Saltcast
By Rob Rosenthal, SaltCast
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Podcast Description
THE BACKSTORY ON GREAT RADIO STORYTELLING
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We’ve Morphed! | >>>>>>>> r We've morphed! Saltcast is now HowSound. Same content, same host, same backstory to great radio storytelling.... only the name has changed. Just as good, perhaps even better. But you need to subscribe to know for sure! Please, click on over to HowSound.org or log onto iTunes and subscribe. The Saltcast blog posts and free streams of the Saltcast podcast are all here and will remain here for some time. But there are no more fresh episodes. So, see ya at HowSound. Best, Rob | 30 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Last Saltcast, BUT…. | The last Saltcast, BUT...... be on the lookout for "HowSound," Saltcast's replacement. | 11 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Pigeon Race | Student producer Rachel James has a *great* reading voice. What's her secret? Find out on this edition of the Saltcast. | 27 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Travels With Mike: In Search of America 50 Years After Steinbeck | Wanna take a cross-country trip -- in sound? Producer John Biewen traces John Steinbeck's 1960 cross-country journey in "Travels With Mike: In Search of America Fifty Years After Steinbeck." | 13 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Baumgartner’s Got Nothin’ On Charrette* | What did student-producer Matt Kielty do when he didn't have sound for a story? He "designed" it. | 30 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Mascot | New York Times editor Amy O'Leary takes a knife to a story she produced at Salt in 2003. | 16 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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They Emerge in the Dark | Radiolab is worming its way into the hearts and ears of Salt radio students. | 2 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Endless Winter | You can't swing a dead cat without hitting Greg Warner on the radio these days. Listen to a piece he produced at Salt in 2003. | 18 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sit With Me Again | On this Saltcast, we revisit Mike Bernstein's "Sit With Me" from 2006 then listen to Mike's 2011 follow-up story. | 4 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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A Square Meal Regardless | How the heck do you find a story?! Try yard sales. | 21 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Pink | An out-of-the-ordinary take on an age-old issue -- conflict of interest. | 7 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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‘Til Death Do Us Part | A microphone is a passport. Just follow it. You'll be surprised where you go. | 21 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Remembering the Cole | Producer Matt Ozug talks about contacting reluctant interviewees for his piece on the bombing of the USS Cole. | 7 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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More Than Just Houses | Salt radio student Georgia Moodie found that playing with sound was the best way to write her script. | 24 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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This Can Go On Forever | When Shea Shackelford and Virginia Millington met at the "DC Listening Lounge," they had no idea their chance encounter would lead them to produce a Third Coast-winning radio documentary. | 10 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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After the Quake: Patients and Healers | A chat with Dan Grech about the ethics of "mis-appropriated" sound. | 27 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Jaz, A Cleaning Woman | Producer Jamie York publicly flogs himself over the first radio story he ever produced. | 13 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sit With Me | How can StoryCorps take their features to the next level? This Saltcast offers one example. | 29 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Subtle Sounds of Nature | r Here's what I'd like you to do after you hear this podcast. Nothing. Just sit there (or stand if you must) and do nothing but listen. In fact, listen until it becomes a bit uncomfortable, like you've listened long enough. Then, listen some more. Listen deliberately. Tell me what you hear. Really. Try it. Cheers, Rob PS - Below are links to the work of sound artist Steve Peters and radio producer Paul Ingles. But, here's the deal. You can only click on these after you deliberately listen for several minutes, if not longer. I'm watching, and I'll know if you follow the instructions. :) http://greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-71.html http://steve-peters.blogspot.com/ http://www.paulingles.com/ r | 15 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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These Are A Few of My Favorite Things | Irish producer Ronan Kelly plays DJ featuring clips from his favorite radio stories. And, we feature his award winning doc "Roger Dowds: Millionaire Winner." | 1 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Who’s Your Daddy? | Producer Sean Cole makes a strong case for not cutting out all the reporter's questions from a story. | 18 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Two Weeks | The only thing radio producers have to fear is fear itself. | 4 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Ann Meets Mr. Ellington | "Why now?" Producers often dread this question. "It's simply a good story" they might say. "It doesn't need to answer 'why now?' This is a classic tale of (fill in the blank). It's universal!" But editors ask this question all the time. They're looking for relevancy, for why a listener should care beyond those important elements. I see the merit of both positions. A good story is a good story is a good story. Period. It's its own reason for being. "Why now?" seems like an unnecessary stricture sometimes. On the other hand, the answer to "why now?" may help convince a listener (and an editor) this story is worth their time. Today's feature, "Ann Meets Mr. Ellington," produced by Kerry Seed in 2003, doesn't answer "why now?" It's timeless. In fact, I wonder if this story would have ever seen the light of day if "why now?" had to be answered. Have a listen. Best, Rob r | 20 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Cypress Knees | Producer Jay Allison makes the case for "slow radio" and recording before pitching. | 8 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Powered By Laughter | "To use music or not use music," that is the question. | 23 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Dam Radio Story | A recurring Saltcast theme, "How to start a story?" on this Saltcast. | 9 8 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Song of Marconi | What have we lost in the great homogenization of accents on radio? | 26 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Dowser, Consultant to the Universe | Glenn Johnson's business card reads "Dowser, Consultant to the Universe." Photo by Katherine Hays (2004). A recent interview with This American Life host Ira Glass on Slate.com got me thinking about about an old Salt Radio piece called "Dowser, Consultant to the Universe." It's the story of Glenn Johnson, a dowser who makes a mistake. And, therein lies the connection to the Ira interview. Ira says mistakes are important to storytelling. Not a mistake on the part of the producer, but a mistake made by a character in the story."I don't go looking