Setting the scene

The "scene" in a broadcast report is an elusive thing, I've found. No matter how I try to describe it, it seems to be misunderstood. Perhaps what we can do is look at a scene for what it's NOT...

1. Random sound: A scene isn't the disconnected sound of the ocean, birds, a screaming car or an angry mob, just for the sake of hearing something. It's got to be described...to matter.

2. Anything outside an interview setting: While walking and talking in the great outdoors can actually be a scene, it's got to have purpose...why are we talking to this person there? What are they describing? If we take someone out of a studio and office and have them walk down the sidewalk for no reason, it will sound chaotic, disjointed...

Instead, here's what a scene IS...

1. A chance to hear something about a story that words alone can't convey. The sound of a bulldozer knocking down a building takes you there, in the way someone telling you a story about a bulldozer knocking down a building never could.

2. A chance to break up the narrative flow. If all we ever heard was: Reporter talks/Soundbite/Reporter/Soundbite/etc....it would get pretty boring. A scene lets you go elsewhere in the story...and really separates what we do from print reporting.

3. A chance to SHOW and not TELL. A scene should be constructed to create a visual image that shows you something about a person's life or character...about a situation or controversy.

Here are a few examples of scenes in radio stories. The first one's light...a story I did for NPR about a new rule in Connecticut high school football. This next story has at least one disturbing scene...Nancy Cohen reports on a broken sewage system.

Public Radio News Directors Statement of Ethics

It's always good to have a philosophical, or ethical underpinning for the work you do. It helps to keep you grounded, and asking the right questions. That's why I share with you the "Statement of Ethics" from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the news organization I'm most closely aligned with. Everything here applies not just to this class...or to radio reporting specifically...but to journalism in general. You can find our more about PRNDI by clicking here.

STATEMENT OF ETHICS
Public Radio News Directors Inc. is committed to the highest standards of journalistic ethics and excellence. We must stand apart from pressures of politics and commerce as we inform and engage our listeners. We seek truth, and report with fairness and integrity.
Independence and integrity are the foundations of our service, which we maintain through these principles:
TRUTH
Journalism is the rigorous pursuit of truth. Its practice requires fairness, accuracy, and balance
We strive to be comprehensive. We seek diverse points of view and voices to tell the stories of our communities.
FAIRNESS
Fairness is at the core of all good journalism.
We gather and report the news in context, with clarity and compassion.
We treat our sources and the public with decency and respect.
Our reporting is thorough, timely and avoids speculation.
INTEGRITY
The public's faith in our service rests on our integrity as journalists.
Editorial independence is required to ensure the integrity of our work.
We identify the differences between reporting and opinion.
We guard against conflicts of interest - real and perceived - that could compromise the credibility and independence of our reporting.
We are accountable when conflicts occur. We disclose any unavoidable conflicts of interest.

Thompson makes illegal immigration issue once again

For those of you following illegal immigration as your "issue" story, some interesting news just out from one of the leading Republican candidates, actor Fred Thompson. I guess somebody DOES want to make this an issue...

As so often happens, one candidate decides to make a campaign statement, and now others need to keep up. Rudy Guliani's campaign was ready for Thompson's immigration plan ahead of time.

By the way, this David Greene piece on NPR gives a good example of political issue reporting.

Some interesting "issues" stories from Sunday papers...

...especially for those of you writing about religion or values issues.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on how so-called "values" voters are approaching the 2008 election. Meanwhile, in the Washington Post, Rudy tells conservatives they have "nothing to fear" from him. The New York Times take on the "straw poll" of conservatives is that it raises more questions than it gives answers.

McLean Interview

Have a listen to Quinnipiac Poli-Sci professor Scott McLean talking about issues in the 2008 Presidential Election.

First part of writing...the "vision"

Story "visioning" is an idea I heard about from a fantastic radio reporter named Melanie Peeples. In her training seminars she talks about this idea, which is really a more complex version of a story outline. Before we get into her visioning idea, let's listen to a recent political story she did for NPR, called Republican Leads Race for Louisiana Governor.

Here's the story visioning worksheet that Melanie has so generously allowed me to borrow from:

Questions for Story Visioning...before you start

1. What is this story about?
2. Who stands to win/lose in this story? Who are the stakeholders?
3. What is my focus statement? (A short description, no longer than a few lines)
4. Who do I need to interview: Side 1, Side 2, Real Person, Expert, etc.?
5. What is this story REALLY about? What's underneath it all?
6. Where should I interview the subjects? What does the place look like, how can I describe it?
7. What questions should I ask?
8. What more do I need to learn before I start working on this story?

