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!