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All my dreams are coming true!

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:13:41 -0800

I have been called back for my dream job - an internship on a public radio program. Please help me impress my potential employers and get this position! In October, I applied to intern on a weekly public radio program that does news and analysis type programming. The internship sounds great: I would pitch stories and have my hand held through the entire production process, and my stories would end up on the air. I am so incredibly excited at the prospect of doing this.

Yesterday, they called me back; unfortunately, I don't think I came off all that great over the phone. I was kind of caught off guard (was at work; wasn't really expecting a call, office is under construction and loud), and I just don't think I was at my best. They offered me a chance to tour the studio and I jumped at it in the hopes that I could present myself a little better in person. The tour will be conducted by one of the show's producers (the same person I spoke to on the phone).

I would love to get a little input from the hive mind about what kinds of questions I can ask, what I can expect, and generally how I can impress them.

Information on me
-Have a lot of experience with audio recording/editing
-Have a degree in journalism
-Am a public radio fanatic

Any suggestions you could give would be huge. If you have any questions for me, you can post them in the thread and I will email the mods, or you can contact me at throwaway email : radiodreamjob@gmail.com.

What Public Radio station doesn't interrupt Morning Edition & All Things Considered with local programming?

wuntu — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:09:49 -0800

What public radio stations, with an internet stream, broadcast NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered without local programming segments? I listen to Morning Edition and All Things Considered, but don't care for the locally generated content. (I get my local news elsewhere, and the quality of the local programming isn't that great/of interest.)

So I'm looking for an MP3 stream of a station that doesn't have any local parts that interrupt ME and ATC.

I found a small station that did this (at least with Morning Edition), but I can't remember what it was.

Podcasts aren't available for ME and ATC. I'm also interested in listening to this "live" so a podcast wouldn't suffice.

Who played that amazing song?

Bromius — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:31:07 -0800

What version of "Sous le ciel de Paris" was that? Just five minutes ago, I was listening to Jonathan Schwartz's Sunday Show on WNYC as a gorgeous version of "Sous le ciel de Paris" came on. It was a wordless, lyrical interpretation by a small band or ensemble, with a tuba in the bassline. Schwartz announced it immediately at the end of the song, but I just missed it since I was talking with someone. Alas, it seems like, from googling around, his playlists aren't posted online.

Anyone know who performed the song?

What are some audio editing jobs a public radio producer could get, that aren't in public radio?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:33:04 -0800

What are some jobs that someone with a background in audio editing/production could apply for, that don't involve public radio? I've worked in the production end of public radio for most of my career, and I'm ready for a switch. The thing is, I'm just not sure what to switch into - and I don't want my production and editing skills to go to waste.

I'm really good at cutting tape and producing material -- and was thinking maybe it'd be fun to design and create museum audio tours, or podcasts for a company or university -- or something equally unique. I'm just not sure what's out there, but I know I could and should put these audio skills to good use. if you're aware of various companies that employ audio editors/producers, I'd love to know about them.

I don't want to work in the music industry -- but would be interested in multimedia positions (aka...audio slideshows or something like that...)

Explaining a unique and ubiquitous kind of stuttering on public radio?

evariste — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:36:26 -0800

Is "NPR stutter" a collective affectation? Public radio stutter? Yeah, for lack of a better name, that's what I'm calling it. Like today on Talk of the Nation, host Neil Conan and interview subject AO Scott from the NYT both did the NPR stutter a lot. I only hear this on public radio: not "um", not "uh", but "the...the...the...the something". And the stutter encompasses not just articles like "the", but real words too. I almost never hear this in real life, but on NPR, it's constant! In real life people just say "ah" and "uh" and "um". I also heard "uh" and "um" from AO Scott, so I'm guessing the NPR stutter isn't necessarily an attempt to avoid saying "uh" and "um" on the radio. Or is it? Could it be that simple?

The places where NPR stutter strikes also don't always make sense to me. I can see stuttering while you're searching for just the right word or trying to decide what you're about to say, but very often, the NPR stutterer comes out with the obvious next word or phrase, a word or phrase he or she just heard two seconds ago. For instance, in the aforelinked interview about superhero movies, a caller asked a question about Batman video games, and AO Scott's reply contained a phrase like this: "the first, first, first, first Batman video game". It seemed so unlikely to me that he would be struggling so mightily to pull the words "Batman video game" out of his mind. Isn't that the topic, and didn't he just hear that very phrase in the question he was answering?

I'm not trying to pick on people if this is a medical condition of some kind, I'm just honestly befuddled and curious. It seems like it's way more common on public radio than it has any right to be, which makes me think it's a collective affectation and not a speech disorder.

Can anyone explain what's going on with this ubiquitous stutter?

Best episode to introduce someone to This American Life?

exhilaration — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:49:27 -0800

Best episode to introduce someone to This American Life? I'm a big fan of This American Life and I'd like to introduce my friend to it by pointing him to a truly great episode. I know this sounds suspiciously like a chatfilter question, but I'm looking for suggestions of the most moving and compelling episode/segment you've heard on the show.

All Costs Considered

bbranden1 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:16:22 -0800

Streaming radio production cost: what is the cost to a local radio station for internet streaming of one program to one listener? Not just the cost of paying the royalty cost of a national program (like Prairie Home Companion}, but the local costs incurred by the station, e.g. servers, software, staff time devoted to webcasting. Bonus question: is it more or less expensive than the cost of downloading a single podcast to a single listener?

Becoming well rounded, one MP3 at a time...

jytsai — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:14:30 -0800

It's been two years, and I'm still looking for a replacement to the radio program Odyssey. So far I've been making do with KQED's Forum, but it tends to focus too much on San Francisco issues and interviews of famous individuals.

What are some online resources where I can obtain mp3/podcasts of experts (whether formal or not) discuss/explain significant topics in their field at a mid level? (That is, not at the dumbed down "here's my field in 5 minutes or less" level, but not at a level where it's all greek to a well read university graduate.) This would make me more well rounded, and help pass the time during menial tasks (i.e. cleaning, running, driving, etc).

How can I unsubscribe from American Public Media's e-mail newsletters?

cmyers — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:25:47 -0800

I'm currently subscribed to, and wish to unsubscribe from, American Public Media's "Speaking of Faith" and "Writer's Almanac" e-mail newsletters. Neither APM's site nor the newsletters themselves seem to offer an unsubscribe function. I even e-mailed APM several months ago to request that I be removed from their mailing list, but haven't heard back. Short of adding APM to my ISP's or mail client's spam filter, how can I stop these newsletters?

Help me find the public radio story about the un-updateable MP3 Player that plays meditation tunes

teddyb109 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 05:40:24 -0800

Where can I find the public radio story about an unupdateable MP3 player that plays songs that are designed to be played again and and again and again? I was listening to WNYC sometime in May or June on a road trip and heard a story about a guy who designed an MP3 player that plays the same songs over and over again--he got the idea from seeing these little black boxes in asian temples. He created the little black box, as well as the mixes that supposedly stand up to listening over and over again--can any one identify the story and the artist? My google fu, npr, pri and wnyc searching has failed me.

Entertainment and pop culture commuter listening?

britain — Fri, 07 May 2004 23:02:50 -0800

Can anyone recommend further listening along the lines of "The Treatment" in Real/WMA/mp3-based streaming format? I mean, obviously there's "Fresh Air" and "ATC." But are there more? I drive a lot. A LOT. I am interested in entertainment and popular culture. Not so much the political, please, unless it's far-out crackpot funny stuff.