Now, for our political reporting project, we've already jumped over some of these hurdles...we've given you some of the questions, we've picked some of the stakeholders...but the same ideas apply. These are good questions to be asking as you jump into any reporting project.

Listening, and getting ready to write...

Writing for broadcast is really a two part process...what you write, and then how effectively you edit your own work. You should be a very critical editor at all times in the process, from when you first formulate a theme for your story, to just before you hand it over to another editor to get his or her take. So, it's a good idea to have a vision for your story...we'll go over that in a bit.

Before we get too deep into the idea of "story visioning" - it's important to know what to listen for in your own work, and in the works of others. You have a chance to model your work after a story you admire, and use some of the same techniques a favorite reporter uses. So, how to listen?

Here's a very handy guide to listening...it's called:

Questions for Listening

Courtesy Andrea DeLeon, National Public Radio

What is the specific focus of the piece...what's it about?

Did the piece make us care?

Are the stakeholders all here? Are their points balanced?

Is there too much information? Not enough?

Is the piece written for the ear...you know, to be listened to, not read?

Are there scenes in this piece? Visuals? Can you see what's going on?

How could more sound and more scenes improve this story?

Could it be made simpler?

Is the structure of this story the best it can be?

Ask yourself these questions as you listen to stories being told, and you'll be teaching yourself to think like an editor.

Talking about the issues....

At this early point in the 2008 presidential campaign, South Carolina's African-American voters get special attention from the Democratic presidential contenders. Churches, hair salons and barber shops are sure venues to stump for votes. NPR's Audie Cornish has this report.

President Bush’s popularity is still low in New Hampshire. According to the latest poll from the UNH Survey Center, only 29 percent of NH adults says they approve of the job the President is doing. How those numbers will translate into support for Republicans in the upcoming election is unclear. But a recent Wall Street Journal poll shows GOP backing within the business
community is eroding. And as New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman reports, many Republican business people in the Granite State are not happy with their choices.

Doug Schwartz Interview

Here is the interview that our "Writing for the Ear" graduate journalism class conducted with Quinnipiac Poll Director Doug Schwartz. So...

• What themes does he discuss that could make a good "issue" story about the 2008 Election.
• What "sound bites" or "actualities" does he give us that could help illustrate an expert point of view?

Latest news on 2008 polls

Today's Hartford Courant has an article by David Lightman about Hillary Clinton's strength in the Northeast.

The Washington Post's Election Blog has info about the role of women voters in the 2008 election. It coincides with the latest Post-ABC poll that shows strong support for Clinton. Their GOP shows a much less clear picture, with Rudolph Guiliani in the lead.

Getting Political: The assignment

Okay, the "Writing for the Ear" class has done a great job writing short newscasts. I know...not very creative. Using someone else's words (in wire copy) to fashion a newscast gives us only a small sense of what broadcast writing is all about. Now, we've started to take our reporting outside the newsroom to find our own stories...focusing on the very important 2008 Presidential election.

We've done a series of interviews with people we've met on the street, and some "officials" about the issues that are most important to them. Now, we'll start to craft this information into longer, "feature" radio stories.

First things first: You've transcribed all of these interviews. Please post them as comments on this blog. That way, everyone can see everyone else's interviews. We'll share the info we've collected, and pick out soundbites that will best help us tell our story. So, what is our story, you may ask?


For a good example listen to the stories by NPR's Linda Wertheimer in the previous post. Her reporting uses some of the same voices we will:

1. The voice of a "real person" - meant to illustrate a trend or idea

2. The voice of a "stakeholder" - an official person whose work affects us all
3. The voice of an "expert" - meant to uncover truths, point to trends, debunk myths

The basic outline of the story will let us identify an idea: "Many people are talking about the 2008 election, but they aren't talking about the issues."

We'll get to solve a problem: "So, we wanted to find out what issues are important to people."

We'll ask for expert verification: "Political scientist X says that national polls are clear. ____ is on the minds of most voters."

We'll get real people to address this basic premise: "I agree that ___ is the big issue." Or, "What really matters to me and my family is ___."

The stakeholder might have a different take, based on her profession: "As a schoolteacher, I really thing the next President needs to address ________." You get the idea...

