thing I saw was a trendy clothing store in Rome with TV screens built into the stairwell to the second floor. The store was actually closed and it was still playing music videos (must have had some serious electric bills).

Here is some Youtube footage I found of the steps in action.

I also saw an Italian infomercial on network television with full frontal nudity (it was for some sort of bra-related product); it was startling to say the least.

I think it is great that modern technology allows us to communicate in numerous ways and at speeds that rival face-to-face communication. However, I think reliance on technology for communication holds many of us back from true communication and interaction.

After college I want to work in some field of media. At this point radio seems to be my track. I also aspire to be a struggling musician on the side.

I currently host a radio show on the Champlain WAVE internet radio station. My Facebook fanpage can be found at the following link: The DJ Nasty Radio Hour.