What started as an idea finally came to fruition as Alameda Unified School District’s Encinal High School KJTZ Radio and Peralta Community Radio KGPC have teamed together to produce the KGPC Headline News. Now retired broadcast engineer for Peralta TV, Jim Stein thought the two entities should collaborate, but the Covid pandemic stalled previous efforts. Current KGPC manager, Dr. Felicia Bridges picked up the mantel and reached out to Alameda Unified School District’s CTE Pathway Specialist, Felicia Vargas, to discuss what a collaboration might look like. The two Felicias both thought the news would be a good project but feared a half hour or even 15 minutes would be too daunting. KGPC's Felicia suggested that it be headlines only, no more than 4 minutes, and that was the birth of KGPC Headline News.
Having a concept was just the beginning, there was still plenty of work to do before the first broadcast hit the airwaves. Scheduled were meetings with Encinal Junior and Senior High School (EJSHS) radio teacher Kevin Gorham, who assisted with recruiting students. Meetings with the Laney College Media Communications Co-chair Steve Shilsky, who offered his independent study course 460A Occupational Work Experience in Media Communications so students could get concurrent enrollment credit and fieldwork experience. With all the details finalized two students were enlisted to write and commentate on the news. The first broadcast aired Monday, October 30, 2023.
EJSHS seniors, Giuliana Means and Mirabelle (Elle) Kruger, became the pair to produce the four-minute news segments for KGPC weekdays during the school year. Now two weeks in, Giuliana and Elle are doing an excellent job according to Felicia, General Manager of KGPC at Peralta Community College District. "I can say, without hesitation, that Elle and Giuliana have produced news features that are beyond my expectations. I am impressed with the quality of their audio pieces and their professional on-air voice broadcast. The quality of writing is amazing, and I love how they convey their personalities while delivering the news." EJSHS radio teacher Kevin Gorham is delighted that his talented students have this opportunity. "Giuliana and Elle are superstars who have exciting futures in broadcasting if that is what they choose to do," said Gorham. If you are interested in listening to KGPC Headline News, tune into KGPC 69.9FM at 4 minutes to every top of the hour Monday through Friday, except for school holidays. And you can always listen to them via the KGPC website at https://www.kgpc969.org/kgpc-headline-news. KGPC is hoping that this is the beginning of a long-lasting partnership.