So, here's the assignment for next class (October 9):

1. Listen to the Wertheimer pieces.

2. Please make sure you post your transcribed interviews, along with the person's name, town and occupation (if important) as comments on this blog entry. Please post these soon, so that we can all have a chance to peruse the interviews for trends, ideas...and great soundbites. During our next class, we'll go over these, and start to come up with ideas.

3. We'll also have a special guest. Doug Schwartz of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute. He's an expert on political polling, and has a better idea of what voters are thinking than most voters. Given your previous interviews, and the transcriptions of others interviews, and the regular newspaper reading that you're doing, it will be easy to come up with some questions for Mr. Schwartz. Please prepare at least two questions pertaining to the 2008 elections. Try to focus your questions on the issues, not the "race." Example: "Do most Americans consider immigration to be a major issue in this upcoming election?" We'll record our interview with Doug, and use it in our story. Next week, another expert will join us, political scientist, Scott McLean.

Some sample political reporting...

NPR's Linda Wertheimer is one of the network's longest-serving reporters. In her latest role there, she spends a lot of time covering politics much in the way we are right now. She does pieces where she mixes analysis by experts with the voices of everyday people, talking about their concerns. Here are three stories to listen to that might give you ideas about how to format a similar radio feature.

1. Iowa's Republicans have factions, like everywhere else. Right now, what unites them is a deep foreboding about their party's chances in Iowa in 2008. But there are different kinds of Iowa Republicans. One thing they differ on is how to proceed in Iraq. A new Pew Research poll for shows 53 percent of Americans want the U.S. to start bringing its troops home now. That has cast a pall over the GOP in other states that vote early in 2008.

2. Sen. Hillary Clinton is the first woman frontrunner for president in either party. But right behind her looms Sen. Barack Obama, the most competitive black candidate for president ever. What conflicts might this pose for black women in Democratic primaries?

3. Groups of Democrats gathered last night to watch candidates for their party's presidential nomination debate in Manchester, N.H.

2008 Polls in 2007...how sure are we?

Here's a sample story that we're going to write into our "Writing for the Ear" newscast. It'll be the last story in a newscast that's full of Washington-based political and government news. We're going to include two soundbites that you gathered during the week, one to prove...and one to disprove this basic idea: Most voters have already made up their minds about who they'll vote for in the next Presidential election. Here's the basic print story you can use to write around:

Recent national polls pitting Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton against Republican leader Rudolph Guiliani have Clinton leading by between 2 and 7 points. When asked to choose between those two, only 3 to 5 percent pick another candidate, and less than 10 percent say they are unsure.

So, given that story - let's insert some soundbites from our interview subjects. Say who they are, and where they're from, and whether they've made up their minds. Say who they're voting for...or, if their unsure.

A few things about writing soundbites into a story: Let the tape say the interesting stuff, you can handle the rest. Get people saying something emotional, or controversial, or exciting. Don't use an a piece of tape to just roll off a series of numbers, or boring facts. And, don't let the tape say the same thing you're saying in your copy. Some examples....good:

John Doe from Hamden is a lifelong Republican, but he said he made up his mind weeks ago

Doe: "I'm voting for Hillary. I'm just sick of the war, and Bush, and I think she's the best one to get us out."

Here's a bad example:

John Doe from Hamden says he knows who he's voting for - Hillary Clinton.

Doe: "I'm voting for Hillary."

You see the difference. The first example uses tape to help tell the story...the second example just sticks it in to no effect. Oh, and that format works pretty well. Identify your soundbite, then write it out in quotes.

Newscasts...and the common errors that plague them

In our "Writing for the Ear" class, we've only just started writing newscasts, and some of the most common broadcast writing problems are cropping up...but that's okay, because most of these same problems appear in almost every newscast on radio. Here's a little sampling of things I found:

1. Punctuation: Sure, it's for broadcast, not print. But that doesn't mean punctuation isn't important. In fact, it might be more important. Emphasis and pacing matter when reading...so, "On the anniversary of the September eleventh attacks memorials were held..." is read differently than "On the anniversary of the September eleventh attacks, memorials were held..."

2. Spell it out: Here's one thing that is different than the AP print stylebook. You've got to write out words "September" not "Sept." Or, in a story about gas prices, "Two-seventy-seven" not "$2.77." "Triple-A" not "AAA." Imagine getting to that part of a script, and having to figure out how to say something...

3. Conversational writing can't be confusing. Some case studies:

"The names of victims could be heard from speakers that piped in the sound from the stone plaza where they were being read."