for stories with the idea of wrongness in my head, no," Ira says. "But the fact is, a lot of great stories hinge on people being wrong. In fact, we've talked as a staff about how the crypto-theme of every one of our shows is: "I thought it would work out this way, but then it worked out that way." In part, that's what happens in the story about the dowser produced by Owen Agnew in 2004. Glenn, the dowser, goes hunting for water one day with his dowsing rods, finds what he thinks is a good source, the property owner digs a well..... and never finds water. This "wrongness" as Ira calls it, adds an interesting twist to the story. Gives it some conflict and causes Glenn to question, if only briefly, his spirituality -- what he believes powers his dowsing. Without the mistake, the story would, most likely, be less interesting. Listen for yourself. Cheers, Rob | 12 7 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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How I Get By | Focus. Focus. Focus. | 28 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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No Brother of Mine | Diane Richard and her husband Todd Melby sure know how to pick a project with a long, uphill road to the finish line. Diane and Todd recently finished a one-hour radio documentary on sex offender policy in the United States. It's called "No Brother of Mine." The lengths they went to complete the project are surprising and inspiring. On this addition of the Saltcast, I talk to Diane and Todd about the insane amount of tape they collected (150 hours) following offenders in and out of prison over four years, the pittance of pay they received for the amount of work involved ($5k), and the effort they made to protect their safety. There were a couple of things we chatted about that I couldn't fit into the Saltcast so I thought I'd post a few notes here. One of the toughest jobs a journalist will face is leaving your pesonal opinion at home. Whether its your political point viewpoints or, in this case, your distaste for the person you are interviewing -- a sex offender. Both Diane and Todd say you just have to dive in, be open, and ask tough questions. Todd: Just like any other story, there are people that I like and people that I don't like. As I'm doing the interview, it doesn't matter whether I'm liking the person or not liking the person. Diane: I don't like what these guys did. At all. But, I like them as human beings. (Long pause.) Some more than others. At one point in the documentary, Todd asks a question that made my stomach churn: "What is it that sexually attracted you to this child?" How do you ask a question like that?! Todd: It's super difficult. But we had to get to the heart of the issue. We were interviewing sex offenders. And, as part of that, we needed to have them tell us about the crime they committed... And we needed to figure out why they did what they did... from their point of view. And certainly the acts were reprehensible but we needed to ask those questions. It wasn't easy. Diane: We were in prison for almost four hours one day interviewing possible participants and asking that question over and over. And I felt SO numb at the end of it. You could have pierced my eyes with a needle and I wouldn't have noticed. It was a really traumatic day. So, we went out for French fries afterwards (laughs) which became a pattern of ours. When ever we did a series of tough interviews, we'd treat ourselves to French fries (laughs). It doesn't really tax me to ask questions. People at my work make fun of me because they say there is nothing I won't ask. If someone wants to answer it, I'll ask. I'm doing it to represent the listener... I'm just kind of the conduit. Todd: It's just sort of facing your fear and talking to people. You know, once a person has agreed to be interviewed, you can pretty much ask them anything until they tell you to go away. Diane - And in our case, since we were wanting to establish a long-term relationship with these guys, if I had let my disgust show in that first meeting. They would never have opened up to us. They would never have wanted to take our calls. On a different note, Todd and Diane spoke about working together as a married couple. Diane says since they know each other so well, there's a kind of "pretty dance" they engage in allowing each other's strenghts to come to the fore. But, they've established a few boundaries to make sure work and personal life don't mix all the time. Todd: I do rent an office about four blocks from the house so we've at least got our little production studio out of the house. Diane: And little is little! We're talking about a closet-sized (office). So when we're together and the dog's in there, there's no square footage for anything else in this little space. But there is a physical entity that we talk to which is helpful. Todd: And then as far as the separation of personal life from radio life, I've tried to say "Let's not talk about it tonight." We've definately had troubles with that at times. | 14 6 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Left for Dead | "Left for Dead" is probably the most gruesome story every reported by a Salt Radio student. It's not for the faint of heart. | 31 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Just Another Fish Story | An award-winning story of a beached whale on this Saltcast. | 17 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Portrait of a Psychic as a Young Man | Psychics, adolescence, and using the pronoun "I" on today's Saltcast. | 3 5 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Ghetto Life 101 | The 50th Saltcast! We mark the occasion with a documentary classic - Ghetto Life 101. | 19 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Junk King | Producer Josh Gleason talks about framing stories and asking hard questions. | 5 4 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Roadway Renaissance Man | A classic story beginning: Here's how things are, here's how they are different. | 22 3 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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ExplicitWicked Maine Limericks | We're all about limericks this week on the Saltcast. | 8 3 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Nothing Predictable | This week on the Saltcast, a dissection of an audio postcard I produced about kayaking around some icebergs in Newfoundland. | 22 2 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hot Lunch! | Meatball sub anyone? Photo by Catherine Lovell. r Ovens and sinks and a fridges, oh my. No matter which way producer Audrey Dilling turned in the cafeteria kitchen at Biddeford High School, she was awash in sound, sound, and more sound. What's a producer to do? Audrey has some answers on this Saltcast about hot lunch and recording. One answer to the problem is to use two different mics -- one for general ambiance, the other for specific sounds. For general ambiance (and nearly all the sound you hear in Salt stories), Audrey used the reporter's standard: Electrovoice RE-50. Works well in wind. Limits mic handling noise. It sounds good. r r The other mic Audrey used is the Audio Technica 8035. It's shotgun mic with a much narrower pick-up pattern for focused sound gathering. r r r If you are looking to buy only one mic, I recommend the RE-50. It's a workhorse, takes a beating, and won't disappoint. But, if you have some cash to invest in mics, having both of these can be a blessing. Ask Audrey. Happy listening. Rob r | 8 2 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Racial Cleansing In America | r Click for a closeup of the cover. r Finally! A book about the craft and art of radio documentary. It’s about time!! John Biewen and his