next generation radio : intern edition fall 2006

Tune in: NPR finds soldiers have limited access to mental health services

2006-12-04T12:03:00.000-05:00

As an intern with media relations, I am sometimes asked to transcribe an interview or story. Typically, they are just important or interesting sections that NPR wants to include in press releases that we send to journalists. I had the opportunity to transcribe the interview portions from an amazingly interesting investigative piece by NPR’s National Correspondent Daniel Zwerdling.

In the story, which airs today on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Daniel investigates soldiers who return to Ft. Carson (an army base in Colorado) from Iraq with emotional problems including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Now, there have been similar stories about Iraq veterans - as somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 percent of people who’ve served in Iraq return with serious mental health problems (including depression, substance abuse and PTSD). However, in his investigation, Daniel discovered that not only do soldiers who feel distressed or helpless have a difficult time receiving help but these soldiers are often punished by their superiors and even forced out of the army.

I highly recommend listening to this investigation if you have the opportunity. It is both fascinating and unsettling to listen to the stories of these troubled soldiers, the officers who admit to mistreating them and the pattern of Ft. Carson officials forcing these troubled soldiers out of the army without receiving any benefits or treatment. Tune in today on All Things Considered (and, frankly, every day).

-Kyle Lowden

You can also listen to the story here.

Beat note from L.A.

2006-12-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

Having just finished our Intern Edition community gardens story, I thought it would be useful to do a beat note. It’s a classic journalism school exercise—to look back at what we accomplished in reporting, what went well and what didn’t.

The first thing that occurred to me was the benefit of teamwork. The piece that Clare Abreu and I produced together was far better than we could have done individually. It was astonishing to think how much the story changed focus in the course of reporting, as well. We started with a story about front-yard residential gardens, until we found out that our “expert” has only produced two such gardens. Then, we turned our attention to the loss of the South Central Farm in Los Angeles and the activism surrounding it. But were these stories worth telling? When we visited the Stanford Avalon Community Garden, Clare and I realized our story had to be on South Central’s outgrowths. This was yet to be explored by the media in any depth.

At Stanford Avalon in Watts, I was reminded of why I love reporting. The Mexican and Central American immigrant farmers led us into their world. They insisted that we share in their barbeque of carne asada, rice and beans, cactus, salsa and tangy berry juice (even prodding us to go for seconds). Few non-farmers visit them—they were honored to have us. The farmers welcomed us because of trust, too. They saw we were ready to listen and would present them fairly. This mutual respect was crucial. Without their help, there could be no story (or at least not a compelling one).

Clare and I were able to interview some major public figures, which was both gratifying and nerve wracking. (I was so intimidated by Edward James Olmos, best known for his role as the teacher in “Stand and Deliver,” that I forgot to turn on the recorder until half way through the interview. We also interviewed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the garden for 30 seconds before he hopped back in his black sports utility vehicle). The most powerful interviews, however, were done with the common farmers at SA and Proyecto Jardin, a small communal garden (without plots). The farmers were laboring for far more than food. I had no idea that their seeds were a connection to ancestors, passed down for generations. And they swore by their medicinal plants, which were grown beneath power lines.

As beginning journalists, we still deal with people’s lives and livelihoods. This deserves great respect and responsibility. We visit communities that most of us wouldn’t have the time or access to explore otherwise. It’s a cliché, but we’re life-long students of the world.

-David Kates

You can hear David and Clare's story at atnpr.org/about/nextgen/internedition/fall06/showworkingdocokay

For These Things…

2006-12-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

On Thursday last, I made a resolution. Despite being an unpaid intern living 2,000-plus miles from home and not having even so much as a roommate to keep me company, I resolved that I would do all I could to keep the spirit of the Thanksgiving Holiday. And so began what turned out to be a most singular, and memorable, November afternoon.

After consulting my pocketbook, I determined that a conventional turkey dinner with all the holiday trimmings was, while not financially implausible, most definitely an ill-advised use of my rapidly dwindling disposable income. Being unwilling, however, to completely dispense with tradition, I prepared an alternative feast, devoid of turkey and pumpkin pie, but replete with the finest all-white-meat chicken nuggets and capped off by a delectable pumpkin-spice doughnut-a-là-Krispy-Kreme. With King’s portions for all (all being me), none (none being not me) left unsatisfied. And, having satisfied my baser appetites I turned my attention to weightier matters.

Having nowhere in particular to spend the rest of the afternoon, it only made sense to spend it somewhere, and, not really knowing what I was getting myself into, I decided that Arlington National Cemetery was as good a place as any. Here my holiday narrative transitions from a light-hearted tenor to a much more somber, even sacred matter. I hesitate to address it, and beg forgiveness if I cannot give due deference within the confines of my allotted word count.

Perhaps it was the whimsy with which I decided to make the trip, perhaps it was the fact I made the trip alone, or perhaps it was a natural naiveté, having but little first-hand experience with the institution of war. Whatever the case, I was not prepared for what greeted me as I passed through the gates of what has rightly been deemed “our country’s most sacred shrine.” From the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the Eternal Flame, within the precincts of Arlington you will find some of the most moving memorials that men’s minds could conceive of. They are a sight to behold, commanding respect and inspiring patriotism. But the power I felt as I set foot in the cemetery for the first time is not found in those monuments. The true poignancy, the real spirit of Arlington lies elsewhere. It lies in roughly rounded headstones, on gently sloping hillsides, under the watchful eye of the sentinel foliage that whispers with profound gravity “This is holy ground.” Row upon row, in every direction, endless reminders of what it means to live—and die—free. Arlington is more than a shrine to those who died in the service of their country. It is a monument to American perseverance, it is a tribute to the ideal of freedom, and it is testament to the reality of enduring, even eternal truths.

It occurred to me, as I walked among those fallen faithful, that American history is more than a cluster of events that can be arranged sequentially, to which we can attach names, numbers, locations, or artifacts. Rather, the history of America is an evolution, an evolution that began long before the founding framers of our country ever put pen to paper to draft any document, long before the first shot of the revolution was fired, long before pilgrims ever set foot on this continent. The history of America is the evolution of an ideal. An ideal with many different names and manifestations—freedom, equality, love, truth. The American ideal is the human ideal. It’s the notion that there’s something bigger than the individual, something worth defending, something worth spreading. It has not been precisely defined, yet, because America itself is still a work in progress. But regardless, it is motivation enough for common people to make all the requisite sacrifices to preserve that ideal until it comes to fruition—and can be enjoyed, in full felicity, by all peoples, everywhere. It is our history, an unfinished narrative, and we, as much as any other, have the opportunity to influence the outcome.