"The weather mixed in with the emotions of the memorial with tears streaming down many faces in remembrance."

"Bush does seem intent on placing conditions on reductions, insisting that conditions on the ground must warrant cuts and that now-unforseen events could change the plan."

In cases like this, the writer has violated multiple rules of broadcast writing. Sentences are too long, and they're using unnecessary words. Read these out loud to yourself or someone else...and you'll realize quickly what's wrong.

4. Tenses need to agree. "...attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and impacting American's and the world forever." Well, there's a few problems there...the number should be spelled out...and "American's" doesn't have an apostrophe...but the tense is the real problem. Pick one for the story, and stick with it.

5. Attribution issues. We need to always be sure we're attributing statements to the right people...and that our opinion as newscasters doesn't come through. You might not mean to give your opinion...but some writing makes it sound that way: "His address to the nation is coming on the heels of Sept. 11th, which caused America to go into Iraq." Really?

"After hearing from Petraeus and Crocker, he has decided on a way forward that will reduce the U.S. Military presence but not abandon Iraq to chaos." The key thing missing here is..."he says." By saying "He says that he has decided..." it puts the statement in his mouth...not yours.

One more: "The setting of a park across the way failed to evoke the same emotions as years passed, leaving mourners dissatisfied." Turn it around, and it's "Mourners said the ceremony in the park failed to evoke the same emotions as years passed, leaving them dissatisfied."

6. Cut, trim, do away with words you don't need. "U.S. intelligence agencies are probing over bin Laden's...." becomes "U.S. intelligence agencies are probing bin Laden's...."

7. When we're writing for our own voice, we can't really read quotes. When we start using soundbites in our newscasts, direct quotes will become very important. But when we're writing for ourselves to read, they just sound wrong. Paraphrase quotes within "readers" in a newscast...and only very sparingly use quotes. For instance: "President Bush called it 'a day to mourn.'"

8. The active/passive thing. "Osama bin Laden's voice was heard..." or "Questions have been raised about..." Look, you can't always avoid the passive voice, but in cases like this it really matters. Find the person who's doing the acting (like Osama releasing a tape) and credit him with doing something. In the Cheshire story, lawmakers are raising questions. Not only does it make for more active writing...it helps you write shorter, and attribute news correctly.

WNPR reports on Tuesday's primaries

It's about a day later than I wanted, but I'm posting some of the audio from Tuesday's primary election. WNPR's Av Harris and Marie Kuhn reported live from Bridgeport, as State Senator Bill Finch beat State representitive Chris Caruso by a slim margain. As you can hear in this piece by Marie, Caruso isn't accepting the loss. Av's feature story took a larger look at the race - and includes comments from both campaigns.

Contrast these stories, obviously written for broadcast, with some Associated Press reports from that night.

We also talked with the Secretary of the State, Susan Bysiewicz on Where We Live. She told us the new optical scan voting machines worked well, and very few problems were reported.

The basic rules of broadcast writing

The world is filled with books about how to write...for print, for broadcast, and now for "new media." If you took everything I've read about writing for radio and television, and distilled it into a few simple rules, it'd be something like this:

1. Use short sentences. By breaking up long sentences into more manageable bites, reporters can get the point across more effectively. There's no chance of someone getting lost in a sentence, and failing to follow the main story points. It helps with pacing and rhythm, keeping listeners interested. Also, because so much of broadcast news writing is very condensed, short sentences allow you to easily restructure a story.

2. Be Conversational. The cliche (we'll deal with those later) is: "Tell a story like you're talking to your grandmother" or someone else in your family. That's the basic idea of conversational storytelling...but it's a bit simplistic. Obviously, newscasts are a more formalized style than sitting across the kitchen table...but the concept is the same. You're telling a story - not just reading words. Read your copy aloud to someone else...and you'll hear very quickly when you're not being conversational.

3. Use simple, powerful language. A broadcast news report is not the place to try out fancy words or obscure references. People only have one chance to hear your story...don't confuse them. Now, this doesn't mean you should communicate like a fifth grader. It does mean that you should always find the most direct, understandable, and descriptive language to convey your point.

4. Write in active, not passive language. Some people have trouble understanding active writing....here's a pretty simple example: "Somebody did something to someone else." That's in contrast to a passive construction, where "Somebody had something done to them by someone else." The problems with the passive? The sentence is longer by nature, violating a key rule. Also, there's a question over who the "actors" in the story are. Active writing helps us to establish attribution in the story very early on. Of course, as in all things, rules can be broken.