co-editor Alexa Dilworth have assembled Reality Radio, a collection of masterful essays by radio’s best producers. Reading this, I feel as though I’ve had a personal, one-on-one conversation with many of the contemporary heroes of documentary radio. The essays eloquently convey the power of sound, the back-story to radio production, and the unique motivations of each essayist. Reality Radio will stoke “radio fire” in the belly of new producers, stir the embers for radiophiles afflicted by the radio bug for many years, and serve as the perfect introduction for people outside the radio field. Or, put another way: Reality Radio? Ya gotta read it. John is a long-time public radio documentary producer. You can hear much of his work here and here. John also directs the Audio Program at the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University. Alexa is the Publishing Director at CDS. On this Saltcast we feature John's story "Racial Cleansing In America." It's about the expulsion of blacks from Corbin, Kentucky by the town's white citizens in 1919. Have a listen then have a read! Best, Rob PS - Alexa says the radio on the cover of the book is an actual, working radio -- the Isis 20. Sweet! r | 26 1 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Brainhilda and I | Carol Star had a car accident a few years ago and her brain suffered an injury, one that's had a profound effect on her life. | 11 1 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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ExplicitSaltcast Parody | Graduation at Salt is not to be missed. At the end of a ridiculously rigorous 15-week semester, students, staff, faculty, family, and friends gather for a grand farewell. Really, it's like no other graduation I've ever seen. Staff and faculty offer heartfelt missives. Students receive certificates. But, the highlight is the student presentations. Each track at Salt -- writing, photography, and radio -- is given the opportunity to dance, offer a speech, give thanks, or do whatever they like to bring some closure to the semester. This fall, the radio students produced a parody of the Saltcast. It's a riot. And, it's today's feature. I admit, it's a bit of an insider piece but I think you'll enjoy it nonetheless. We'll return to normal in the next couple of weeks. Happy holidays. Rob r Laura Herberg announces the "host intro" for the Saltcast parody. (Photo by Kristen Hewitt.) r Rob holds his head in his hands, tears from laughing so hard. (Photo by Adriana Teresa.) r "That's was amazing," Rob shouts, leaping from his chair. (Photo by Adriana Teresa.) r (Photo by Adriana Teresa.) r | 28 12 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Pizza Time! | Make way for Tom Witkowski, the dean of delivery at Pizza Time, Portland, Maine. Photo by Rebeca Beeman r Mark Kramer is probably the intellectual heavy-weight of narrative journalism. Mark wrote Telling True Stories and he was the founder of the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism. Mark says if a story doesn't have an obvious narrative hook, it needs a strong character, compelling images, and anecdotes. Well, meet Tom, the delivery dude for Pizza Time in Portland, Maine. Producer Alex Malmude rode along with Tom several times and produced the profile we feature today on the Saltcast. There's no conflict. No drama. No tension. Just a colorful character, visual sound, and some pretty funny anecdotes and chance encounters. It meets the Kramer test for a good story. Have a listen. Best, Rob | 14 12 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Flatline Days | Catherine Spangler effectively used sound art to tell the story of a mother with bi-polar disorder. | 30 11 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Mind on the Brain | Watch a video tape as a prompt during an interview. r One simple way to help an interviewee open up during a conversation is with photos. Thumbing through a photo album or a box of old pictures can jog a person's memory, help take them back in time. In fact, anything that might activate another sense during an interview may prompt a deeper, more profound response to questions. Have an interviewee hold an object. Bring them to a place from their past and walk around. Take a look at the clothes they wore for a special occasion. In short, get people moving and using senses other than their ears during an interview. Salt student Caty Enders used video tapes to prompt discussion. The added benefit to video is you can use the sound in your story. Take a listen to Caty's piece "Mind On The Brain" and hear how she integrated audio from video into her production. Cheers, Rob r | 16 11 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette’s | Have tape deck, will diary. Josh Cutler, the subject of Joe Richman's "Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette's." p Just over a year ago, I dissected "Dead Animal Man" by Ira Glass for the Saltcast. I think that episode got more responses than any other Saltcast. Since then, I've been meaning to dissect a piece in a similar way. It only took a year (!) but I've finally gotten around to it. This time, Joe Richman joins me and we sift through, scene by scene, a story he produced in 1996 called "Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette's." Joe Richman has made some of the best documentaries on public radio. His work is stellar -- sound rich, dramatic, personal. Joe may be best known for his radio diaries, stories where an individual is given a tape deck to document their lives. In fact, that's the name of Joe's company -- Radio Diaries. Much of his work is available to listen to at the Radio Diaries website. But, before you zing off to his website and get lost in all the stories, take a listen to this podcast. Joe gives us the back story on producing "Josh" and he offers great insight on radio storytelling. This is a long Saltcast so get comfy. And, please post your thoughts and questions here at the blog. Ciao for now. Rob PS - Joe says he was inspired to produce audio diaries by "Ghetto Life 101" by Dave Isay as well as "Life Stories: First Person Portraits" by Jay Allison. Click and listen. p | 2 11 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sound Healer | Portraying sympathetic characters. | 19 10 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Survivors: Solitary Confinement in America’s Prisons | Master sound designer Claire Schoen talks about the art of crafting sound for radio documentaries. | 5 10 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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A Jew Grows in Rockland | Rabbi Amita Jarmon lights a menorah. Photo by Hannah Fox. p Rachel Quimby is funny. And, she doesn't turn off her wit when she produces a radio story. Even the title of her piece we're featuring today is witty - "A Jew Grows in Rockland." But, humor ain't easy. And, on the radio, I think it's particularly difficult. You have only your voice to make the point. And, on top of that, the audience isn't in the room with you so you can't judge their reactions and mood. The fact that Rachel even attempted to be funny should be applauded. Take a listen and let us know where this registers on your laugh meter. Does her writing work? Her delivery? Post your thoughts here. Cheers, Rob. P | 21 9 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Swing Free | Dining at the swingers party. Photo by Jessica Sheldon. r I just shake my head sometimes. At least once a semester, usually more, Salt students find themselves in the most out-of-the-ordinary places. It boggles my mind. A couple of semesters ago, a student wound up on a deer hunt gone awry. Another semester, a student spent hours if not days in a home overrun with