Every publication or broadcast outlet has a reputation. National Geographic is known for its' breathtaking pictures, the New Yorker for its' features and NPR its' sound. After reviewing my blog, I realized that I have not touched on NPR's greatest asset. In order to fully understand how important sound is to NPR, I only listened to audio stories on various articles. Armed with some chocolate chip cookies from home and a pair of headphones, I embarked on my adventure and found some incredible journalism.
One of the first stories I listened to was about the 'Undefeated' documentary, which at the time of publication, was an Oscar nominee. (It won the Best Documentary Feature last night at the Oscars.) The documentary follows the Manassas High School football team throughout the season. Located in North Memphis, TN, the film follows volunteer head coach Bill Courtney and some of his players, including O.C. Brown and Montrail Brown. O.C. lives with Courtney during the week, so he can be tutored to get better grades. Montrail, or "Money", is described by the co-directors, T.J. Martin and Dan Lindsey, as thoughtful and smart. Courtney is determined to show his players that it is possible for them to be successful, on and off the field.
That perseverance can be seen in one of Courtney sound bytes. "Everybody always says when you get these inner city kids down, they'll lay over and you'll beat them by 40. Not us! Everyone will say they're 0-1, they'll fold up camp. They'll be 2-8 by the end of this thing. No, not us," he emphatically tells his players.
Especially with sports, It is important to incorporate different types of sound to set the scene. In this piece, the journalists lead off with a highlight call of a touchdown. It then segways into an interview with Martin and Lindsey about the film, their experiences living in Memphis for nine months during production and the Oscar nomination.
That perseverance can be seen in one of Courtney sound bytes. "Everybody always says when you get these inner city kids down, they'll lay over and you'll beat them by 40. Not us! Everyone will say they're 0-1, they'll fold up camp. They'll be 2-8 by the end of this thing. No, not us," he emphatically tells his players.
Especially with sports, It is important to incorporate different types of sound to set the scene. In this piece, the journalists lead off with a highlight call of a touchdown. It then segways into an interview with Martin and Lindsey about the film, their experiences living in Memphis for nine months during production and the Oscar nomination.
This next story might be one that should be made into a movie and nominated for an Oscar. Comedian John Fugelsang relays the story of his parents' marriage in audio, text and a picture slideshow with Tweet captions on the one year anniversary of his father's death. (Sounds like he took Digital Journalism II!) Fugelsang's parents were both members of the Roman Catholic clergy who fell in love. At the age of 6, Fugelsang saw that in all the pictures of his mother, Peggy, in the 60's, she was in a habit and discovered she used to be a nun. He later found out his father, Jack, was a Franciscan friar. |
The two met when Peggy, who was Sister Damien in the convent, took care of Brother Boniface, otherwise known as Jack, when he contracted tuberculosis. She was subsequently assigned to Malawi and Jack wrote her every week for 10 years. He finally confessed his love for her and the two eventually broke their vows to the church to get married.
Since this was such a personal experience for Fugelsang, having him as the only source made the story stronger. Pause was a key part of this story, especially after Fugelsang talks about his father's unconditional love for his mother and how he would do anything to spend a little more time with her. It was evident that Fugelsang was emotional.
Since this was such a personal experience for Fugelsang, having him as the only source made the story stronger. Pause was a key part of this story, especially after Fugelsang talks about his father's unconditional love for his mother and how he would do anything to spend a little more time with her. It was evident that Fugelsang was emotional.
Even though Fugelsang's story was incredibly sweet and funny, it was not considered the funniest story on NPR's website. That honor belongs to 'Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me'. NPR's quiz program features Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell, who serve as the host and official judge, respectively. On the show, contestants, who are frequently celebrities, are asked three questions. If they get the questions right, then an audience member wins something. Last week's guest was Olympic speedskater, Nick Pearson. In between the questions, Sagal interviews the guest about his or her life and interjects some comedic fodder in there as well. It sounds like this is recorded in a theatre, but because of the transcript provided on the page had "sound byte of laughter" written. If it was not recorded in a theatre, then the mixing was stellar.
I guess I should expect nothing less from the flagship journalism outlet for radio journalism.