Teenagers are now able to create near-professional quality programming whether the guardians of the television networks like it or not. Thanks to new, relatively simple tools for digital production and distribution,teenagers like Zac Rich, 18 and his 73 person Swept Away Media, regularly take self created content and repurpose it in entirely new ways. In fact their organization has created 5 seasons and 145 episodes of their own teen pop culture television series, shooting on SONY VX2000's and editing with the MAC G5 and Final Cut Pro.

Rich and his team report each week on new musical artists, movies, video games and even foods that they've fallen in love with. One recent segment featured a "Jones Soda Tasting" in which one of the hosts remarked that the blue, green and pink sodas worked especially well in the student film he had just finished.
"If you're making a film," Rich remarked, "You can really see the colors well on film." "it's just another selling point for the quirky soda, finished Zac Rich.

     The teens have interviewed their favorite artists, most of them long before the rest of the world knew their names. Artists such as Slipknot, 3 Doors Down, Seether, Reel Big Fish, Gavin Degraw, Michael Tolcher and The Donnas have been interviewed during the past season. Over 300 interviews have been completed by the teen cast and crew in the past 5 seasons.

     Their show, the not for profit SWEPT AWAY TV airs on the Varsity TV programming block of Comcast On Demand. The show also airs on public, community, access and commercial stations in 50 other markets. The stations are listed on the show's website at www.sweptawaytv.com. The 30 minute show airs weekly on most of the stations although some stations like SATV in Salem Massachusetts, play the show twice or more times per week. Television station Know99, in Phoenix Arizona, programs the teen show to air every week day at 6:30pm.

     Swept Away TV, like teen media organizations St Paul Neighborhood Network, Wide Angle Community Media,Youth Sounds and Project Think Different among others, sent representatives to the Listen Up's Ahead of the Curve Workshop held in May in Litchfield CT. The workshop provided the youth media makers with valuable tools to improve and enhance their production skills.

     As these young consumers become skilled creators of their own media, it is a sure bet that marketing to them from here on out, will need to involve them actively and creatively. As for the Swept Away media gang, they are hard at work on an additional project, the development of a 14 minute version of their program.

     Tentatively titled "Squished" the program features 8 different kinds of content and will be suitable for streaming over wireless phones and the internet, and can be co-branded with the advertiser's marketing strategy or television network. These young broadcasters have taken the marketing of their content and manipulated it and it is a sure bet that their peers will enjoy being a part of the show as well.

Teen created media takes the big step forward
	Teenagers are now able to create near-professional quality programming whether the guardians of the television networks like it or not. Thanks to new, relatively simple tools for digital production and distribution,teenagers like Zac Rich, 18 and his 73 person Swept Away Media, regularly take self created content and repurpose it in entirely new ways. In fact their organization has created 5 seasons and 145 episodes of their own teen pop culture television series, shooting on SONY VX2000's and editing with the MAC G5 and Final Cut Pro. Rich and his team report each week on new musical artists, movies, video games and even foods that they've fallen in love with. One recent segment featured a "Jones Soda Tasting" in which one of the hosts remarked that the blue, green and pink sodas worked especially well in the student film he had just finished. "If you're making a film," Rich remarked, "You can really see the colors well on film." "it's just another selling point for the quirky soda, finished Zac Rich. The teens have interviewed their favorite artists, most of them long before the rest of the world knew their names. Artists such as Slipknot, 3 Doors Down, Seether, Reel Big Fish, Gavin Degraw, Michael Tolcher and The Donnas have been interviewed during the past season. Over 300 interviews have been completed by the teen cast and crew in the past 5 seasons. Their show, the not for profit SWEPT AWAY TV airs on the Varsity TV programming block of Comcast On Demand. The show also airs on public, community, access and commercial stations in 50 other markets. The stations are listed on the show's website at www.sweptawaytv.com. The 30 minute show airs weekly on most of the stations although some stations like SATV in Salem Massachusetts, play the show twice or more times per week. Television station Know99, in Phoenix Arizona, programs the teen show to air every week day at 6:30pm. Swept Away TV, like teen media organizations St Paul Neighborhood Network, Wide Angle Community Media,Youth Sounds and Project Think Different among others, sent representatives to the Listen Up's Ahead of the Curve Workshop held in May in Litchfield CT. The workshop provided the youth media makers with valuable tools to improve and enhance their production skills. As these young consumers become skilled creators of their own media, it is a sure bet that marketing to them from here on out, will need to involve them actively and creatively. As for the Swept Away media gang, they are hard at work on an additional project, the development of a 14 minute version of their program. Tentatively titled "Squished" the program features 8 different kinds of content and will be suitable for streaming over wireless phones and the internet, and can be co-branded with the advertiser's marketing strategy or television network. These young broadcasters have taken the marketing of their content and manipulated it and it is a sure bet that their peers will enjoy being a part of the show as well.

Teen created media takes the big step forward