cats, dogs, birds, and who knows what else. Still another navigated an island of warring lobstermen. Last semester, it was swingers. Julia King produced a story about a weekly swingers party in central Maine. In case you don't know, swingers are.... well, here's Julia's definition: "A swinger’s party is a place where people go to engage in open sexual activity and just have a good time where they seek support and comfort of friends and a group of people that is just openly accepting of people from all different walks of life." On this edition of the Saltcast, Julia talks about recording people making love and her choice not to include the sounds of sex in her story. Have a listen to "Swing Free." Cheers, Rob p | 7 9 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Waiting for Jarod | Breakfast with Margery Richard and her "flat son" Jarod. Photo by Kristin Wright courtesy the Salt Archive. p When Meghan Vigeant started crying in class, I knew something was up. The tears welled-up in Meghan's eyes as she played us interview tape from her conversation with Margery Richard. Problem was, what Margery was saying wasn't sad. Students at Salt often get pulled into the emotional drama of their stories. Doing so is a bit risky. Sharing a character's emotions can cloud a reporter's judgement and obscure objectivity. Of course, it's okay to be sad or happy or mad or... journalists are human after all. But, go too far and you risk not telling a true story. (Or, just to play devil's advocate, maybe if you share someone's emotions, your story will be even truer. Thoughts?) In Meghan's case, her emtional response turned out to be just fine. Margery was talking about the many deaths in her family during that interview and that triggered Meghan's memory of her own father's death. Meghan was able to move past that and re-focus on Margery and the story. How close to a story can you get? When should you take yourself off a story? When should your editor? How emotional can you get -- with your class, with your editor, with the people in your story? Happy listening! Rob p | 24 8 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Fifty-Four Years | I once had a student consider producing a documentary feature on ice harvesters -- people who cut ice blocks on lakes and ponds to use for refrigeration and to keep old traditions alive. Not a bad idea, but the problem with the story was timing. It was fall. No ice. This may seem a bit obvious, but timing is really important to reporting a story. You can have the best story in the world, full access to sources, and magnetic characters but if you don't show up with your mic at the right time, none of it matters. Producer Erin Calabria sought to produce a story on an adoption reunion -- the reconnection of a parent and the child they gave up for adoption. Erin found a mother and son who had reunited after fifty-four years but she was late. They already met for the first time. And, because of that, I wasn't sure her story about the reunion would pack much emotional impact because she missed that pivotal event. But Erin is clever and despite not capturing the moment on tape, she produced a stellar portrait of the mother and son soon after their reunion -- while it was still fresh and emotionally charged. On this Saltcast, I talk about what Erin did to make this piece work and we'll listen to the story "Fifty-Four Years." Cheers, Rob r PS - How good are your ears? Typically, I record my narration for Saltcast at a radio station or in my home studio. This time, I recorded in a clothes closet. Really. In fact, lots of radio producers record narration in closets. Double really. It's cheap insulation that helps the recording sound dead, not reverberant. I borrowed some gear -- a Marantz PMD 620 and a Beyer Dynamic MCE-58 -- brought a chair into a closet, closed the door, and recorded. Recording gear and a closet. Poof. Instant studio. r | 11 8 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Why Is It So Hard To Read Aloud? | "When this modern monster talks through the loudspeaker installed in its chest, its lips move in time with its speech." p I talk every single day and I sound natural when I do. So, why, when I read narration, does "natural Rob" disappear? Makes no sense, right? I should be able to just open my mouth, speak, and sound like I always do -- a coherent, engaged version of myself, but me. Instead, I have to work really hard to sound something close to natural when I read aloud. On this Saltcast, it's all about narration. I offer a few tips for improving narration and we listen to two pieces. The first is the opening scene to "Malaga Island: A Story Best Left Untold." The second is "Blind Dog" by Scott Carrier. Oh, and post your narration tips! Reading narration seems like one of the hardest things to do. The more recommendations the better. Really. Ciao for now. Rob PS - For more info about the "Radio Man" robot, click here. p | 27 7 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Look Me In The Eye | Bill Buffard races across the court in a game of quadriplegic rugby. Photo by Judy Beedle. f I really, really like non-narrated radio stories -- pieces that don't have a reporter telling the story. Without a narrator, it's like the characters are talking directly to the listener. Unfortunately, you don't hear many non-narrated stories on the radio and there's a reason for that. They are insanely hard to produce. Generally speaking, it's a whole lot easier to produce a story with a narrator. They are the guide that holds the story together. Take away the narrator and you've got a lot of holes to fill. On this Saltcast, producer and former Salt student Sarah Reynolds offers up a few interviewing tips to help with the production of non-narrated stories. We'll also take a listen to her story "Look Me In The Eye" about Bill Buffard, a quadriplegic rugby player. Hope you dig it. Rob p | 14 7 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Rolling Diamonds | How do they do it? The Rolling Diamonds. Photo by Stephanie Ewens. p The first rule of radio production? Wear headphones. The second rule? Be in control of your record levels. Yeah. Okay. That's all well and good. But, what if, in order to get the best sound, you have to hand your gear over to a circus act who's roller skating ten feet off the ground on a six-foot wide platform swinging his wife around in all kinds of crazy ways? You can't wear headphones. You can't adjust your record levels once the recording starts. What do you do? Producer Paula Mauro has the answer. And, we feature her piece The Rolling Diamonds. Give it a spin. Cheers, Rob p | 29 6 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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No Praise, No Blame, Just So | In 1996, two nuns were murdered in a convent in Maine by a mentally ill man who stopped taking his medication. The murders were brutal and senseless. Twelve years later, Salt Radio student Jessica Alpert wanted to talk -- in-depth -- with the surviving nuns about the incident, faith, and forgiveness. But how do you do that? How do you say to someone "I'd like to interview you about a traumatic, horrendous event from your past"? On this Saltcast, Jessica offers a few great suggestions for approaching people who've experienced trauma and we listen to her story "No Praise, No Blame, Just So." By the way, Jessica's piece was a finalist in the 2009 awards competition sponsored by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Cheers, Rob r | 16 6 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Mei Mei, A Daughter’s Song | Dmae Roberts and her mom during their trip to Taiwan in 1989. p O, how public radio has changed in the last twenty years. With the exception of WNYC's Radio Lab and specials