And so I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude, that because of those who have gone before, those of us who are here now, are here, now. Life, Opportunity, Freedom, Faith, Choice, Sacrifice, and American Perseverance. For these things I give thanks.

-Josh Figueira

Public Radio Wars

2006-11-29T17:11:00.000-05:00

In the world of public radio, there is a war brewing, a war unbeknownst to the public who listen to public radio. Behind the scenes of this war are the big three: National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. It’s a fierce and brutal war for market share—the listener—and name recognition. So far, NPR is leading, with its cutthroat programming, such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Few people even recognize that the programming they are listening to is from different media organizations. Mainly listeners would think that the shows they listen to come from the same source…NPR. In fact programs come from many different sources including the big three and privately owned local member stations. For now the fight continues with each new story pitch out-doing the last. The “This I believe” series has captured the hearts and minds of--to be continued...

-Jason Hesch

Descent into the library: How to bake a tape

2006-11-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

I spend a lot of time combing the shelves of the broadcast library for NPR programs recorded circa 1991. The dates, written in tiny symbols, blur in front of my eyes and I come back 2, 4 and 6 times a day sometimes, when I’ve pulled the wrong CD’s. NPR is in the process of transferring their past shows from reels of magnetic tape onto the (hopefully) more stable CD’s. The task seems enormous when you consider that shows were archived on tape as late as the mid-nineties. Every time I went into the library, I’d close my eyes and hope that what I needed would be available in digital format. If it wasn’t I wouldn’t spend triple the time getting a reel, bringing it to an engineer, finding the correct segment (no track markers remember) and finally, digitally uploading it into the network. I only learned to thread the tape into a player myself a few days ago. The task reminded me of being one of the highly lauded AV helpers at my elementary school and negotiating the labyrinthine twists of the classroom projector. Knowing how to do this speeds up the process and annoys the engineers less. Now, I can find the correct place on the tape myself, mark it with special non-sticky paper and hand it to the engineer with less fuss.

I stumbled across the more obscure part of this story when I had to order a tape from outside of the building. The audio I needed came from a Morning Edition show from April 1981. Tapes from that year are kept at another site, since the library is small and the archive now spans 30 years. I placed my order and was advised that the time needed to get it to me would include a period of baking. What?! Baking?

Yeah, baking. So, here’s what happens. Older tapes, when they’ve sat on the shelf for a number of years, develop an uncomfortable form of tape dermatitis—“sticky shed syndrome.” This means that the tape binder, the glue used to connect the magnetic and plastic parts of the tape, has absorbed water over its long shelf life. This makes the tape stick to the player’s heads and renders it unplayable—or at least the sound quality isn’t great.

I did a little research on the topic, talked with a couple librarians and found out some of the back story on this insidious disease.

Not all tapes develop sticky shed syndrome. The tapes with the sub-par binder were manufactured in the mid-seventies to late eighties. Why does the tape from those years become sticky, you ask? The answer involves whale blubber.

WHALE'S REVENGE

At least part of the answer lies in that great '70s crusade, to 'save the whale'. As a result of the environmental lobby in the US, tape manufacturers Ampex were stampeded into abandoning their traditional whale oil tape-binder (the binder is the material used to fix the tiny particles of magnetic oxide to the tape's flexible backing tape). Ampex's synthetic substitute, perhaps because it was formulated without the normal research and development, has since undergone some form of chemical breakdown, and at the same time, absorbed moisture from the air. The problem was identified, and improved formulations substituted to clear the problem, but that still left thousands of reels of tape around the world that were literally rotting away. What, if anything can you do to recover material archived in this way

The answer that this article and our friendly NPR library gave is to bake the tape! Yes, literally stick it into an oven. This removes the moisture that’s built up in the binder and makes the tape playable again. Sound easy? Well, there are a couple of catches. For instance, the tape should be baked at a steady 130° F, which means you need an accurate oven. NPR uses a laboratory oven for the job.

And the process takes time—around 4-6 hours. You absolutely can’t use a microwave oven either and the biggest catch is: this doesn’t fix the tape for ever, just a couple months at best.

Although this is a fascinating look into the obscure world of audio archiving, for me, knowing this story brings up all sorts of questions about the longevity of information. As one librarian remarked to me, stone tablets are probably the best way of preserving something. They are not, however, easy to store or cost effective. CD’s are cheap and small but they have only been around for 25 years and no one knows what kind of problems they might develop in another 20 (digital psoriasis perhaps?). In fact, archivist still prefer magnetic tape as a superior method for audio archiving, with a binder resistant to sticky shed of course. Also, as any computer users knows, the larger problem with archiving media digitally is the frequent failure of electronic storage. Computers crash, hard drives are wiped clean and no amount of baking can bring them back.

For information on baking tapes you can go here for all you ever wanted to know and more about creating piping-hot and usable tape.

-Joanna Stein

Think you have enough AAI in your life? Think again.

2006-11-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

Still baffled by NPR-speak or simply hungry for the correct spelling of "ombudsman?" Check out Next Generation Radio's complete guide to public radio lingo for terms, definitions and of course, plenty of acronyms.

Search more acronyms at the acronym finder and wikipedia's entry on acronym and initialism. Don't worry: there's a section on fictional espionage organizations.

Think that kind of clearinghouse is for amateurs? You're not alone. The Abbreviation Hunts found meanings for every three-letter combination in English, and are at work on a list of four-letter AAI -- abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms, that is.

-Carrie Wolfson

From radio to NGO's: a world of acronyms

2006-11-22T10:58:00.000-05:00

I had a catalytic conversation with a man on the bus the other day. It shouldn’t have sparked my train of thought the way it did. It was nothing but small talk, really. The exchange went something like this…
“Where do you intern?”
“National Public Radio”
“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Oh, NPR is—“
“You intern at NPR!?! I love NPR! I listen all the time.”
I smiled (a little) and the conversation continued until I reached my stop. That should have been the end of it, and it probably was for my in-transit companion. I, however, couldn’t stop thinking about it, or rather, I couldn’t stop thinking about them—acronyms, that is. Now, before you think “Josh has lost it,” hear me out.

