Pictures: Kilkenny TY students complete TY Media Week at Beat 102-103

Three Kilkenny students have successfully completed TY Media week at regional radio station Beat 102-103.

Bill Clune from CBS Kilkenny, Molly Kearney from Kilkenny College and Kate Ann Daniels from Abbey Community College all took part in the programme. They were among 14 students selected from over 150 applications received from all over the South-East. The media literacy programme is supported by Comisiun na Meán and is devised by national training network Learning Waves and Beat 102-103.

During the week, the secondary school students learned how to critically analyse content that is published on their social media feed along with how to edit and hone their presentation skills. All of the students worked together to produce an end of week audio programme which was broadcast on Beat on November 20th and 21st and is available now as a podcast at beat102103.com.

For their programmes the students explored a variety of topics spanning from local musicians, sports, and theatre to delving into Irish cultural quirks. Before engaging in conversations with professionals, they hit the streets of Waterford to conduct enlightening vox pops, to gauge the publics opinion on their topics.

They also conducted interviews with a spectrum of individuals, including lecturers from SETU, business professionals, and content creators. The students posed thought-provoking questions, such as the relationship between sports and theatre, favourite Irish phrases, the impact of ads on social media, and much more.

The programme was project-led by Megan O’Regan Byrne who presents Beat’s Most Wanted Weekdays from 6pm, alongside support from Jayde Maher, Beat’s news and sports journalist. Alongside the projects the students created, Irish TikToker Caoimhe Byrne (@therealcraic) visited the students during the week in Beat to chat about all things content creation.

“Beat is proud to be associated with such an important initiative for young people,” said Beat’s CEO Gabrielle Cummins.

“With so much fake news showing up on their social media feeds as they scroll, the skills they’ve learned during their time at Beat will sharpen their critical thinking and encourage them to question information that’s shared online.”

All 14 students were presented with a certificate of completion during a presentation night at the Broadcast Centre following their week of work experience at Beat 102 103.