Youth Express is a 24/7 streaming Internet radio service featuring original writing, music, theater, journalism and reflections from Pittsburgh-area youth. Created by SLB Radio Productions, Inc., Youth Express leverages SLB-developed principles and methods successfully deployed throughout its 35+ years of encouraging and distributing authentic stories, ideas and creative work by thousands of children and youth in Grades K-12 to an audience of peers and adults.
What you'll hear
Youth Express features a broad range of youth-created content.
- Youth writing from class assignments
- Youth-led open mics
- Poetry slams
- High school newspaper writing
- Student talk shows
- Independent writing
- Student-hosted talk shows specific to their school or community
Contact info@youthexpress.org to submit material, request our help in recording your material, or share your programming ideas.
Making youth expression available and prominent achieves multiple goals. Youth Express...
- provides a distribution method and audience to support youth as they aspire to share thoughts and ideas, write clearly and become more engaged with their community.
- provides a comprehensive and inclusive outlet for youth voice that demonstrates Pittsburgh’s overall commitment to youth.
- helps (1) eliminate preconceived notions about neighborhoods, ethnic or racial background, and other factors, (2) improve overall understanding and empathy for people whose situations are different than their own, and (3) inform other generations about youth-centric issues.
- lets participating youth sharpen skills (e.g., interviewing, writing, speaking, persuasiveness, editing, teamwork, deadline compliance) that support academic standards, badge-based learning and college/workforce readiness and other 21st Century workforce skills
- is available on smartphones, tablets, PCs and portable Internet radios ensuring that virtually anyone can listen.
- leverages powerful opportunity to use emerging standards for connected dashboards to provide the nation’s first programming service showcasing its youth as well as a platform that can be replicated by other communities.
Why radio?
Radio is a tremendous equalizer; all can participate regardless of physical capability or appearance. Radio stresses fundamental language and communications skills as well as imagination, creating a sense of individual engagement similar to being with another human being. Radio also provides a degree of privacy (participants need not be photographed) and helps sharpen important life skills (e.g., speaking and listening, imagination, creative expression, critical thinking, respect for others, confidence, cooperation and technical curiosity). It’s also cost effective to produce and distribute. Most importantly, children and youth tell us time and time again that radio, unlike video, offers them a chance to be themselves. Use of radio is economical, ensures privacy, simplifies acquisition/delivery, and anticipates the growing market for content for smartphones and Internet-equipped car radios.