NPR (you may know it as National Public Radio), has a virtual lexicon of company-specific terminology. Learning the workplace vocabulary can be a formidable task, just ask any intern. The difficulty of mastering “NPRspeak” is compounded by the fact that approximately 95% of the new terms are, you guessed it, acronyms. Acronyms like ATC, EDL, ENPS, ISDN, ZFLINKERT, (okay I made the last one up, but you get the point). Acronyms are everywhere at NPR. I bet your company is the same.

And this acronymo-logical phenomenon isn’t limited to the workplace. We have acronyms for everything. Our nation’s capital is two-thirds acronym (who says “Washington, District of Columbia? Honestly.). Some of the most important organizations, programs, and people in American history are acronyms. FDR, JFK, the UN, the NAACP, the ACLU, the WPA, NAFTA, and the list goes on. By this point you’re probably thinking, “so what?” well, I’m not going to insult your intelligence by imagining that you don’t know how acronyms work, but each one of those letters represents a word, and, more importantly, each of those words represents a concept, ideal, truth, or person. When we forget that, we forget why those acronyms are important.

If we don’t know the words behind the letters, we’re more likely to forget the concepts and values those letters stand for. In my book, that’s a dangerous way to live—without values. It’s even worse when the entities behind the acronyms forget what those letters stand for. Perhaps that’s how organizations can come to act in ways that are completely opposite the values they profess to stand for. Perhaps that’s how leaders, lawyers, and lay members of these organizations can fall so far from the original ideal. Perhaps that’s why these organizations can be so intolerant of each other—because they’ve forgotten what it is they stand for. What would the ACLU be without the L? What would the NAACP be without the P? You see, it’s not about the associations; it’s about the people. It’s about their liberties. And I’m worried that we’re forgetting.

In the big picture, does it really matter that ENPS stands for Electronic News Production System? Probably not. But does it matter that UN stands for United Nations? I think it does.

-Josh Figueira

Vicky's pick

2006-11-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

My pick this week is the Seattle band Central Services. Their music ranges from laid-back indie pop to a harder, alternative rock sound.

I liked the band because of the layers in their songs. As well as a tight main melody, the music usually includes counter-melodies and variations in texture. The song I picked, “Get to You,” is one of their more rocking tracks.

The band stars songwriters Kevin Emerson on vocals and stand-up drums, Jeff Blancato on lead guitar, keyboardist Eric Goetz, bassist Mark Livingston and rhythm guitarist Ethan Jones. Emerson and Jones play together in another indie pop band, The Math and Physics Club, who recently released a full-length album with Matinee Records.

Go to the Open Mic page to read more! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6468392

Plug no more

2006-11-15T22:55:00.000-05:00

Since I guess I'm the blog's liason to the greater world of radio, below is a link to talks at the Third Coast Festival (October) by NPR's Danny Zwerdling and Joe Richman, author of Radio Diaries (and specifically Thembi's Diary, which I've plugged earlier and will plug and plug til I can't plug no more)...

I turn the mic over to Third Coast's most recent info email:

"THE 2006 CONFERENCE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP
For those who couldn't join us for our recent 2006 conference, and those who want a second helping, we've just posted all of the panels and breakouts for your edification and pleasure. Words of audio wisdom from the likes of Nancy Updike, Joe Richman, Rob Rosenthal, Daniel Zwerdling and Marilyn Pittman are just a click away.

- Adeline Goss

America on my mind

2006-11-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, I’m the type of guy who’s so republican you could amputate my left foot, hide my crutches, and I’d still find a way to lean right. You can imagine the fun my constituents at NPR have been having as they continually remind me (predominantly in jest) of what is, in my mind at least, the most forgettable second Tuesday of November in the last 12 years. I call it that in a semi-serious tone, because I recognize the current congress and administration have not handled “political happenings” perfectly, and that some sort of change is not completely out of order. What happened Tuesday, however, was not exactly what I had in mind. So I’ve spent most of the last week trying to drown my sorrows, seeking solace from the never-ending well of comfort and wisdom that is the country music genre, and, true to country form, I got to thinking…

Maybe it was the incessant jabs from co-workers, maybe it was working the all-night election coverage, or maybe it was spending Veterans Day in Washington. Whatever the case, I’ve had America on my mind a lot lately. Now, I don’t have a Ph.D. in American history (I have a B.A. in English), and I haven’t read much of Sam Johnson, Thomas Jefferson, or any other political thinker. I wasn’t raised on C-SPAN, and I only subscribe to one newspaper. I don’t know the name of every representative in congress (though I do know the name of mine) and I can’t sing my state song from memory. There is a lot more that I don’t know about politics than I do. Indeed, I may not be the most “informed” American, but I can tell you this much—I am just as American as the most “informed” among us.

If I understand the constitution correctly, that means my opinion is no less or more important than the next American’s. It simply is what it is, and that is the beauty of it. It also occurs to me that being American means, among other things, that while I may never rise to prominence and I might never amass personal fortune, I have just as much responsibility for the fate of this nation as those who do. I have as much of an opportunity to speak out, and speak up for what I believe in, as anyone else. That’s the power of a vote. This past week Americans in all 50 states spoke, and the resultant change was substantial. Was the desire for change unanimous? The close margins of victory in several races leave that question open to debate, but one thing is certain—the system still works. The key to a successful nation is an active, involved citizenry. Americans called for change, and they got it. To everyone who exercised his or her right to vote I say thank you for speaking up, offer this reminder: just because the election is over, doesn’t mean you should cease to be heard.

I’m quickly running out of column inches, and I could go on and on about what it means to be American, but I will end, for now, with this (and what I’m about to say applies across party lines): Call me naïve, but I believe America is made up of people not that different from myself, and I believe the overwhelming majority of those people are good at heart. I believe most of us have the same goals, and we honestly want what we believe is best for our country. I think we witnessed that last Tuesday, and while I don’t completely agree with the outcome, I’m okay with it because that’s the way America works. I’ve had America on my mind a lot lately, and I think we’re gonna be okay.

-Josh Figueira, National Desk

Method Man in D.C.

2006-11-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday I saw the legendary Method Man with Inspectah Deck, Mastah Killa and a host of Wu affiliates at the 9:30 club on V St. N.W. This was the third or fourth hip-hop show that I’ve caught at the venue and to be honest, I had some reservations about the $25 cover charge. I’m a fairly seasoned vet when it comes to live hip-hop. My experience has been that the only way to pull it off is to totally and absolutely transfer the stage energy to the audience. There is little live instrumentation in the traditional sense. Two turntables make up the entire rhythm section, so to get the crowd hyped the emcee really has to bring some stage presence. When done right there is no better live music to see; when done wrong, you wonder why you even listen to hip-hop in the first place.