5. Get rid of unnecessary words. This is the editing process in action. Almost every news writer has to write fast and on deadline...and must meet strict story lengths. So, after you've written a nice news story, read it aloud - and start to pull out the words that don't need to be there. The extra adjective that isn't really descriptive; the redundancies; the long-winded titles of public officials; everything that doesn't serve the listener in understanding the story.

6. Avoid cliche. They're everywhere. You can't get away from cliches, especially when you're writing the news. Luckily, if you're following some of the other rules, you don't have to worry about using cliches. A "firestorm of controversy" isn't conversational...so don't use it. Calling people "inner city youth" isn't direct or descriptive - it's a cliche...so find a simpler way to say what you mean. Sometimes you can't avoid them...but I try to avoid cliches "like the plague."

Note: The links in this post are all taken from stories on poynter.org. Poynter is a great resource for journalists of all types. Click on the links, and you'll find yourself in some very interesting discussions of writing, journalism, ethics and broadcasting.

Let's get the terminology straight...

One of the big things that makes broadcast news so mysterious is the terminology. If you don't work in the business, it's pretty hard to know what people are talking about when they say things like "copy" or "vo-sot." So, as we get underway on our writing class for this Fall, a good explanation of the terminology could be very helpful.

A newscast could be a lot of things...five minutes of headlines read by a radio reporter at 6 a.m. or maybe a full, half-hour television broadcast, complete with weather and sports. For our purposes, a newscast is: The framework within which we place stories.

Those stories take a number of forms...

There's the reader. That's when the newscaster reads news copy (otherwise known as a script) directly to listeners. It's news that he has written himself, and doesn't include any additional outside sound. Many radio stations provide newscasts that are little more than a series of readers, strung together taken from wire service copy. It might look something like this:

The state Supreme Court ordered a new sentence today for a man convicted of shooting a New Haven police officer. The high court unanimously upheld the conviction of Arnold Bell, but found part of a law giving him a stiffer sentence as a persistent dangerous offender unconstitutional.

Then, there's the scripter. That's when the newscaster reads copy, and inserts a soundbite into the the story. Of course, there's a million ways to refer to the soundbite, like: cut, bite, clip, sound on tape (or SOT), tape (that's pretty old-fashioned), audio, and probably a few I'll forget. Here's the same story, written as a scripter:

The state Supreme Court ordered a new sentence today for a man convicted of shooting a New Haven police officer. The high court unanimously upheld the conviction of Arnold Bell, but found part of a law giving him a stiffer sentence as a persistent dangerous offender unconstitutional. Bell's attorney, Joe Blow said the ruling was a victory:

Bell :12 "...will be vindicated."

Bell was convicted of shooting officer Jane Smith in 2001.

Another name for the scripter is the donut...and it's easy to see why. There's some stuff...then a hole where the soundbite goes, then more stuff. Many TV stations (they call them VO-SOTs, or voiceovers with sound on tape...catchy, no?), and some radio stations dispense with the second bit of "stuff" and just move on to the next story.

A more complex version of the scripter is the wrap, which is also called a spot or a package. Basically, it's the same idea, but a reporter is delivering the story...not a newscaster. What the newscaster (or anchor...or host...to give you two more terms) reads is a host intro...or host lead. This is written by the reporter, and given to the newscaster as a way to introduce the story. It will almost always include the important news the story is about to tell. A good host intro is something like this:

Connecticut Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd campaigned in New Hampshire today, fresh off his endorsement by the nation's largest firefighter union. WNPR's Av Harris reports.

Then, the story begins, with the reporter's pre-recorded voice, and a soundbite included. At the end, the reporter signs off. Something called an SOQ (standard outcue). It's pronounced "sock" and goes something like this:

For WNPR News, I'm Av Harris in Manchester New Hampshire.

A simpler version of a reporter-delivered story is the voicer. This has all the same elements...but the soundbite is left out. Thus, just the voice...a voicer.

At the end of the spectrum, we have the most complex type of story...the feature. It's really just a wrap...but with more soundbites from multiple voices. It's longer, so there can be more background information, and even scenes...where sound can be used to tell the story. The feature is complex enough that we'll spend a lot more time talking about it later.

Typical August story

I stumbled across this piece on NPR the other day. I'd love to get your reaction. It's a perfect example of the type of story that plays in August...but not in months when there's more news happening.

