New Jersey Nightly News; 77; A Closer Look: Focus on Youth Princeton Radio Program

When you stepped out at NBC after Morse Maureen O'Sullivan had left as the final Today girl as they used to call them did you feel that role was right for you as you walked out that people have really done your homework. I said most people know who the interviewer who is making Barbara Walters nervous is it Mike Wallace or Edwin Newman or Geraldo Rivera. The interviewer is an 18 year old Princeton University freshman. He's one of 35 students who produce a weekly radio show called Focus on you. The goal of the show aired on 200 radio stations is to put famous people on the spot. And the more famous the better. Take Bert Lance for example. I think his relationship to the federal budget I think that we ought to try to manage that. That's what I intend to begin to do that following basically the same principles he used with your own money and your own finances. But I don't think it really is a fair question from that standpoint at all. I don't think it's one that I would even respond to that you want. The students travel all over the country interviewing people like Author and journalist Theodore White. Many people refer to the Teddy White syndrome which exists among reporters today describes the

press's over emphasis on screening primary candidates in both their political views and personal lives. Since you now seem to get this tread where do you think the journalists emphasis should be in a campaign. Well that's why I didn't write any book about 976 because I think a location almost exclusively so it's always in our part of the office. What happens is it's not like the television studio lights blaring down all sides and countless innocent things. They're just there on a coffee table or kind of an abstruse and it seems like an atmosphere where they can just relax and go out and see or a Princeton senior is chairman of Focus on you. But most of the interviews he runs the sound equipment and directs the questioning with hand signals. The goal the toughest questions possible interviewer Jim Kennedy I'm not you know are of the person anymore I don't think it's the guest is such a big important person that comes from doing a lot of interviews when you do your

first interview no matter who it is you. It's a big name and you have a tendency to say wow you know I'm actually meeting this person. That doesn't stop the students from offering a stack of White's new books for autographing or asking for a little bit of testimony and their scrapbook. I thought Linda and Heather was the affection of the aging friend in report it anyway. Some of the other comments in the book from William F. Buckley first rate in field practice. Congratulations and from Gloria Steinem. Please continue to reform my profession of journalism. It needs to be deeper more honest. We need you to make it that way. That kind of praise has been showered on Garth and seer and his show since it was started four years ago. He was a prep school student in Lawrenceville New Jersey that. Now he spends 40 hours a week at the studio he's built on the Princeton campus with advertising revenue from the show.

It didn't originally intended a youth program where we all kind of sit around talk about youth issues. It was really to fill a void that existed in the radio industry. There was really all that much going public affairs radio programming out there today. The show is generally successful it's been growing at a steady rate for about four years. We were kind of back a little bit where we felt the growth was healthy but it's been continued to grow. Guest quality and stations the last four years. What makes a good guest. What makes a good guest. Probably a willingness to let down the walls when you come on with your microphones and they can get past their soapbox. The pleasure of putting people on the spot isn't the only thing these students get out of the show. Many focus on youth graduates parlay their experience into professional media jobs. Garth says he has offers from the TV networks and the show that started as a prep school project has become professional enough that once a week listeners on 200 radio stations here.

This is Garth are in Syria inviting you to focus on youth.