from Hearing Voices, there is very little on public radio that tickles the ears. It wasn't always that way. Up until about the 1990's, public radio took chances. Stations experimented and aired risky and unusual work right along with the tried and true. But, today, much of the programming, aurally speaking, is pretty drab and staid. In fact, I'd say there's a good chance very few public stations would play the piece featured on this Saltcast because of its non-traditional and artistic approach to production and storytelling -- even though it was lauded when it first hit the air twenty years ago. Independent producer Dmae Roberts produced "Mei Mei, A Daughter's Song" in 1989. It was cutting edge then and it is, unfortunately, cutting edge now. O, to encounter more stories told like Mei Mei on the radio. I hope you'll raise a glass with me to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mei Mei. And, after you listen to this Saltcast, check out Dmae's other great work at dmaeroberts.com. Happy listening , Rob p | 2 6 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Tending the Barter’s Island Bridge | Duane Lewis (foreground) and his twin brother Dwight operate Barter's Island Bridge, Boothbay, Maine. Photo by Rebecca Stewart. p Every once in a while, I wonder if we give Salt students too much time to produce their pieces. They get weeks to find, report, and produce a story. In contrast, I think there's something to be said for learning to produce on a short deadline -- get the story, get the tape, get out. That's what happened to Amanda Davis. She got a late start on her second feature. Plus, the topic she chose had a very short opportunity to capture the essence of the story. In fact, it boiled down to about two minutes! Amanda produced "Tending the Barter's Island Bridge" in two weeks. That's close to the shortest production time of any Salt piece. Have a listen to the results. Cheers, Rob p | 18 5 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Dyana, Goddess of the Moose Hunt | Ingredients for a doozy of a radio story: 1. Take a seasoned and somewhat crusty moose hunter. 2. Add a wide-eyed first-time huntress. 3. Toss in a student radio reporter. 4. Stir vigorously with increasing heat on bumpy logging roads in the Maine woods for days and days. 5. Sprinkle with an occasional moose sighting. 6. Continue stirring and heating until over-cooked. Voila! A radio story!! Hope you enjoy this startling piece about a moose hunt gone sour -- "Dyana, Goddess of the Moose Hunt." Produced by Jamie Yuenger in the fall of 2008. Cheers, Rob r | 5 5 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Cody Appleseed | Allison Swaim gets sound. Pun intended. She understands it and she knows how to record it to tell a story. In the fall of 2008, Allison produced a piece about a guerrilla gardener --- a guy named Cody who illegally plants trees on an island off the coast of Maine. Allison had a knack for getting her mic in all the right places. She collected great sound of Cody canoeing, hiking, planting trees, and getting dirty. Then, she used the recordings to paint a vivid picture of his work. Producer Robert Krulwich once said "In radio, the listener is a co-author." What he means is that because there are no pictures, listeners are free to create their own images when they listen to the radio. One of the ways good radio stories paint pictures is with ambient sound and active tape. Ambient sound is the general, background sound of a place. Active tape is a recording of someone doing something. Put those two together creatively and radio becomes cinematic. See for yourself. Take a listen to Allison Swaim's "Cody Appleseed." Ciao, Rob p PS - A few days ago, Ira Glass said he thought sound can be over-emphasized in a radio piece -- it can become a fetish. He's much more interested in story. I'm not sure I fully agree. Sound at the expense of story -- that's a problem, for sure. And, sound isn't a substitute for story. ("Oh, I've got these cool sounds. They'd make a great story.") But great sound, recorded well, and cleverly integrated into a narrative plays to radio's strengths. Indeed, Ira once said "Radio is your most visual medium." Sound makes it so -- sometimes more so than talking heads and music. p | 20 4 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sleepover! | The girls not sleeping at the sleepover. Photo by Maureen Wellner I don't know about you, but I have no recollection of sleepovers. It's a lost period of time in my pre-teen life. Poof. Erased. Producers Hillary Frank and Jonathan Menjivar knock the rust off those memories with Sleepover! It was produced in 2006 for the now defunct Weekend America. And, it's totally a blast. On this Saltcast we talk with Hillary and Jonathan about recording pre-teens, co-producing, and the hidden narrative of the sleepover. Let us know what you think. Okay? Like for reals. Alright? Best, Rob r | 7 4 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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What If? | Kevin and James Hatch in 2005. Photo by Kyle Glover, courtesy the Salt Archive. r Radio producer Joe Richman says when producing a radio story you "cast" for characters. It's like "trying" people out. You look for people who know the subject matter and who are "radiophonic" -- they sound good on the radio. Here's another thing to look for when "casting" your story: a character going through transition, someone who is progressing from one place to another. Could be an emotional place, a physical place -- something where the character evolves or is at a point of change. Salt radio student Katie Freddoso found all three of these character elements when she met teenage brothers Kevin and James Hatch in 2005. They knew the subject matter, the were animated and spoke well, and they were in transition -- Kevin and James were going deaf. Katie spent several weeks with the boys, documenting part of their journey from the hearing world to the non-hearing world. Take a listen. Cheers, Rob r | 23 3 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Silence Among Friends | Silence is radio's worst enemy. Or so the thinking goes. In fact, some commercials stations have alarms that sound when the station goes silent for more than a few seconds. So, imagine my surprise when Joni Murphy said she wanted to produce a radio story about silence at Quaker meeting. At first I thought she was kidding. Then I thought about the practical implications. "If a radio piece has a lot of silence, listeners will think their radios are broken or they lost the station or something." Then I thought some more and I decided Joni's idea was genius. Take a listen. Don't you be silent. Post your thoughts! Cheers, Rob PS - Oh, and y'all should know about John Cage, a composer who's famous (and infamous) for his explorations of sound and silence. Here are links to a performance of 4' 33" and a story about Cage's momentous encounter with absolute silence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4′33″ r | 9 3 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Angel Warrior On His Way to the Top | The Angel Warrior and his chariot. Photo by Maisie Crow, courtesy the Salt Archive. r "The Angel Warrior on His Way to the Top" has one of my favorite opening moments in a Salt piece. I especially like ".... thank you and Amen. Vroooooom....." Makes me smile every time. Take a listen. You'll see what I mean. But, we're featuring this piece on the Saltcast for reasons other than the opening. We talk a little bit about finding a story and recording ambiance. But, we also tackle a tricky editorial question: If you learn something about a character in a story that is unflattering, do you put it in your story? Even if it's so loaded it