So back to the Method Man show. He is currently on tour to promote his newest release 421: The Day After. I must say it’s a strong album, and there are very few mainstream hip-hop albums released this millennium that I would call ‘strong.’ What can I say; I’m not a huge fan of the synth-dominated dirty south movement that has dominated the radio waves for the last few years. I like the raw, boom-bap, sample-based beats of yesteryear (See: the RZA). And 421 brings back the boom-bap. Well, at least parts of it do.

So with high hopes I entered the club at 10 P.M. After making my way to the bar for a $5 Budweiser (on an intern’s budget…ouch) I reserved my little plot of standing room a few rows back from the stage. The opening act sounded pretty horrible and should never be allowed to grip microphones again. Luckily they did their thing quickly and got the hell off the stage (no offense, fellas). Next up was Mastah Killa. He did a few songs to get the crowd warmed up then turned the mic over to Inspectah Deck, who is actually one of my favorite members of the Wu. Deck did a decent job of building some momentum for the headliner, which seemed to be his goal. He definitely wasn’t out to steal the show.

As Deck’s set came to an end you could sense the crowd (which by this point was beginning to fill out nicely) start to buzz. Suddenly a chant of “MAKE MARIJUANA LEGAL! MAKE MARIJUANA LEGAL!” poured through the speakers. The beat drop and Method Man entered stage left. The energy level instantly quadrupled. He spit the intro verse to his newest album with intensity and the crowd erupted. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s good to see a guy have the same gusto for live performance 15 years into his career. As with any live show, the energy hit peaks and valleys. Strikes and gutters. However you want to say it, Meth put a ton of force into bringing the energy levels up when needed. And the crowd had no choice but to respond. Meth put his physical well-being on the line for the sake of crowd participation. The dude must have stage-dived at least four times (which was funny, although I’m not sure how I feel about being covered in sweaty rapper) and even used the crowd’s hands to walk and stand on. That was something I had never seen before.

At some point the pungent odor of pot smoke became apparent to my sensitive nostrils. If you’ve listened to Method Man before it shouldn’t come as any real surprise that 1) respecting laws and authority figures is not his forte and 2) the dude smokes copious amounts of weed. Now I’m not the type to either condone or impede the use of illegal substances amongst total strangers. Color me indifferent. But it let me know that this was Meth’s show, Meth’s crowd, and for the hour and a half he was on-stage, Meth’s 9:30 Club. At that exact moment and that precise time he was the authority.

At the end Mastah Killa and Inspectah Deck came back to join Meth and they kicked their verses from the classic ‘Triumph’ (which if you don’t know you undoubtedly better ask somebody). What impressed me most was Meth’s dedication to the crowd. On more than one occasion he let us know we paid a boatload of hard-earned money to see him and it was his job to entertain— a job that he took very seriously. In a time of self-serving musicians in both the underground and mainstream of all genres it was refreshing to hear this. He was also adamant about the current state of the music industry. His overall message was that in this era of internet and i-pods, the consumer has more control over the music than ever. Tune out the garbage on the radio (HEY! WHOA! Deep breaths, I’m pretty sure he was talking about commercial radio) and stop letting the record companies dictate what sells. I left in a very good mood and once-again reminded of the reason that I am such a rap nerd.

-Rob Charnley, Performance Today

Vicky's Pick

2006-11-10T16:04:00.000-05:00

The band Taigaa! is my pick of picks from this week’s Open Mic.

Inspired by a variety of genres – Experimental Pop, pre-80's Korean Pop, Gypsy, Punk, Rock, Goth, Mexican Folk, and Middle Eastern Pop – their sound is hard to pinpoint.

When I first listened to them, I had this take on their music:

Hard-driving, straight-forward vocals and instrumentation reflect their punk side and remind me of some New Wave bands. They also have more whimsical elements in their lyrics and performance that reveal their pop influences.

In the band, Fantastico Pirato sings, K.O.K.O plays keyboard and violin and Dusty Gold handles drums.

They stuck out to me because of their originality. I haven’t really heard a band quite like them. Also, I’m in love with Dusty Gold’s drumming style.

Check out the Open Mic site to learn more about them! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6458158

Also, they have a video of another of their songs, “Deep Moustache Forest.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCE9LVtzTOs

Behind the Scenes on Election Night

2006-11-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

Coming into NPR 6:30pm Tuesday night, I was excited (and a little anxious) about my Election Night duties. My shift officially began at 7pm and wouldn't end until 5 the next morning.

When I got to Studio 4a, the studio built specifically for election coverage, it was already a whirlwind of activity, much of it centering around the buffet table.

My job was call runner, which meant handing out cards to Online, Newscast, and the Board that listed the House, Senate and Gubernatorial races and projected the winning candidate. Julia Moss, the election unit intern (better known as my "Cross-country Sprinter" partner) and I frantically checked off the names of the candidates that Ken Rudin and Ron Elving (NPR's political experts) projected would win. The two of us developed an excellent system -- although, one time, I almost knocked someone over (sorry!) as I hastily ran up to the stage where Linda Wertheimer and Robert Siegel sat.

During downtime, which there was a lot of -- NPR being extremely careful not to call races too soon -- I was able to enter the studio and listen to the show. I was impressed by how smoothly things sounded, despite how hectic things were on the other side of the glass.

I am sad to report that my call runner position will probably be eliminated next year due to a technical upgrade -- man replaced by machine. But a note to the Fall 2008 interns: find a spot on election night duty. It was incredibly fun, even though by 4am I was speaking with 5 minute pauses between sentences.

- Bertina Yu

More local knowledge

2006-11-07T15:18:00.000-05:00

A few more ways to explore DC -- or at least start the process without getting out of your desk chair.
- Flickr user AlbinoFlea takes surprising photos from around the DC area. Find more photos in the Flickr Washington DC cluster

- FishbowlDC is a gossipy DC-area media blog.

- Upcoming: DC is an organized-by-date event listing that does not overlook big draws like Bob Saget at the GW Lisner Auditorium (Thursday!)