A new semester...a new project...some new listening

We're starting another semester of JRN 521 at Quinnipiac - the unfortunately named "Writing for the Ear." The idea is good, but it doesn't really tell us a lot about what the class does. Really, it's about doing good stories for the radio - a medium that can inform us a lot about how to do good print reporting...and also give us a basis for television writing as well. Honestly, though, it's a way for me to get graduate students excited about radio as a way to tell stories...as an artform...and as a link to tother types of new media production.

Later in the semester, this blog will host a regular podcast featuring the work of our JRN 521 students...along with WNPR interns and others who are learning the craft. For now, it's a source of information...listening links...and discussion.

As we get started, I want you to get familiar with some of the kinds of work we'll be producing. I'm going to be showing you a lot of work by my station, WNPR and by our network, National Public Radio. That's because I think we do good work...and our stuff is also pretty free and easy to listen to online. No silly subscriptions needed...yet. Anway:

First, there's the good old fashioned news spot by WNPR environmental reporter Nancy Cohen. A news spot is usually short, and breaks news - in fact, this is the first reporting that's been done on this story. It doesn't have all of the elements a longer story might need, but it lets us know the news - quickly. Here's a little blurb about the story...it serves as a kind of "Host Intro."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is charged with restoring damaged natural resources on the Housatonic River, has put its work on hold because of a dispute with Connecticut over money. WNPR's Nancy Cohen reports.

A good example of a "News Feature" is this story by Minnesota Public Radio reporter Sea Stachura. It's got all the elements of a news story...but it's told with some distance in time, and with a chance to reflect. The host intro is something like this:

Flash floods in Minnesota left 1,500 homes and many businesses under water last week. Six counties were declared federal disaster areas. In the small town of Rushford, flood victims face a grim aftermath.

Not all stories fit into these very specific news categories, though. There's never been a really good way to describe this next type of story. It's sometimes called a "Light Feature" or a "Soft Feature" - but we'll call it a "Fun Feature." We'll have many more examples in the future...but here's one by Chana Joffe-Walt that seemingly hits a nerve for many this time of year.

We'll also be exploring a form that's coming back into style. NPR calls it a "Reporter's Notebook," some call it a commentary, but it's really "First-Person Journalism." You, as the reporter, putting yourself into the story. With so many reporters being asked to blog and report, it's something listeners are ready to hear...and that is a great job skill to learn. Here's a recent piece by NPR's sport's reporter Tom Goldman.

That's all for now...more coming soon.

"Long-Form" feature listening

To go along with our discussion of final project story ideas, I wanted to present some things for you to listen to, and comment on. I want to give you some ideas and options of how to creatively put together a story similar to the one we've proposed. Most NPR reporters have between a few days and a few weeks to deliver a story like this. You've got a whole month.

This story by NPR's Carrie Kahn appeared just a few days ago. She's reporting on a controversy that's still going, but with far less ferver than last year. Like all of the stories we'll hear, she leads with a scene, and gets the stakeholders involved from there. For comment: What's the theme of this piece?

The next story is one I promised you that I did for NPR. It's about a very local reaction to a controversy that's happening nationally. I did this before I read the Updike manifesto, but in going back to that early post, I realized that this is what I was trying to do:

"Writing, in a radio story, has to be tighter and simpler than print: the beginning should hook listeners fast and hard, the way a song does."

For comment: What's another possible scene I could have led with? Also, what do you think about the actualities? Do they "work" in helping to tell the story? One note here: this story was on a tight turnaround, so I have a census official on the phone, not in person...you've got to find ways to talk to your stakeholders in person. That, by nature, will make it a more "local" story.

Here's another story I did a few years ago...and we're back to immigration. (You must think that's all we cover!) Listen for how the argument is set up - we establish the theme early, by using a scene. We let the stakeholders themselves discuss the controversy. For comment: I think it's a good story...but not really very "compelling." How could it have been better?

Writing for the Ear: The Final Project

Thanks to JRN 521 for joining me online to discuss the final project. You've probably already seen the parameters for story ideas that I've put down...here they are:

1. Find a controversy Something in your town, or that you know about, that has clear tension. A dispute over land-use, perhaps...a battle over noisy neighbors...a plan to shut down a town landmark. You want a story where you can find real passion on both sides of an issue.

