Oakland, CA–June 15, 2009. The Mills College Public Radio Reporting students' programs on West Oakland are currently airing on KALW 91.7 FM.

Ten students spent spring semester in West Oakland asking the question: "how is the national economic downturn affecting people in these neighborhoods?" The group started in the Historic Hoover Corridor, also known as "Ghost Town," but their stories took them into every West Oakland corner.

"Historic West Oakland with elegant Victorians and gritty industrial warehouses as home to some of the oldest parts of the city tells the story of this working class town," said Mills College radio journalism professor and KALW news director Holly Kernan. "In many ways, this part of the city never recovered from previous economic downturns. The residents have often had to rely on ingenuity and each other to survive. The area is an interesting barometer for the current economic crisis and our radio series explores how the neighborhood is responding to current and past challenges."

The student stories included an audio history of West Oakland, an Iron Chef competition among so-called "at risk" youth, a YMCA program that reaches out to parents, the birth of an urban farm, the dearth of neighborhood grocery stores, the movement to clean up liquor stores; foreclosures and the housing crisis; and an investigative piece about the downfall of one of Oakland's oldest non-profit low-income housing corporations.

Programs are available at Mills College Public Radio Spring 2009 stories or Crosscurrents.

The Mills College Public Radio Reporting program has won numerous national awards, including best radio documentary for public radio reporting by the Society of Professional Journalists (2008); two Gracie awards for outstanding series and outstanding documentary radio series by the Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television (2008); and outstanding writing in radio from the National Awards for Education Reporting (2008).

The program's latest project is currently underway as four students spend their summer reporting on violence in East Oakland and its solutions. This is the first time the radio program embarked on a summer program.

For more information see the Mills College Public Radio program.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review. Visit us at www.mills.edu.

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