Vicky's Pick

2006-11-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hello! I’m Vicky Markovitz, the All Songs Considered Intern. I put together the Open Mic page for All Songs, which features unsigned and independent artists. Each week, I’m going to put up my favorite of all the favorites I picked, or some artist that stood out to me in some way. So… here’s this week’s pick, Rising Appalachia.

Rising Appalachia includes sisters Leah and Chloe Smith and percussionist Forrest Kelly. Despite being incredibly jealous of them, because they are touring Europe right now and called me from Ireland, I enjoy their twist on traditional Appalachian music. They don’t stray too far from old tunes, but enhance the songs with sisterly harmonies and an energetic, plucked string sound adorned with the twang of a fiddle and occasional horns.

I picked their track "Say Darlin’ Say" because I vaguely knew the tune and liked being able to hear the personal touches in their version. The fact that Leah and Chloe knew the song because their father used to sing it to them as a lullaby also made it too adorable to turn down.

Another track of theirs I really liked, but isn’t on their Open Mic page, is "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss," which includes trumpet. I’m a sucker for horns. You can listen to a snippet of it on their website.

Both the songs are off their self-titled album.

Here is the link to their Open Mic page if you want to check them out for yourself! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6394253

Let me know what you think!

Rock and Roll Sunday

2006-11-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

This coming Sunday, The Black Angels and The Black Keys are both performing at the 9:30 club in D.C. The Black Angels go on at 8:45pm E.T. followed by the Black Keys. For those of you not in town or who are here but simply don't want to brave traffic in the city, NPR is webcasting the live concerts and as usual, fans can chat to All Songs Considered intern Vicky Markovitz here. The link to the online chat will appear during the start of the concert.

-Bertina Yu

talking about elections...

2006-11-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

It isn't any surprise that campaigns have been going extremely negative lately, but there seems to be a crucial difference between the way the people talk about male and female candidates. Why is it considered okay to invalidate female candidates based on their appearance? I have heard far too many comments by potential voters on why they're voting against say Katherine Harris, not because of her ignorant remarks like "if you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin, " but because they find her unattractive. As a young woman in her mid-20s, I find this disparity between men and women very, very disturbing. Does anyone else find this troubling?

election mania

2006-11-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

After years of being a passive viewer of election news coverage and watching the election at home, I am amazed that I get a chance to participate behind the scenes! As a volunteer for NPR's election night, I am extremely excited over it but at the same time, I'm a little nervous that I'll make a huge mistake. So the countdown begins, just 5 more days until November 7th! And make that 5 more days of crazed squabbling among candidates and political pundits...

-Bertina Yu

I thought I saw a...giant chicken superhero?

2006-10-31T14:27:00.000-05:00

Strange things are occurring up here on the 3rd Fl. We just got visited by a costumed Halloween superhero wearing a chicken mask. It is this particular superhero's duty to bring Halloween spirit here at the news desks. Too bad he wasn't giving out interviews. :)

If you spot the chicken, take a picture and put it on the blog. Maybe you'll get an extra treat.

yummy recipes to try

2006-10-31T13:34:00.000-05:00

I know it’s only Halloween but it’s not too early to start dreaming of Thanksgiving food. Every year NPR den mother, Susan Stamberg, shares her mother-in-law’s recipe for Cranberry Relish, a “Pepto-Bismol pink” concoction that contains onion, cranberry, horseradish and sugar. Sound doubtful to you? Well it sounds (pun absolutely intended) delicious to me.

Her segments from past years are archived here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4175681

Her segment from last year with Martha Stewart is genius. It’s charming, warm and funny.

Check it out!

-Joanna Stein

3rd Floor Block Party

2006-10-31T12:55:00.000-05:00

At this very minute, I can hear the strains of the Beatles' song "Here Comes the Sun" being played, cheering up everyone on the 3rd floor of the NPR building on Mass Ave. Thank you to whomever is giving it a spin on the speakers. I have a personal attachment to this song and if you haven't listened to it before, you should play it on a wintery, blustery day for warmth.

-a Beatles fan

Not Playing At A Theatre Near You: “Return of the Office Zombie”

2006-10-31T10:35:00.000-05:00

As an NPR intern getting adjusted to the “nine to five” life, and being in this fast-paced, sometimes frenetic environment (which I love most of the time), I feel I’ve been transitioning pretty smoothly. However, it does require a lot of energy and I’m not exactly the most chipper person on the block. After years of late nights, erratic schedules, and confusing my biological clock to no end, I admit it’s a struggle to find that energy at times.

To avoid becoming a permanent fixture on the Halloween horror movie scene yourself, I've come up with a few suggestions I think are more realistic than the usual “go to bed at 9pm” dictate that the establishment likes to recommend. I mean, really, we all know how unlikely it is we’re going to bed early.

Beating the Zombie Syndrome:

1) Let’s face it, when the time comes to get ready for bed, it’s probably not anywhere near a reasonable hour. Common sense says try to squeeze in at least six hours of sleep.

2) It’s sorely tempting to crash on the couch immediately after getting home from work but beware—those 3 hour "naps" will keep you from getting great zzzz’s at night.

3) Personally, my bedroom has morphed into a multi-purpose kind of room, which includes me doing activities other than sleeping like watching movies. But experts suggest we only use our bedroom for sleep.

4) If you’re already at the office and feeling tired, a simple walk around the room may re-energize you. Plus, an added bonus is that when you’re at NPR, interesting things always seem to be going on and you never know who you might run into.

5) If all else fails, turn to the drink that never lets you down. I knew a girl who used to call coffee “ambrosia of the gods” and I think she was right.

-confessions from a former office zombie

New Feature Coming Soon

2006-10-30T16:44:00.000-05:00

The Intern Edition Blog is going to be rolling out a new weekly post from All Songs Considered intern Vicky Markovitz very soon. Stay turned for further details. And don't forget tonight's concert featuring The Decemberists at 9:30 p.m. ET. There will be a live webcast from Washington D.C.'s 9:30 club. In addition, fans or newbies can chat with Vicky about the band. There will be a link to the chat from here.

-Bertina Yu, Blogmaster

"The Google"

2006-10-30T13:20:00.000-05:00

If you want at least one giggle for today, you should go to Morning Edition's story titled "President and the Google." Apparently, bloggers are still having a laugh over President Bush's answer to a question in an interview on CNBC.

-Bertina Yu

Third Coast Festival

2006-10-30T10:14:00.000-05:00

Maybe you, like me, were devouring updates from the Third Coast Festival Conference in Chicago last week... but if you weren't...