may throw off the balance of the story?? Not sure there's a uniform answer, but take a listen to hear how producer Brooke Shuman solved the quandary.... then post your thoughts. All hail Marconi. Rob | 23 2 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Studs, Natasha, and the Power of Sound | Studs Terkel waxing about "vox humana" in Storycorps' mobile recording booth. r At the start of the semester at Salt, we start big, really big. After listening to a few radio pieces and introducing ourselves, we talk about sound. The power of sound. The conversation ranges from the practical to the spiritual. It's poetic.. Here are a few thoughts I have on the power of sound. Studs Terkel offers his take on the human voice. And, Salt radio grad Natasha Haverty talks about sound at death. We hope you'll chime in, too. Cheers, Rob r | 10 2 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Sound of Democracy | Banging out a tune on the Portland Public Library piano. Photo by Cecelia Duchano courtesy the Salt Archive. r For her interview on this Saltcast, Elizabeth Chur holed up in her closet. That's pretty common actually. Independent producers without access to a studio frequently record themselves in a closet because it's the quietest and most insulated place in the house. In this case, recording in a closet is a bit ironic, too. Elizabeth spent several weeks of her Salt semester recording people playing the piano in a room the not a lot bigger than a closet at the Portland Public Library. Elizabeth hunkered down outside the piano room, waiting for hours and hours -- sometimes days -- for people to show up and make music. Her patience was well rewarded. Here's Elizabeth's piece, "The Sound of Democracy," along with the backstory to her creative field work and production techniques. Also, follow this link to a piece Eliabeth produced for Transom.org. Cheers, Rob r | 26 1 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Come Soul, I Have Need of Thee | Folk singer Kendall Morse woos his partner, Jacqui. Photo by Jen Leahy, courtesy the Salt Archive. p "... To most journalists honored with the job of remembering the stories of the tribe, (the) momentous events of everyday life are virtually invisible. To most American journalists, such events are akin to the dark and unknown matter believed to make up 90% of the universe: We keep reporting the movement of the planets when the big news is the unseen matter in which they spin. At best, most journalists are oblivious to reporting the incredible human beauty and subtlety that surround them. At worst, they militantly oppose reporting what they are untrained to discern and describe. But, either way, readers are being denied a look at much of the world they inhabit. In the language of the craft, we're missing the story." p Washington Post feature writer Walt Harrington wrote that passage in his 1997 book Intimate Journalism: The Art and Craft of Reporting Everyday Life. Harrington eloquently captures much of Salt's approach to journalism and storytelling. And, for this Saltcast, we present a new radio feature that I believe exemplifies intimate journlism for radio. It was produced by Jud Esty-Kendall in the fall of 2008 and it's called "Come Soul, I Have Need of Thee." (The story is about Maine folks singer and humorist Kendall Morse. I've posted a couple of Kendall's songs below because they are hard to come by.) Ciao, Rob r Kendall Morse - "Satisfied Mind" Kendall Morse - "Rolling Home" r | 12 1 09 | Free | View In iTunes |
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I’m Relatively Human | Marty Hagland, a transgendered woman, says it was a long time before her neighbors accepted her. "It took them a good three years to finally realize that I don't bite. At least not very hard. And, if you stick a pin in me I bleed. I'm relatively human." (Photo by Selena Simmons-Duffin) "r Hot off the presses. "I'm Relatively Human" was produced just this fall (2008) by Selena Simmons-Duffin. I chose to feature this piece because it's good. I guess that goes without say. But, also because Selena did a solid job writing scenically. Scenic writing is visual. It's active. And, it takes listeners on a journey. It's also a great way to organize a radio piece. In fact, you can think of scenes as chapters. Scenes are sections of radio stories with several elements: action, ambiance, a main character or characters, setting, and an over-arching idea to communicate. Top of the line scenic writing organizes scenes so the scenes themselves have a beginning, middle, and end. They may even have their own narrative arc. The king of scenic radio storytelling is Joe Richman of Radio Diaries. His scenes typically have all of the elements above. We push scenic writing for radio pretty hard at Salt. It makes for better radio. And, I think it's one of the many production elements that make Salt pieces so distinctive among student work -- and even professional work. Take a listen now to "I'm Relatively Human", Selena's first radio feature, and keep an ear out for the scenes. Ciao, Rob r | 28 12 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sound. Story. Church. | Salt's Radio Church during the Fall 2008 opening, "Meet Me Anywhere." r Here's a beautiful thing: a Radio Church full of listeners. No twitters. No Facebook. No emails. No blogs. No cell phones. Just sound. The human voice. The natural and built environment. Mainers living their lives. The sound of story. Sound. Story. Church. The culmination of a fifteen-week semester at Salt is an opening. After all the uphill climbs, dangling on ropes, and tears (yes, tears), Salt's photo, writing, and radio students present their work at a public opening. Photos are displayed in a gallery; writers publish essays and read excerpts aloud; and Team Radio presents their features in iTunes on classroom computers and at Radio Church. This semester's opening was titled "Meet Me Anywhere." Radio Church is a dimly lit room with a couple dozen or more chairs and space for hardcore listeners to stand at the edges. Up front is "Bertha," a 1930s radio that doesn't work but she sure ads ambiance. There's also a nice set of monitor speakers to "broadcast" student productions. Church gets hot and stuffy pretty quickly. That's a good thing. It means a room full of ears! Radio students introduce each others work and play fourteen features produced during the semester -- one story per student. Below are a few pictures from the opening and a cool sound clip from graduation day. The world is now a better place because of fourteen new radio producers with big ears, big ideas, and big hearts. Make good radio gang. Rob r A snap from the first day of class, September 2, 2008. Standing left to right: Suzi Piker, Allison Swaim, Ari Zeiger, Selena Simmons-Duffin, Jamie Yuenger, Lydia Crafts, Eloise Meltzer, Josie Holtzman, and Sarah Jessee. Kneeling: Emily Eagle, Jud Esty-Kendall, Natasha Haverty, Whitney Eulich, and Craig Jarvie. r "Bertha" in all her glory. r The line to get into Radio Church. r Natasha Haverty (c) rips a joke (as usual), Allison Swaim (r) is a bit embarrassed, Emily Eagle laughs herself out of the frame. r Left to right: Mandy Morrish, Salt's Outreach Coordinator, Liz Donovan, Salt Radio grad, and Patty Wight, radio instructor. r Kate Philbrick (r), Salt photo instructor, reminds me it's illegal for me to take pictures in the state of Maine because I'm such a lousy shot. Colin Woodard, Salt writing instructor, remains silent on the issue. r GPS coordinates for gallery visitors. R r Selena Simmons-Duffin lookin' a bit too happy. R A catty Suzi Piker. A full gallery. R And this just looks cool. r In addition to the gallery opening, Salt ends the semester with a graduation ceremony. Staff and faculty give