2. Find the stakeholders Who are the people you really need to talk to if you're going to tell this story? Who is most affected? Who would be sorely missed if you did the story without them? Chart out who these people are, and come up with some ways to contact them. For our purposes, we'll want at least one character on each side of the issue, people with a clear stake in what's happening. And, we'll want at least two "outside" voices - it could be "man on the street" - getting reaction to this issue.

3. Find a scene We've heard some great scenes in class already, and I'll be sharing more examples. What we want is one of our stakeholders speaking in a place key to the story. Or, some action happening in that place. For the purpose of our exercise, look for a scene that will open the story...the first thing the audience will hear after the host intro.

4. Find your themes Even a great story has to be "framed" right for the radio. How do you want to tell your story? Whose points of view should be heard first? Who else needs to be heard? How do you work in your "outside" voices?

So, in your comments, tell me how you'd address these issues. What controversy? What stakeholders? What scene(s)? What themes? I've adjusted the comment field so you don't have to go through the google logon...but please put your name on the comment, so I can tell who you are!

Porn case raises questions for teachers

WNPR's Diane Orson is covering a rather remarkable case. A substitute teacher in Norwich, Connecticut faces up to 40 years in prison for exposing students to pornography. The thing is, many experts say she's not to blame - instead, they say, it's the school that should take the rap

This story was originally broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition.

New London Rocks

Where We Live staged the most elaborate, community-builiding live music event we've tried so far. We highlighted the thriving music scene in New London, with an interview about the city's music scene, an old-time banjo band and a country-tinged duo.

(The photo is by WNPR intern Chion Wolf - it shows Where We Live technical director George Goodrich with the band The Can Kickers)

Connecticut students look for in-state tuition

Here's the story that the folks from my "Writing For The Ear" class are reporting on this week. WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil is covering the continuing story of undocumented students in Connecticut and the attempt to get them in-state tuition rates.

The story's been covered by The Hartford Courant extensively this week. Mark Spencer's story in the paper includes an interesting reader survey. As of the time of this writing, some 80 percent of people responding said "No" to the idea.

Clearly, this sort of survey isn't scientific, but the reaction to an obviously sympathetic article is surprising.

(The photo is from The Hartford Courant)

On a roll...

WNPR's Where We Live had a really good couple of weeks. Our producers put together an amazing series of guests and ideas. Two of Connecticut's leading pollsters came in to talk about the ever-expanding importance of polls - especially to the already heated 2008 Presidential campaign.

The next day - we talked about AIDS in Africa and the U.S. through the lens of an acclaimed play, an important documentary, and a current conversation.

Elizabeth Wurtzel, the author of the best-selling confessional Prozac Nation joined us to talk about depression, writing, and what's she's doing at Yale Law School. Her new writing ideas are coming from her experience in Manhattan during 9/11.

That event - which killed thousands, and wrecked Elizabeth Wurtzel's nearby apartment building - also led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Clark Kent Ervin was the agency's first inspector general. What he uncovered about the department got this long-time Republican "dis-invited" from his job, and led him on a new career, writing about the current threats to America. He talks about his deep disagreements with the Bush Administration.

Author Susan Eaton and attorneys John Brittain and Wes Horton helped us uncover the history and look ahead to the future of the desegregation case Sheff v. O'Neill. Eaton's astounding book, The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial chronicles the case from the beginning, and updates it with the story of students struggling in Hartford's failing schools.

Finally, Filmmaker Ken Burns visited to talk about his upcoming documentary "The War" - to be seen on PBS stations in September. There's a reason why people like his movies. It's pretty clear he really cares about history, and knows it cold.

"Your skin would feel like it's burning..."

David Kestenbaum is a great storyteller. He's a trained physicist who does science reporting because he seems to truly love putting a human face on stuffy scientists.

In this story about a new, experimental, non-lethal weapon he uses some great techniques that we can all apply to our radio reporting. He sets up the story with a "host intro" that really makes us want to listen.

Then, he starts his copy with a very simple technique...he goes back "to the beginning" where the technology was still young. He's found a way to illustrate just what the ray-gun does by using a personal experience of someone who helped build it, and who's been hit by it. We "feel" it in a way we wouldn't if the reporter just explained what he "heard" it felt like.

