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Category Archives: Philosophy
Pictures and Music
A long time ago at a community college far away, I asked my radio students to mix two minutes of music underneath themselves reading anything they liked. It could be a poem, a news article, or something original. The only … Continue reading
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The Nagra
At the end of the film The Year of Living Dangerously, Mel Gibson’s journalist character Guy Hamilton is forced to flee Indonesia during the 1965 revolution. He’s almost stopped and arrested at the airport but manages to distract the officials … Continue reading
Posted in Cool old stuff, Philosophy
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Pranking
Alert reader Peter B. writes: Does the Radio Off The Dial Guy have an opinion on prank calls made by radio stations? Yes I do, assuming you’re referring to the Dec. 4th incident in which two announcers from an Australian radio … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Radio in the news
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Audio Postcards
My class is currently producing short audio postcards on assignment. What, exactly, is an audio postcard? It’s a mini-documentary in sound about a place or an event. Think of it as a vignette. It should use writing, interviews and ambience … Continue reading
Posted in How To, Philosophy
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How Sound
I often tell students that good radio/audio journalism is about good storytelling. If your piece is boring, people stop listening. If it doesn’t have a point, they feel cheated. If your narrative is confusing or badly worded, listeners lose interest. Above all … Continue reading
Posted in How To, Philosophy
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TLDL
Two weeks ago my friend and British expat, Peter B., alerted me to a BBC radio program he thought I’d be interested in. As usual he simply sent a link with no explanation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g15x3/Selected_Radiophonic_Works/ And Peter was right — this … Continue reading
Posted in On The Air, Philosophy
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Worst disclaimer ever
The other day I was listening to 1010WINS for news examples to play for my Journalism class when suddenly this bit of noise spewed out of the radio: Disclaimer 4.6 sec Before you could say “What the —,” it was … Continue reading
Posted in How Not To, On The Air, Philosophy
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Carlos Fuentes: Beneath the Mask
I honestly didn’t know much about Carlos Fuentes, who died yesterday at age 83, when I agreed to work on a radio documentary about him. It was 1984, I was out of a job (having just been purged from NPR) … Continue reading
Posted in Cool old stuff, Philosophy
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Bored With Technology
An early adopter is defined as someone who starts using a product or technology as soon as it becomes available. For as long as I can remember that’s been one of my defining characteristics. Some people are wary of new … Continue reading
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An Unsinkable Anniversary
Broadcasters love anniversaries, and tomorrow’s is a beauty … the 100th anniversary of—well, you know. You must know. It’s been everywhere, in every conceivable medium, with the possible exception of skywriting. NPR has been wallowing in this anniversary with an … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Radio in the news
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