Third Coast is an annual gathering of audio producers from across the radio spectrum -- public radio, experimental sound, documentarians. It's held each fall in Chicago and draws regulars like Ira Glass and NPR's Robert Krulwich and Danny Zwerdling.

THIRD COAST AWARD WINNERS
Previews of all the winners' stories are available on the Third Coast site. Here are links to a few of the full stories:

Thembi's Diary -- Joe Richman, Radio Diaries
Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu -- Ann Heppermann, Kara Oehler and Rick Moody
Rhapsody in Bohemia, Alan Hall, Falling Tree productions
My Lobotomy -- Dave Isay / Soundportraits

99 WAYS TO TELL A RADIO STORY
Commissioned before the conference, each of these shortdocs represents a different production style, lasts 2 min and 30 sec, starts with some manifestation of the sentence "To begin with, they never got along," and includes the following sounds: a pre-recorded voice, a rhythmic noise and an exclamation (in that order). Some highlights:

#3: The First Attraction by Lawrence Lanahan and Bruce Wallace. The myth of Narcissus reimagined: the north pole of a magnet bar falls tragically in love with the north pole of another magnet bar. Production style: "mythomagnetic."

#27: The Secret Life of an Australian Mother by Eurydice Aroney, Tom Morton, Stuart Brown. A domestic duet for a mother and six year old. Production style: "hysteria verite."

99 Ways will continue accepting submissions until December 31 or until they reach 99 (they're currently at 73), whichever comes first. So get busy!

HOOKED? THERE'S MORE:
- Transom.org's blog about the talks and events at Third Coast (Transom.org, for the uninitiated, is a boundless audio resource). Bloggers include Robin Amer and Greta Pemberton of PRI's Open Source and, formerly, the world-famous Brown Student Radio.
- Third Coast's links to audio sites
- Third Coast 2006 audio archives, with stories by Rick Moody, Danny Zwerdling, among others.

That should be enough to keep you busy for a few months! Enjoy.

- Adeline Goss

After all, we live here.

2006-10-27T15:11:00.000-04:00

I moved to DC from Providence, RI, where localism kind of goes without saying. The little blue state is full of progressives, community activists, and interesting characters -- like our former mayor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, indicted in 2001 on federal criminal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud. I mean, this is good stuff! Rhode Islanders tend to love Rhode Island, and even Brown University freshmen get hooked.

Which is why I was initially disappointed when I moved to D.C. At first glance, national news is local news. Local politics is, at least to a certain extent, national politics -- and vice versa.

But of course, it's our job to figure this place out, roam the streets and make it home. If Providence taught me one thing, it's that our nomadic digi-generation needs to care more about the people around us. Like, physically around us. Like, in our offices and subways and on our streets. A lot of good can come from it (beyond, say, meeting one's future husband).

But we do love the web. So here's a compromise: online, community-generated content about the big and little pleasures of living in DC.

Outside.In maps out new, user-generated information about events in our neighborhoods: a police report, a new high-rise... or, where did that mandolin-playing guy on the corner go?

DCist documents "the nation's capitol and all its quirks, one detail at a time." Check out the "Overheard" category and add those surreal moments you witness in the metro.

Now share your own!

-- Adeline Goss

A Uniquely DC Halloween Tradition

2006-10-27T10:34:00.000-04:00

Talk of the Nation intern Carrie Wolfson observes a special Halloween tradition in Washington D.C. which took place on Tuesday, October 24th: the 17th Street High Heel race.

Drag Racing: An evening of glamour, high spirits, and ornately decorated candy logos for headgear.

On Tuesday evening I left NPR and headed to Dupont Circle for one of D.C.’s finest institutions: the annual 17th Street High Heel Race. Legend has it a handful of friends 20 years ago stumbled out of a gay bar, donned drag and performed a tipsy race up and down the street. Today, no one quite knows who spearheads the race each year, but it’s grown from a neighborhood tradition to a metro area attraction.

My date that night was my dad, a mustached physics professor in his late fifties who was wonderfully game through the whole shebang. We made our way up 17th, not entirely sure where the fabled race took place or what it would look like when we got there. A few blocks from Dupont we caught the sound of raucous chanting mingled with pumping disco classics and knew we’d arrived.

The streets were packed with onlookers clutching plastic cups. They stood on their toes, sat on each other’s shoulders, perched on car bumpers and leaned off apartment balconies all in the hopes of a better glimpse of the glamour. I’m almost positive I saw someone astride a streetlight, but maybe my memory’s clouded by the general larger-than-life quality of the night. Queens themselves dotted the crowd, which was largely non-gender bending folks along for the fun.

A call and response cheer of “High…Heels!” broke out in the tense moments before the competition. Fists shot into the air with each cry, along with deep baritone shouts of “let’s go ladies!” A collective countdown followed, and the queens were off. Unfortunately, at 5’8” all I caught was the shimmering progress of plumage from the ladies’ head ornaments. But what plumage! Each one was topped with an elaborate candy logo, a dazzling fashion statement which, admittedly, made little sense to me or to my co-revelers.

Alas, I have no idea which beauty prevailed that night. But I know I love drag queens for the simultaneous combination of irreverence and dedication they show to gender. They also know how to make a damn good show of it, and the crowd reflected that. After the race, I heard one couple lament “this used to be a neighborhood event, now it’s overrun by people from the ’burbs.” But when thousands of spectators—many of them young, straight, and male—show up to cheer on the campy, marginal art of drag, it might just be worth it.

What a Day!

2006-10-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't believe the day I had Wednesday, September 27th. It was busy as usual, but completely exciting because I was at the Capitol capturing sounds for my Intern Edition story.

First, I had to get my press pass, which by the way, I'm proud to say I accomplished obtaining it all on my own. Getting a press pass took a little maneuvering--I had to call the media office to find out about the process. I went through the correct paperwork and then obtained a letter from the news desk stating I was "legit."

It felt good walking freely around the Capitol building. What I really enjoyed was getting to hang out in the Speaker's lobby just outside of the House floor. The lobby is where members of Congress go to relax in between votes, and of course, it's also the place where the press likes to hang around in order to grab interviews. Once the votes started happening, it became pretty hectic, with lots of mingling between the press and the Representatives.

Incredibly, I was able to personally interview three members of the House: David Price, Adam Putnam, and Debbie Wasserman-Shultz. At first, I didn't think I would get any interviews with any of them, but there were ushers that helped me out. It was also really cool seeing the congresswoman from my home state, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and the staff director I worked under as an intern with The Committee on The International Relations’ Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia.