speeches. Students receive certificates. There are a lot of hugs and crying. But, the most endearing moment is when the students speak. Here's a clip from the radio students graduation presentation. R r | 28 12 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Listening to the Northern Lights | United States Air Force photo of Northern Lights at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska by Senior Airman Joshua Strang. P What's it take to produce a radio piece that doesn't have conflict, tension, or some universal we all can relate to? Well, some of the storytelling components that help make up for those missing elements are great sound, an interesting character, a good talker, and an unusual location. Barrett Golding's "Listening to the Northern Lights" has all of these elements and that's what makes the piece work -- that and Barrett's excellent production values. Whisk yourself away for a few minutes and listen to the Northern Lights. Cheers, Rob PS - Check out Barrett's other work at HearingVoices.com. For other stories about nature, try the Nature Stories Podcast. And, one of my favorite environmental recording artists is Bernie Krause. He's produced several CDs of "biophonies" -- biological symphonies -- and written some books on environmental field recording. Plus, Bernie produced a cool CD of music composed entirely of sampled animal sounds. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention R. Murray Schafer and the World Soundscape Project. Okay, that's enough for now. P | 18 12 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Dogs, Cats, Parakeets, a Moleskin, and The Squirm Test | Sally Rollins and two of her thirty cats. Photo by Katie Stohlman, courtesy Salt's archive. If Annie Larmon had asked me if it was okay to record with a mic in her pocket, I would have said "No." Annie went to Salt in the spring of 2008. And, for a story on a woman who lived with nearly fifty animals, Annie wanted to record and write notes at the same time during one of her days in the field. To do both, she'd place the mic in her pocket so her hands were free. I'd say "no" because I believe a producer should be in control of their mic. I'd also be concerned about "pocket noise" -- the rubbing of the mic on fabric. Besides, can't you write notes after the recording session? But Annie didn't ask me (for starters, I wasn't her teacher that semester) and that was fortunate for her. :) She did it and got great tape and excellent notes. The observations Annie made in her Moleskin notebook made it into her feature and added a great deal of color to the story. The notes also helped Annie pass "The Squirm Test"* -- the moment when a character in your story hears the piece you produced and you.... well.... squirm because you hope to heck you got the story right. Listen now to Annie's piece "Brighten The Corner" and her Squirm Test. Ciao, Rob * I think Robert Krulwich of Radio Lab coined this term. | 30 11 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Truckstop Love Affair | Jackie takes and gives orders at Dysart's Truck Stop, Bangor, Maine. Photo by Molly Myers, courtesy the Salt Archive. At first, Sara Paul thought she'd do a story on bear hunting. But, hanging out in a tree for hours in the freezing cold with some dude she'd never met wasn't her idea of a good time. So, she bagged that story in favor of one about Dysart's Truck Stop. Sara went in. Hung out. Took it all in. Then, focused -- on Jackie, the waitress at the trucker's table. Sara had no idea that talking to the burly drivers at the table would be the easy part. When Jackie got "mic fright," Sara had to go with the tape she had -- the tape rules. Here's what Sara came up with back in the fall of 2002. Best, Rob R | 20 11 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Best New Producer 2008 | Photo of Marisa and Andrew by Erica Burkhart, courtesy the Salt Archive. Kudos to Erin Davis. Erin won the Best New Producer award at this year's Third Coast International Audio Festival. The piece, "Except Me" was produced at Salt and that's what we're featuring on today's Saltcast. Erin is the third student to win this award for a piece produced at Salt. "Hard to Say" by Bente Birkland won in 2004 and "Just Another Fish Story" by Molly Menschel took the prize in 2005. Check out all the winning pieces from this year's Third Coast competition here. Excelsior, Erin. Onward and upward! r | 5 11 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Dissecting “Dead Animal Man” | Photo of Ira Glass by Tom MurphyProbably my favorite piece to play in radio class at Salt to prompt discussion is "Dead Animal Man" by Ira Glass. It sets the bar high for feature production. On this Saltcast, we listen to "Dead Animal Man" the whole way through then play it again and dissect it. Get out your radio notebook, this piece is full of radio goodness. Rob p | 23 10 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Insomnia and the Meaning of Life | You can find stories just about anywhere. One good place is the newspaper. In particular, look at the end of a story. Because newspaper stories are typically written with the basic information in the first few paragraphs, the ends of newspaper stories tend to have the less reported material. That's where you can find some real gems and unique angle. But, that's a tried and true approach. An unusual way to find a story is with posters. Make a flyer, tack 'em up around town. See what happens. That's what Matt Swenson did. Matt was interested in insomniacs. To find a character for a story, he plastered Portland with flyers and in less than a day, he found Michael White. Take a listen, especially if you're up late and can't sleep. Cheers, Rob (Update) -- 10/24/08 -- Well, shiver me timbers. Matt's piece aired on Day to Day. Congrats to Matt. Thanks to Day to Day for giving air time to an out-of-the-ordinary piece. And a slap on the back, two thumbs up to Barrett Golding at Hearing Voices for making it happen. R | 3 10 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hafid Is Free | Radio is an excellent way to meet people. But, all too often, on public radio we tend to only meet newsworthy people. Little time is made for an "average" person with a unique story. That's unfortunate because that's most of us. There are exceptions on public radio -- Storycorps, Radio Rookies, Radio Diaries, This I Believe... But as a general rule, it's unusual to meet a person and hear a story that doesn't have a news hook. (In fact, I've heard through the grapevine that some program directors at public radio stations complain about Storycorps saying it doesn't fit neatly into Morning Edition because it's a news program and the characters in the Storycorps broadcasts aren't worth the air time.) So, for this podcast, we're featuring a Salt feature that's merely about an interesting person with a unique story, a guy named Hafid. Lee Fuoco produced this piece in the spring of 2004. Lee met Hafid quite by accident and decided to produce a piece to give him some air time -- simply because he's interesting. Isn't that enough? Have a listen and post your thoughts!! Best, Rob R | 25 9 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Just Handover the Mic | It's so elegant. Genius really. Hand a mic to someone and let them record. In general, the tape they collect will be intimate, honest, and revealing. They will take you places few journalists can go. And, its an opportunity for people to speak directly for themselves -- that's empowering. And that, in short, is the idea behind Radio Rookies. Radio Rookies is a project of WNYC in New York City. In short, they put mics in the hands and headphones on the ears of young people to document their lives. Obesity, immigration, violence, autism, racism... the