New York Kids - United States

The central approach of the New York Kids radio show was to involve children in as many steps of the production and broadcast process as possible. Two adult hosts were joined every week by two kid co-hosts. These co-hosts usually came from a "Class of the Week", a 4th, 5th, or 6th grade class from a school in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island). Teachers could learn about the programme, and nominate their class as a Class of the Week, through a "Teachers Only" portion of the New York Kids site. A producer would then visit the school, record kids' voices on tape, and explain how the radio programme was made. This producer selected one boy and one girl to serve as co-hosts. In addition, special contests gave children from outside New York in the 3rd through 6th grades a chance to travel to the station to become a co-host.

The show featured a mix of fun and learning: music, guests, issue talk, storytelling, games, prizes, and contests. During every broadcast, thousands of kids called a toll-free phone number that allowed them to play games, win prizes, and share their opinions about various issues. In addition, a 24-hour hotline allowed children to call anytime to request a song, tell a joke, share an opinion, enter contests, and win prizes. The broadcasts featured these tape-recorded commentaries and reviews.

The interactive New York Kids site was launched in 1997 to support the radio show. It included archived streaming of radio programmes, as well as kid-friendly educational quizzes and colourful characters ("The Dirtmeister", "The Game Guy", "Terry the Taxi Driver", and "Wacky the Logic Clown"). Another character, “Mighty Liz”, reviewed books for kids, supplemented by book reviews written by kids (who were invited to enter contests to win free books).

Children, Education.

At its most popular, New York Kids received over 5,000 calls during each two-hour programme. The calls were answered by a team of university-age volunteers.

WNYC is a listener-sponsored, non-commercial station. The New York Kids radio show was produced with funding from foundation grants.