A recent New York Times article on Radio Rookies (registration required) gives a concise overview of how a youth media project initially designed to help teenage participants can develop a life of its own. Since its founding as a “do-gooder” project, Radio Rookies‘ stories have become a staple on NPR affiliate WNYC and have received national attention on NPR. They provide listeners “a glimpse into people they may run across on the subway every day but never have a relationship with,” WNYC’s vice president of programming said. And the impact doesn’t end there—Radio Rookies helps the station attract young listeners, and because the stories are told by their peers, teenaged students respond enthusiastically to them in the classroom.