Category: Uncategorized

Highlight Moment from Between the Ears:One such instance was when the narrator cut short in mid-sentence, and a noticeable silence followed, broken only by a distant ambient sound, such as wind or hum. The silence was palpable, increasing the emotional stakes and allowing space for reflection. It made me think about how silence, used knowingly,…

Having read Pitching Story Ideas from Transom and How to Focus Audio Stories from NPR Training, I came out with two large takeaways regarding what works in a pitch. First, an effective pitch requires a well-defined and compelling point of focus. To state, for example, “I want to do a story about cafés” is not…

For this episode, I experimented with the free sound effects library on the BBC. I included ambient background noises to support the setting within my guest’s narrative. A bit of street activity, for example, to place listeners there in the moment. The hope was to add depth to the episode and make it more film-like.I…

Jessica Abel’s Out on the Wire is both a companion tour of classic radio shows and a working guide for authors, as a reminder that exceptional audio is created, not improvised. Her unadorned but sharp instruments impressed me. The XY Story Formula that gets to the point, the “focus challenge” that digs into what a…

Citizen Journalism: Benefits & DrawbacksCitizen journalism adds more voices to the news. It’s fast, it’s diverse, and it can draw attention to stories big outlets miss. The downside? Without good fact-checking, it has the ability to spread misinformation or blur fact and opinion. More voices doesn’t always mean more clarity.Podcast ReflectionI heard This American Life’s…

TikTok’s arrival demonstrates mobile journalism breaking out of fixed categories. A great example is @reaganwrites (https://www.tiktok.com/@reaganwrites), where brief videos mix captions, green-screen explainers, and stitched reactions. The result is a diary, reportage, and conversation with the viewer all rolled into one.What does work is speed and clarity? The complex stories are teased out in under…

My kit is pretty light right now. I just have my AirPods and the built-in voice recorder app on my phone. It’s not fancy, but it’s enough to capture clear audio and easy to use anywhere.

I tested a few devices: my phone, my laptop, and a small recorder. The phone was the easiest and gave clear sound. The laptop worked but felt bulky, and the recorder had great quality but was less convenient. The biggest challenge was background noise. I noticed even small sounds got picked up. I also once…

North Oakland sits right between Shadyside, Bloomfield, and the heart of Oakland, making it a very vibrant and lively neighborhood. The area links the two major college campuses of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon, so it is always buzzing with college students. While also serving as a hub for them, it also maintains a steady, neighborhood…