Radio for Non-Broadcast Majors

Out of these clips I have selected, Garrison Keillor’s Almanac is my favorite. I stop whatever I am doing when I hear Keillor’s voice on the air. To me, he is the master of the radio medium. His voice captures you and the storytelling is second to none.

I keep my eye out for stories affecting my beat-the Bronx, political stories, world affairs-Putin Project and original source reports.

OIG Report Patriot Act Violations

Bush Tap Dances 

Bronx Teen Pregnancy Soars 

The Putin Project 

 Non-Profit Mudslingers

The Writer’s Almanac-G. Keillor 

Machinery of Hope-Obama Rolling Stone

Remember when we talked about natural sound, a pop cut and a cut?

Those are your markers, the landmarks that stake out the route of your story. Which cuts you choose, how you arrange them will dramatically affect your story.

Scrutinize each cut and ask yourself: what is this person saying? Why are they saying this?

Take a look at some scripts, you can access them through nexis, get the scripts for the radio stories you selected for your clip file and see how the writing and the tape WORK TOGETHER. You need to hear them as a unit. But also remember that the tape should help advance the story it’s not just there was “filler” to give people a break from the sound of your voice.

For example: Josh’s story about the transitional housing for veterans. The piece begins with an elderly man moving through the halls.
I WANT TO HEAR THAT SOUND!

Then he says: this vet will soon have company..someone will be moving in.

Okay, now what. What do we hear? The new arrival? The old man saying something like: they come and they go this is the tough time for them..you can tell..

The tape is part of your story structure, as you assemble your cuts you need to constantly ask yourself why do I need this cut, what does it do for the story.

And don’t forget the power of NAT sound.
One team from last week’s assignment recorded the sound of someone calling out their Lottery Numbers

That great nat sound can go nicely into the first line.

Or take a listen to Bride for another idea of how to use sound to work for you.

It can also transition you back.

FOR EXAMPLE:
Nat sound of number calling.

You say something like: same numbers every day… for five years..francesca alesci has played the same numbers…the day her husband died..

WHICH NATURALLY LEADS TO: WHY? WHY DID HE DIE? HOW DID HE DIE?

So then we hear a little from her.

And then we’re in the story…and let’s say, it’s a story about the numbers people play..and you have interviewed some “expert” or numerologist…and it’s time to wrap up the piece.

HERE’S WHERE NAT SOUND CAN HELP YOU…you hear the sound…

Alesci is back at the deli..same numbers..same hope…etc etc.

At some point during your interviews a strange feeling may gurgle up in your chest. You may feel the aching desire to shut off the recorder and run home because—you have

THE TAPE

The tape to end all tapes, this is it.

Please, please, resist that urge. Respectfully note it; silently thank the news gods for blessing your effort, but keep on.

As you’re listening to your interview begin to visualize the scene, how will you write it, what details strike you. As you listen, that gurgle mentioned above might indicate your beginning or the end of the piece.

Note that, it keeps you in the present and the deadline pressure, sterility of the classroom, my wild expression may cause you to overlook the tape or rush through it. Take time between each scene to reflect and ask yourself:

What do I know now?
What did I just get from that interview?
What did they say?

For instance, Loren’s piece on food in the South Bronx: Let’s say she bops around from the food pantry and heads over to the farmers market and makes a stop at the Mcdonalds. Let’s just say. By stop two you can be asking yourself, why am I getting all of this tape? What am I doing?!

Multiple characters and interviews and scenes are best served by pausing between each to reflect on what you have, what questions were raised and then….CHASE AFTER IT!.

In Loren’s case: she very well may stay at the pantry and center her story there but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t stop by the farmer’s market, it’s there, it’s a relevant scene, check it out. Follow your nose.

Before you head out: write a ½ page note to yourself summarizing all the information you have on hand:

Again taking Loren as an example, this might look something like:

Percent of local population with diabetes
Percent of new york city population with diabetes
Percent of locals who rely largely on food pantries
Where does food pantry food come from?
Etc

Try and jot down everything you KNOW, as in facts, as in NOT assumptions. The act of doing this saves LOADS OF TIME LATER.

In short folks, writing, whether it be for scripts or print stories, is not the last stop. You are constantly writing, taking notes, jotting down ideas, thoughts for ledes etc. The worst thing you can do to yourself is sit down in front of a blank screen and “begin.”

THE KEY TO A GOOD FIGHTER (PIECE).
I actually got this from my tae kwon do instructor, but as is often the case the lessons apply broadly.

TECHNIQUE…tips,tricks and the formula of reporting
FORCE, STRENGTH OF THE STORY.
ENERGY. THAT’S ALL YOU.
AND
THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION.

PLEASE KEEP THIS LAST ELEMENT IN MIND. ONCE YOU HEAD OUT ON YOUR INTERVIEWS YOU MUST BE FULLY COMMITTED TO THE STORY. BELIEVE IN IT. YES, IT MAY CHANGE, SLIGHTLY. YES, IT FEEL LIKE IT’S NOTHING YOU EXPECTED. BUT THEN AGAIN, PRESUMABLY YOU SPOKE WITH SOMEONE BEFORE HEADING OUT.

IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN WHAT YOUR AFTER YOUR PIECE WILL TURN OUT SPLENDIDLY.

Second:

The reporting you have undertaken to prepare for the interviews is already embedding in your mind. You have the context, you have the data, the positions, but now you’re getting the story. Don’t feel compelled to “force” it. “Chase” the story but follow it as well.

Third: Keep asking yourself, “what do I know” and write down your answers. This will help you avoid becoming overwhelmed with tape and information and data.

Fourth, begin to “hear the story” as you’re out reporting. Do you hear the hot tape? Can you identify a gripping first scene, what’s the end? Jotting down your answers will help you select your cuts later and structure your piece.

Fourth: preparation, preparation. I can not emphasize this enough. Clip search, web search etc. Without preparation, what seemed like a great story in the field may completely collapse when faced with the facts back in the newsroom.

After hearing our assignment for this week, I went back to see what I could clips from my interview I could insert into my script. My story was about a heated community board meeting about an MTA-proposed subway entrance in the middle of a residential block on East 72nd Street. Neighbors were outraged and in typical Upper East Side CB fashion, everyone was obstinate and ornery.

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In a This American Life, Malcolm Gladwell describes his first journalist job at the Washington Post including printing the wrong earnings statement and changing the stock price by 10 points.
Audio Clip

I was working at my kitchen table this morning, trying to ignore the increasingly loud sound of helicopters overhead, when I realized something was happening right on my block. After an “aw sh(oo)t” moment and consideration of the temperature, I knew I had to grab my notebook and find out why 6 police trucks had just parked on my street.

[aside about being prepared: this is not when you want to find out your battery charger doesn't work. I had to rely on print for this story. No audio.]

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Ingredients to an aural experience:
Interactive
Immediate
Intimate

But what does that mean? What must you consider? And what are some good examples?

We have heard:
Vox/pop
Q&A
on-the-scene reports.
What are the advantages and qualities of each class of report?

Radio and Music—What do you hear? What does a song have that you, the producer/reporter, must include in your sound-rich piece? What are the elements to a good audio experience?