Miami students help celebrate Tri-State accomplishments on the radio
Members of a Miami University creativity student group and Miami students helped prepare reports about famous people and innovations from the region for a radio station project
Miami students help celebrate Tri-State accomplishments on the radio
Members of a Miami University creativity student group and Miami students helped prepare reports about famous people and innovations from the region for a radio station project
A Miami University student’s voice is being heard on radio stations across the Tri-State region as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday.
“The idea was to celebrate America’s 250th by talking about the contributions to our country made by people who live or lived in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana region,” Patti Marshall, Managing Director of Branding and Content for Hubbard Radio Cincinnati, explained. “I reached out to Professor (David) Eyman and asked if he thought it would be a good creative project for students.”
Eyman is an Associate Lecturer of Entrepreneurship and the Farmer School of Business’ Director of Innovation. He mentioned the project idea to several students, including Lia Pistole, president of the Miami University Community for Creatives & Innovators (MUCCI).
Pistole said it felt like a very fitting project for MUCCI to take on.
“First, we talked to Hubbard over the phone and figured out exactly what they wanted, right down to the length of the stories when read aloud. Then we advertised the project, put up flyers, and talked to professors from around campus, asking them to mention it in class,” she said. “A couple of the entrepreneurship professors even offered extra credit for people who took part.”
Students were asked to research and find influential people who did things or created products in the region over the last two and a half centuries. “We want new and fresh stories that few people have heard before, that show the creativity, innovation, grit, and ingenuity of the Tri-State area,” the instruction form stated.
The students wrote a 30 to 60 second radio script about their chosen person, then took their script to the Howe Writing Center for a consultant to examine for concision, clarity, and organization. MUCCI ended up with more than 30 stories, ranging from Joe Burrow and Annie Oakley to the Isley Brothers and the inventor of Play-Doh, all of whom have their roots in the Tri-State area.
“My favorite was probably the one that I wrote about the Lemon Pipers, a psychedelic rock band from Oxford that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in the ‘60s.” Pistole said. “I hadn’t known about that before I started on this project, so it was fun to discover such a groovy little piece of history from right here in town.”
On a Saturday morning just before the end of the spring semester, Pistole drove to Cincinnati to record each of the stories. “I sat down with the sound technician, and I read out each of the stories into a microphone. He recorded them, edited them, fixed them up, and added some sound effects,” she said. “And now they're being played on the air!”
Hubbard has four stations in the Cincinnati region – WYGY, WUBE, WREW and WKRQ – and all of the stories are also available online.
“Lia was a fresh voice sharing what could otherwise get lost in a sea of audio. I am thrilled with the collaboration!” Marshall said.
“It was such a fun and rewarding project to be a part of,” Pistole said. “I’m from the Detroit area, and I hadn’t known much of anything about Cincinnati or the Tri-State Area before taking on this project. Plus, having your writing and voice airing on multiple major radio stations is a pretty cool resume point!”