Rookies tackle tough topics. In fact, the Rookies have produced some of the best radio documentaries in the last ten years. On this Saltcast, we listen to "Heroin," produced in 2001 by Janesse Nieves. This piece won the "Best New Producer" award at the Third Coast International Audio Festival. While we're at it, we should mention some of the other excellent radio documentaries where reporters handover the the mic. Ghetto Life 101 by Dave Isay. The Life Stories series by Jay Allison. And much of the work of Joe Richman and Radio Diaries. Check out a slew youth radio programs at the National Federation of Community Broadcaster's comprehensive Youth Program Directory. Another hot spot for youth produced radio is Generation PRX. Happy listening. Rob P | 8 9 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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O, To Be Invisible | Photo of Michael Luce by Annie Reichert, courtesy of the Salt Archive. P Megan Martin had her mic out and pointed at Micheal Luce. They were down in his cellar -- Meghan was recording, Micheal was building his dead mother's casket. This was maybe the fourth or fifth time Megan recorded Micheal pounding nails, sawing, sanding, measuring... Because she had been there so many times she thought Micheal had probably stopped noticing her -- that she had become invisible, just another object in a cluttered cellar. Micheal stopped work for a break. He pulled out a cigarette, turned to Meghan, and said "I wonder how much you’re changing this process of mine since you’re here recording and I’m totally aware of it all the time.” In the field, a documentarian is supposed to be a fly on the wall. You blend in so the people you are reporting on forget you are there. By blending in, the thinking goes, you are more likely to capture reality on tape. Well, with all that gear, with all those questions, with all that tape you gather following people around, how the heck are you supposed to become part of the woodwork? And if you don't become "invisible" then aren't you impacting the story and the way the people behave in front of your mic? If only we could be invisible. That's what Meghan wished for, a cloaking device -- especially after Michael completely blew her cover. "Bringing the Work Into You" by Meghan Martin is today's feature on the Saltcast. Take a listen to how the piece turned out. Then, post your thoughts to the blog! Best, Rob P | 27 8 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Learning From Bad Luck | Students have a tough time of it at Salt. Not everyone, of course. But, often, a student will hit a wall, sometimes two. Maybe because of Salt's "Outward Bound" or experiential approach to teaching documentary, students seem to hit more walls than at other types of educational settings. That's a good thing. In fact, it is set-up that way on purpose. The walls tend to be learning points. For Erin Mishkin, a radio student in the Fall of 2007, the walls came early -- false starts, bad turns, and just plain ol' lousy luck. But Erin says she learned quite a bit from that harsh beginning and it contributed to her later success with the piece "Surrounded by Lights." Take a listen then post your thoughts. Best, Rob P Check out Erin's PRX page. P | 11 8 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Hearing Blindness | Producing non-narrated radio stories is a real challenge. There's no narrator to synthesize, describe, and guide. Your tape has to carry the ball --- interview tape, active tape, ambiance. It's not easy. "I've Seen That" is one of the better non-narrated pieces to come out of Salt. Produced by Owen Agnew in the fall of 2004, "I've Seen That" is intimate, comprehensive, and clever. Yeah, there are a couple of blemishes and Owen talks a bit about them and what he would do differently now. But, heck, this was his first attempt at producing this kind of piece and it shines. Let us know what you think!! Post a comment and tell a friend. Cheers, Rob Check out Owen's other Salt piece "Dowser, Consultant to the Universe." P | 28 7 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Knockin’ the Rust Out | Listening just may be the most important skill for radio producers. Nah, scratch that. Listening IS the most important skill. From interviewing and field recording to mixing and editing and writing, you heavily rely on your ears (and your brain, of course.) So, if your ears get rusty, you've got a problem. Ya gotta keep those ear canals W I D E open. At Salt, we listen to student and professional work every class. Listening builds critical media literacy skills. It creates an "audio lexicon" to call upon when students produce and critique their own work. And, listening gets the rust out. A rust-free ear means better interviews, better field recording, better production -- simply better radio. For this SaltCast, we check out the piece we listen to first in radio class: "Tony Schwartz: 30,000 Recordings Later" by the Kitchen Sisters. It's Rust-o-leum for the ears. Happy listening, Rob P Check out the Kitchen Sisters: http://www.kitchensisters.org/ P http://www.prx.org/group/kitchensisters/ P P Plus: http://www.tonyschwartz.org/ P | 14 7 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Sea Cucumbers, Blood Worms, and Russian Mail Order Brides | Sea cucumber processor in Milbridge, Maine. Photo by Holly Wilmeth, courtesy the Salt Archive. P Moral - The path to a story is not always straight. Sometimes it's circular. Zach Barr studied radio at Salt in the spring of 2003. He was a story telling machine. He couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a story. On this Saltcast, we listen to his piece about the sea cucumber industry in Maine -- "Smells Like Money to Me" . But, on this SaltCast you get two for the price of one. Zach and I recall the story about the Russian Mail Order Bride and bloodworms. Really. As always, please post a comment to the blog. Yours in radio, Rob | 30 6 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Putting Words in the Mouth | Joe Marchelletta works a spinning frame in Etna, Maine. Photo by Lars Howlett, courtesy of the Salt Archive.P Radio producers face ethical questions every day. Indeed, when cutting tape, we face ethical questions each time we highlight and delete -- every few seconds. When we remove words, flip sentences, delete a pause, etc., we make ethical choices involving the altering of "truth" (whatever that is). So, what are the ethical considerations when we write words for narration, the addition of words? And, taking it a step further, what if we write the words for a character in a story to read/narrate? Are any ethical boundaries crossed? Take a listen to "Family Yarn" and see what you think. Then chime in on the blog. Cheers, Rob R | 13 6 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Getting In | Photo of Bill Picard in his van by Emilie Kapp, courtesy the Salt Archive. P Welcome to the first Saltcast! Glad you could stop by and take a listen. Saltcast is a production of PRX and The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies -- Salt for short -- in Portland, Maine. We want to start the podcast with a bang and Matt Largey's piece "Five Things" fits the bill. Matt was a student at Salt in the fall of 2004 and he "got in" -- the goal of all documentary producers. Matt got close to the characters in his piece and was able to produce a very intimate portrait. We'll leave the rest of the details for you in the podcast. Take a listen. Let us know what you think. Then look for more podcasts. Bye for now, Rob Rosenthal, Director of the Radio Program at Salt P | 27 5 08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 84 Episodes |
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