A Jew Grows in Rockland

September 21st, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Rabbi Amita Jarmon lights a menorah. Photo by Hannah Fox.

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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.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 14:13 — 26.1MB)

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Swing Free

September 7th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Dining at the swingers party. Photo by Jessica Sheldon.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:46 — 21.6MB)

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Waiting for Jarod

August 24th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Waiting for Jarod

Breakfast with Margery Richard and her “flat son” Jarod. Photo by Kristin Wright courtesy the Salt Archive.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:03 — 23.9MB)

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Fifty-Four Years

August 11th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 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

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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.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:44 — 17.5MB)

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Why Is It So Hard To Read Aloud?

July 27th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

“When this modern monster talks through the loudspeaker installed in its chest, its lips move in time with its speech.”

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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.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 13:41 — 18.8MB)

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Look Me In The Eye

July 14th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Bill Buffard races across the court in a game of quadriplegic rugby.        Photo by Judy Beedle.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:50 — 17.6MB)

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The Rolling Diamonds

June 29th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Rolling Diamonds

How do they do it? The Rolling Diamonds. Photo by Stephanie Ewens.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:40 — 14.7MB)

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No Praise, No Blame, Just So

June 16th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:51 — 16.3MB)

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Mei Mei, A Daughter’s Song

June 2nd, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Mei Mei, A Daughter’s Song

Dmae Roberts and her mom during their trip to Taiwan in 1989.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 30:39 — 56.1MB)

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Tending the Barter’s Island Bridge

May 18th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 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.

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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

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:46 — 19.8MB)

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