-Jason Hesch, Audience and Corporate Research

It's Not Easy Being Blue: Making Inroads With Republicans

2006-10-20T14:25:00.000-04:00

Alexandra Caldwell is an intern with NPR's Online Department. Below she shares a humorous story of how her favorite radio story led her to an interesting revelation about the contentious nature of politics:

My Mother, the most liberal woman you’ll ever meet, has come around to the idea of censorship. It started when I left for college. It was then that my mother realized how much of a buffer I had been. Throughout high school I was the one subjected to conversations with my father that revolved entirely around politics.

My father works from home, thus my parents spend the entire day together. He works hard but because his job entails him conferencing via telephone it gives him a lot of time to surf the internet…finding all the liberal propaganda he can get his hands on. When George W. Bush won the election a piece of my father died inside. Since then he’s tried to fill this hole with that “liberal media” from the World Wide Web like those of Molly Ivins, the Crisis Papers, the Democratic Underground, JibJab, and You Ain’t a Cowboy, to name a few.

When I went to college my mother became the sounding board for my father’s outcries. She was bombarded before her coffee; she spent her afternoons trying to steal my father’s soap box away from him and her nights wide-awake listening to him mutter in his sleep about the state of the nation. Though I was off at school his obsession found me, too – from conversations with my mother and forwards from my father. I can’t tell you how many ‘Dancing Bush’ emails I received.

My parents never raised me to hate but I began to resent the hold that Conservative politicos had over my household. We were all angry. My father began to pull a Johnny Cash – wearing only black, in mourning over the Democratic Party. My Mother contemplated utilizing the parental controls on the TV and internet. Because of this outpouring of aggravation over all things Conservative I began to think of all Republicans as ‘the evil ones.’ This is why my favorite NPR story is the All Things Considered piece, "Doppelgangers Cause Confusion on Capitol Hill." All Things Considered told the story of look-alike Republican Congressmen, Steve King of Iowa and Tom Tancredo of Colorado. The piece was informative but also highly amusing. The best part? Besides the two men switching nametags at a White House Christmas party it was when Luke Burbank, NPR National Desk Reporter, questioned the Congressmen on their twin-like connection – “Can you feel each other’s pain?” he asked. I was driving while listening and was worried I’d wreck because I was laughing so hard. It taught me, in a Free to Be You and Me fashion, that along with it being okay to cry, it’s also okay to like the occasional Republican.

As of now, my Father has improved. He no longer bombards us 24/7 with liberal ranting, though I’m sure he wants to. His current obsession is much healthier – training our dog to, how should I say this, leave “presents” in neighborhood yards that once held Bush Cheney signs. You should know that I’m from North Carolina. That’s a lot of yards.

Sound Off

2006-10-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

Many of us NPR interns started out as NPR addicts. We came to believe in radio, and the next logical step was to make radio. What were the stories that hooked us? Adeline Goss, the Executive Producer of Intern Edition, will start us off...

Alix Spiegel, This American Life, "Pray"
Dave Isay, Sound Portraits, "Ghetto Life 101"
Dave Isay, Sound Portraits, "The Sunshine Hotel"
Dave Isay and Richard Sandler, Sound Portraits, "The Gods of Times Square"
Dave Isay and Stacy Abramson, Sound Portraits, "Witness to an Execution"
Jay Allison and Joe Richman, Radio Diaries, " Laura Rothenberg: My So-Called Lungs"
Jay Allison, Radio Diaries/New York Works, "Walter the Seltzer Man"
Jay Allison and Annie Cheney, Radio Diaries, "Concerning Breakfast"
Jay Allison and Nubar Alexanian, Transom, "Perfect Hearing"
Joe Richmond, Radio Diaries, "Thembi's AIDS Diary"
Robert Krulwich, All Things Considered, "The Little Coffee Plant that Wouldn't Die"
Scott Carrier, This American Life, "Running After Antelope"
Scott Carrier, Transom, "The West Desert"

Interns: submit your own favorites by writing to byu@npr.org.

Rock, Paper, Scissors!

2006-10-17T12:38:00.000-04:00

RPS 2006: The Saga Begins

As a reporter for Intern Edition, I plan to attend the Rock Paper Scissors World Championships in Toronto and win three important things: 1) $7000 CAD, 2) a reputation as the greatest RPS player on the face of the earth, and 3) respect as a broadcast journalist. From where I’m sitting now (i.e. my desk), it seems I have two major obstacles in my path: 1) mental toughness, and 2) statistics.

Last summer I made my debut on the RPS Circuit at the DC Nationals, where I bowed out in the first round alongside Cheddar Ted, the JoJo to my KC. To give you a glimpse of my experience, here is an excerpt from my post-tournament diary:

After winning the first best of three set then going up 1-0 in the second, I managed to give it all away to this dude with some sort of Viet Cong combat helmet on his dome. Apparently, this bro ruined a pep rally at my friend’s high school by hiding in an overturned trash can and walking into the step show, where he had to be tackled in the trash can by a gang of faculty. He also cheated by delaying his throws and looking at my hands instead of into my eyes like a true gamer. I attempted to alert our completely oblivious, chain-smoking judge to this underhandedness, but I’m pretty sure she had no idea that she was at a Rock Paper Scissors tournament. Perhaps she believed she was working at an outpost of Staples that was being ransacked by Neanderthals.

After a few depressing moments at the bar, the night was salvaged in some street RPS games upstairs where Cheddar beat the #16-ranked Awesomer Thanyou in a cash game. Awesomer, whose real name is James, also lost in the first round of the tournament and by my calculations squandered about $150 in side games. He seemed poised to play a best of three match for his house. In summation, he seemed like a man with nothing to lose. My brief conversation with him went like this:

Me: Yo Awesomer, how long have you been in the game?

Awesomer: Only a couple of years. I went to the World Championships in Toronto last year. It was awesome.

Me: Was it “Awesomer” than this?

Awesomer (seriously): Hey, man, don’t make fun of my name.

After this experience, I know that RPS is no joke, and if I am going to emerge victorious in Toronto I know I have a lot of training ahead of me in the next month. So far I have mostly been playing games against my mom for use of the television (this is a lie) and using this online RPS simulator (http://www.shotgunrules.com/rock_paper_scissors.shtml), which is like the modern-day equivalent of putting chess moves in bottles and throwing them into the ocean. In other words, very unfulfilling and mostly useless.

