| On Satellite Radio, Barnard Senior Fine Tunes On-Air Skill
 Every Friday night from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m., Barnard senior Elise Giannasi is on the air with "Last Call" radio host Jeremy Hovies, playing music, taking requests and chatting about anything from the day's news developments to amusing speculation about who might win in a fight between Elton John and George Michael. It's just one of her many responsibilities at the Sirius satellite radio station "Sirius OutQ," the country's only 24/7 radio station geared toward gays and lesbians. In just a few months, Giannnasi has built what she herself describes as an amazing level of confidence in radio production as well as on air.
"Going on the air on Friday nights has helped me to gain confidence in my ability to reach a community simply by speaking candidly through a microphone," she says. "The first time I was on air, I was very shy. But now I feel much freer and can't wait 'til Friday night."
Sirius Satellite Radio is a subscriber-based, commercial-free, satellite radio company. The service has roughly 120 stations, 65 of which can also be heard online with a subscription. Sirius OutQ, which provides news, music and entertainment for the entire Gay/Lesbian Bisexual/Transgender community, can be heard here: http://www.siriusoutq.com.
Giannasi began at Sirius OutQ in September 2004, and though the on-air work is arguably the most exciting, her wide-ranging responsibilities for "Last Call" give her a complete start-to-finish experience in radio production. To begin, she helps to discover new artists and choose new programming by attending several shows a week and by sifting through submissions to the station. Once she selects music, she edits them and enters them into the station system. She also sometimes contacts the bands and assists with interviews and performances that are taped in-house.
"I'm not pouring coffee at this internship," Giannasi says. "The most important thing I've learned is individual responsibility because I'm actually given quite a bit of independence in my projects. Knowing that my supervisor [Charlie Dyer, executive producer of Sirius OutQ's programming department] trusts my abilities and my decisions gives me more confidence to pursue my goals in the music industry."
An American Studies major from Athens, Georgia, Giannasi first learned of Sirius through her brother-in-law, who she dubs "radio everything-man." After some exploration of Sirius's web site, she applied for an internship with OutQ because she they had an opening in programming department where she would have the most direct interaction with music itself. Her internship is supported by the Linda Fayne Levinson '62 Internship Grant through the office of career development.
Giannasi always knew that she wanted to go into the entertainment industry, but she became certain of her interest in radio and music only after trying out several other internships in fashion and fine art. She says that the most valuable piece of advice she received from Cara Smith, Barnard's internship coordinator, was the idea that internships that aren't a good fit are still useful because they teach what you do not want to do. Having tried other fields, Giannasi knew when she got to OutQ that it was a great fit.
"Music is my first love and being able to interact with it on a daily basis leaves me feeling completely satisfied with the path I've chosen," says Giannasi.
Giannasi also believes that her internship and American Studies major connect in ways that are not always obvious. "Music is such a part of pop culture and can be studied through an historical context. I can tie my studies of what's going on historically with how it's exhibited through music, or public policy. And by studying subcultures--black subcultures, gay subcultures--you can get a sense of what's going on in history or what will become history."
After graduation, Giannasi hopes to continue at Siruis or find work elsewhere in the broadcasting/music/radio industry. "I'm really excited to have found an area that is both stimulating and fulfilling," she says.
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