Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Life

DIY Radio

The Radio Diaries DIY Handbook

New and revised handbook available for purchase now!

“Instead of the usual, dull interviews with celebrities, the work of interviewing ordinary people – those who live in your neighborhood, older members of your family – is terribly exciting and rewarding. With a tape recorder and microphone, young interviewers are able to capture the unofficial, unrecorded history of our daily lives. This Teen Reporter Handbook is a wonderful guide to doing that work.”
—Studs Terkel

Anyone can make a radio diary. Our citizen journalism guide, the Radio Diaries DIY Handbook, is for anyone who wants to try their hand at making radio. Whether you’re interviewing a neighbor, or a grandparent, or someone you’ve never met, a microphone is a passport into their lives. If you or someone in your community has a story to tell, get a microphone, a recorder, a pair of headphones, and get started.

The Radio Diaries DIY Handbook has been used in schools across the United States, as well as in Russia, Israel, South Africa, and even in a journalism training program in Southern Afghanistan.

Read the handbook online

If you have questions or ideas, drop us an email at info@radiodiaries.org

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