Big Broadwater Story Part 2

A few weeks after Nancy Cohen reported on Broadwater's place in the overall LNG landscape for WNPR, she wrote an entirely new story, adding new information for National Public Radio's Morning Edition. It's a very different story - written for a different audience. (Image Credit, Wes Rand Hartford Courant)

Spots of different spots

"Spot" News can be breaking stories, daily updates, important items, and total trivia. The idea is that these stories encapsulate what's happening right now, that radio listeners should hear. And hear quickly. For our purposes, the spot news story is no longer than 1:15.

A few examples include the sad but silly story of "The Nut Lady," a 94-year-old Connecticut resident who devoted her life to, well...nuts. It includes a few interesting, archival pieces of tape - telling the important parts of a life in a very short bit of time.

A "newsier" spot might include the elements of this story about pending legislation at the state capitol. A controversial issue, where you hear both sides of the story...again, very quickly. When we include audio in a story like this, it's a "wrap."

Here's another story, basically ripped from the day's newspaper. It's what we call a "voicer" - just a story, written by a reporter, and read as a script. There's no sound bite involved.

"Thank you for joining us this morning"

When faced with a Washington news policy piece, there's sometimes little a reporter can do to make it interesting and lively. The chances to find ambient sound, quirky events, or connections with real people are very difficult...especially under deadline. That's why I love what NPR's Andrea Seabrook did with her story "Can We Afford State of the Union Proposals?".

She uses some techniques that I wouldn't try too often, including the way she introduces the story's first character. But look at the writing, and the way she uses very conversational, non-sentences to explain...or "translate" what the subjects are saying.

NHL Hockey back in Hartford?

NHL Hockey left Hartford back in 1997. Most people think it's never coming back. Here's Lucy Nalpathanchil's story about an attempt to make it happen.

This story has some great little moments - as usual, it's the tape with "regular people" that really makes it.

Coliseum comes tumbling down

Few stories have the raw impact of a building being imploded. TV News loves it, of course - great visuals. But there are also a million little stories to tell: What was the building's history? What memories do people have of the place? Now that it's gone what goes in it's place? What would the people who built it think?

WNPR's Diane Orson got to cover the implosion of the New Haven Coliseum - a troubled, and some would say ugly, building...that once held a lot of hope for the city.

Her report has so many of the elements you want in a radio story:

- Great characters
- A compelling narrative
- And, of course...amazing tape

Listen for how the elements are put together - how else could you mix & match them?
(photo credit: MICHELLE MCLOUGHLIN, HARTFORD COURANT)

The "99 Ways"

For both intriguing listening, and an excellent production lesson, take a listen to 99 Ways to Tell a Radio Story at the Third Coast International Audio Festival site. The premise is simple: Set up some basic rules about what the story should contain - but limit the production style in no other way.

This results in some straightforwardly compelling pieces, and some just downright strange ones.

Garrels goes back to Baghdad

This week, NPR correspondent Anne Garrels goes back to Iraq for the first time since November. Where We Live went to her house in Connecticut to talk about what she expects to find when she gets there. She says from all reports the violence in the city is as bad or worse as when she left, and she'll be covering the long run-up to U.S. troop increases there. She's not terribly hopeful that it will help.

Our interview aired Thursday morning on Where We Live - here is an audio link.

Updike Manifesto Pt. 2

Part two of the Updike manifesto is a step-by-step about how to write to tape. She includes some perfect examples, and boils it down to a few key points:

~ Don't repeat the tape.
~ Let the tape have the money shot.
~ Tell listeners what they need to know to get the most out of the tape.

Updike Manifesto

One of the problems I've had in teaching "Writing for the Ear" classes in the past is finding - for lack of a better word - "inspirational" writing about radio writing. Here is part of a radio production manifesto by Nancy Updike who has done stories for This American Life among others. It gives a really good sense of how to start a radio story.

"Wailing like a lost soul..." or "Moaning like a lost spirit..."

During a new, monthly "listening lunch" at WNPR, Nancy Cohen reminded us of this amazing piece of reporting by NPR's John Burnett. It's a story about a sandstorm hitting U.S. Troops in Iraq. Listen for the evocative writing...and the few things left in that could have been left out.

Big Broadwater Story

The Federal Energy Regulatory commission is holding some of its last public hearings on Broadwater. FERC is expected to decide whether to approve the floating liquefied natural gas terminal sometime this year.

But as WNPR's Nancy Cohen reports even if the federal government okays it that doesn't guarantee it'll be built.

This story generated quite a bit of discussion in the environmental and energy communities...and they must have been listening in Governor Rell's office...they ripped off a line from Nancy's story for the Governor's statement at the hearing!