Dec 10 2007

Radio Production

Published by Ginna

I started out as a radio producer in the early 1980s during National Public Radio’s adolescent years. My first program concerned a then-new phenomenon: male strippers. I was distracted during recording. It wasn’t until I finished interviewing the last leopard-bikini-clad dancer that I came to the realization that my microphone had been unplugged the whole time. Still, I remained in radio as a producer for over twenty years, producing dozens of feature- and documentary-length programs and winning some awards.

My work has been described as “enhanced oral history” and “an evocative interweaving of the stories of everyday people.” I don’t know who said that. Maybe I made it up, but I don’t think so.

My work has aired on National Public Radio (All Things Considered and Morning Edition), British Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, South African Broadcasting Corporation and others.

One of the many highlights of my radio career was working as a documentary producer and radio trainer in South Africa in 1995. Another notable experience was interviewing Fred (Mister) Rogers, in whose presence my behavior suddenly shifted from professional journalist to bashful six-year-old. I’ll never forget him.

Equally rewarding have been all those moments interviewing everyday people. Here’s something I wrote: Looking for John Henry, about the process of producing Steel Drivin’ Man.

I’ve also produced ads for commercial radio and have served on national grants and awards panels, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

Selected Noncommercial Radio Productions

  • Steel Drivin’ Man, a half-hour documentary about the John Henry ballad and the Appalachian community that lives in the legend’s shadow. Aired on NPR’s All Things Considered. Program transcript (pdf)
  • Portrait of Rockabilly artist Rose Maddox. Aired on NPR’s All Things Considered (produced with thanks to T.J. Meekins)
  • Truth Telling: Stories of Our Lives, two oral history documentaries about life under apartheid, a collaboration with South African journalists (co-produced with Sue Valentine and Siviwe Minyi)
  • A Gathering of Days: An American Holiday Sampler, a series of half-hour radio portraits of selected American holiday traditions. Hear the Halloween episode, The Time Between, in RealAudio on the SoundPrint Web site (program is preceded by a narrative introduction by SoundPrint)
  • Skip Through the Shadows: Scenes from Childhood, a ten-part radio series that captures the trials and tribulations of childhood. Includes cameo appearances by John Waters, Fred Rogers, Jean Ritchie, Brownie McGhee and others

Commercial Radio Projects

  • A one-hour audio program, drawn from first-person stories, about financial abuse of the elderly for Boston-based WFD Consulting
  • Planning, writing, direction and production of several 30- and 60-second ads for Northern California healthcare providers and other organizations
  • Writing of over 100 scripts for a radio series developed and distributed by Sunset Magazine and Books

Grants & Awards

  • National Federation of Community Broadcasters first-place award for national documentary for Steel Drivin’ Man
  • California Arts Council artist-in-residence grant to develop and teach a series of workshops on radio production and radio journalism
  • National Endowment for the Arts grant for Steel Drivin’ Man
  • Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Radio Program Fund, for production (with Adi Gevins) of A Gathering of Days: An American Holiday Sampler
  • Ohio State Award (Top Honors) and Broadcast Media Award for Skip Through the Shadows: Scenes from Childhood
  • Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through National Public Radio’s Satellite Program Development Fund, to produce Skip Through the Shadows
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting award and National Federation of Community Broadcasters award honoring Without Due Process, a half-hour documentary co-produced with Adi Gevins for the Bill of Rights Radio Education Project

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