By Mary Owen
Local teens are on the air at KYAC.
“Our goal is to put young people on the air so they have a platform for their music and views, within reason,” said Ken Cartwright, general manager at KYAC 94.0 FM in Mill City, serving the Santiam Canyon.
“It teaches them volunteering, citizenship, responsibility, planning, public speaking, communication, music presentation and discussion as well as educating listeners about the artists and genres of their music,” he added.
KYAC’s Youth In Broadcasting program also provides teens with a skill set that sets them apart from many who leave the Santiam Canyon with little more than a high school diploma, Cartwright said.
“Those skills that they learn and use will be very useful to them regardless of what they do later,” he said. “It also puts them in a position for job opportunities in broadcasting and public relations.”
Youth In Broadcasting grew out of the station’s training program, initiated two months after the station started in September 2014, calling for anyone interested in learning broadcasting and programming.
“We had been at Kimmel Park in Mill City with our banner and boom box on a table on the Fourth of July, trying to interest people in both listening and becoming a deejay,” Cartwright said. “Our first class had six people, four who went on and stayed as deejays.”
The three-hour class covered FCC laws, station procedures and policies, show development and marketing strategies.
“The second part of the training class is actually sitting down at the broadcast console, learning what buttons do what, and really getting on the air, talking into the microphone, playing music, putting callers on the air and talking with them,” Cartwright said. “That’s probably the most nerve-wracking part, getting your first time on air behind you.”
Sara Moore-Hamilton learned about the opportunity at the Fourth of July event, took the training, and is one of three teens currently on the air.
“The show just started off as a hobby for me, a way to share the music I love with the people in and around my community, but I’ve grown to love being on the radio,” said the 15-year-old from Mill City, who is learning to play guitar and is active in 4-H. “I love the feedback from my listeners. I like the feeling I get when I’m on the air. I just love it!”
Derek Connor hosts The Dark Side of the Radio with Derek, playing mostly classic rock from noon to 2 p.m. on Fridays on KYAC.
Connor bought his first guitar from his mentor when Cartwright owned his music store in downtown Stayton. The 15-year-old Mill City guitarist named his show after the group Pink Floyd’s album, The Dark Side of the Moon.
“The only hurdle to jump over was gaining confidence to speak to my audience,” Connor said. “I overcame any fear by at least my third show.”
For Connor, major highlights are “volunteering, bringing music to our small community, and just being a part of music.”
“I have aspirations to be an audio engineer and own my own recording studio,” he said.
Dwayne Mercer, 16, also from Mill City, loves promoting togetherness, well-being and community partnership.
“I’m learning radio engineering and broadcasting,” Mercer said. “I plan to use this knowledge in commercial radio if my music doesn’t succeed. I love my home, and I love my community.”
Cartwright said his apprentices are all doing well.
“They do a lot of research about the type of music and programs they present and take suggestions very well,” he said. “They are respectful of the station and the equipment and are respected in the community for their shows. They are speaking well as they practice recording their shows, playing them back to listen to themselves and doing self-critique, the best kind of constructive criticism.”
The challenges for the teens are working on their technique, acquiring music legally, and keeping their shows fresh, Cartwright said.
“There is a lot to learn in radio, from being a deejay to production, remote broadcast, managing and news gathering and presentation,” he added.
To give more teens an opportunity to become interested in broadcasting, Cartwright plans to take the station’s portable broadcast equipment to Santiam High School on a regular basis.
“We will set up a class there that will allow us to give kids a hands-on opportunity at the school,” he said. “They will actually be on the air, broadcasting remotely without having to come into the station. We are hoping to create some regular school broadcasts, aside from sports.”
Cartwright will also continue the training program at KYAC for anyone interested in learning about broadcasting and other radio-related tasks.
“We have created a real community radio station, and we make it available to anyone who would like to come on and discuss their interests and projects,” he said. “It’s been a very rewarding experience to bring relevant music, news and public affairs to a community that was ready for it.”
In addition to life radio broadcasts, programs can be streamed live via the Internet by using the “Tune In” app downloaded from tunein.com to any smartphone or computer.
Donations are tax-deductible and always accepted to help KYAC, owned and operated by the nonprofit Santiam Hearts to Arts. For more information, visit
www.kyacfm.org.