This is just the beginning…

-Christopher Schonberger, Weekend Edition Saturday

Finding Common Ground

2006-10-16T12:29:00.000-04:00

“So a Hindu, a Jew, and a Mormon walk into a coffee shop….”

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. It’s not a joke; it’s my life—my life at NPR.

For the past month I’ve had the opportunity of working with the wonderful reporter-producer team of Guy Raz and Nishant Dahiya, outstanding journalists, and all-around good guys. Nishant is a master's student in international affairs and the son of an Indian naval officer. Guy is a Jewish-American who graduated from Cambridge with a master's in history, and I’m a country-music-loving die-hard conservative who just graduated from BYU with a degree in English. Talk about group dynamics. (Think “The View” with an added measure of testosterone). Before anyone goes putting Ms. Walters and her constituents on notice, however, I should qualify something: Guy is the only one of us with a strong enough T.V. presence to pose a formidable threat. Take care of him, and I think you can rest easy.

In all seriousness, travel time to and from interviews has afforded us ample time to discuss an array of issues and ideas, and we’ve had some truly fascinating conversations.

Once, we stopped at an outfitter on Quantico military base, and Nishant pointed out the sweet irony of the fact that the flak jackets and utility knives had “made in Vietnam” stickers attached to them. Another time, Guy introduced me to Newt Gingrich as “his biggest fan” and insisted I have my picture taken with him. He said it would be reassuring to my parents to see that their son wasn’t being “brainwashed by left-wing liberals” (his words). And once, we sat with rapt attention as terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman recounted the tale of a foiled terror plot at a counter-terrorism conference, only to have the conversation turn to Hollywood B-movies, the willing suspension of disbelief, and the worst action films ever made.

We’ve talked about God and war, democracy and justice, faith and foreign policy, baseball and fine dining. And while our palates seem to be as different as our political penchants, through it all we’ve managed to find some common ground, all the while allowing for moments of respectful dissent. We haven’t resolved any long-standing political crises, but we haven’t started any new ones, either. And I’m willing to bet we’ve all learned a thing or two along the way. I know I have.

P.S. Mom and Dad said thanks for the picture.

-Joshua Figueira, National Desk

Dear NPR...

2006-10-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

At Morning Edition, one of my most thought-provoking jobs is reading and answering e-mails from listeners. I read up to 50 per day and respond to about 20 of them, signing each of my responses "Morning Edition"-- although it occasionally freaks me out that I have become a collective entity to my electronic recipients. I also become the listener’s advocate, directing notes to producers and editors if a particular story has generated a large response.

Many e-mails ask for more information about this or that, and my responses provide book names, story links and other facts. Often, listeners request information that I can't provide, because the "NPR" content they are interested in was actually produced at their NPR member station or by other radio networks. It's a common point of confusion among listeners, who think they are hearing a continuous, undifferentiated stream of "NPR" programs.

Then there are the many listeners who just want someone at Morning Edition to read their opinions . Those opinions can sometimes stretch on for pages.

Many of these emails are positive, directing a virtual pat on the back to reporters, hosts, or the shows in general. But others are outraged about our coverage, our omissions, our biases, or just the general state of the world. At the end of some there’s a familiar sign off : " Shame on you, NPR. Shame on you for becoming one of them." The "them" might be the Left, the Right and the Mainstream Media, depending on the listener's perspective.

Occasionally I feel a reflexive shrinking from the harsh criticism. Although I’m an intern, I’ve assumed some responsibility for this show and in some way, I’m being shamed as well. I'm also slightly outraged, thinking of the extremely smart and dedicated people that surround me each day. They put in hours on each of these stories only to have listeners disparage their work. "Who," I want to yell, " will do more for you?"

Being "fair and balanced" (a phrase I’ve heard several times here without any apparent sense of irony) means that you won’t please everyone - and if you do, you’re probably not creating great journalism. Once I've collected myself, the next moment of my emotional chronology is my pride in the outrage we’ve inspired. I marvel that there are people who really listen and take the time to write back three page rants with ten detailed questions - and who expect an answer from NPR. For many listeners (at least the ones that take the time to write) , NPR is a media that responds to the public. As listeners, they have a right to demand revision and change.

-Joanna Stein, Morning Edition

Interns <3 the Digital Age

2006-10-11T20:26:00.000-04:00

In their first month at NPR, several interns have written sidebars for the NPR website. Check it out:

Erika Engelhaupt, Science Desk intern, wrote "Tailoring your Coffee Drink" for Alison Aubrey's September 28 story, "Coffee: A Little Really Does Go a Long Way" and helped write "Others Weigh in on Gallaudet Protests" for Joseph Shapiro's October 11 story, "Gallaudet's President Struggles with Protests."

Adeline Goss, Executive Producer of Intern Edition, wrote "Painting the Early Universe's Picture" for David Kestenbaum's October 3 story, "Big-Bang Detective Work Wins Physics Nobel."

Afton Woodward, Online intern, wrote "White Collar Crooks: Pleas and Punishments," for Wade Goodwyn's September 26 story, "Enron's Fastow seeks - and receives - Leniency."

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2006-10-06T08:38:00.000-04:00

Nothing says "autumn" quite like pumpkin-harvesting in New England. But giant pumpkins? Lindsey Larson recounts her recent interviews for Intern Edition:

* * *

My Intern Edition story took me to Topsfield, MA last weekend to report on the 188th annual Topsfield Fair. Following a core team of five pumpkin growers over two days, I became well-versed in the particulars of growing the mythical giant pumpkin.

A squash of fantastic proportions, giant pumpkins can gain 30 to 40 pounds per day and require 500 gallons of water per day to support that fattening regimen. Each summer throughout New England, dedicated growers resign themselves to the garden for three whole months in hopes of winning the giant pumpkin weigh-off.

Five members of the Ipswich Bay Giant Pumpkin Growers Association invited me to help pick each others' special harvest. Using a tripod, which was once employed to move gravestones, they carefully lifted each pumpkin and placed it on a palette covered with rugs and couch cushions. The next morning, "convoys" of pumpkin growers arrived at the Topsfield Fair from across New England. They began unloading the pumpkins at 6 a.m. and the weigh-off got underway around nine.

Throughout the events of the morning, I interviewed both young and old to try to determine why they were obsessed with a vegetable that is - they admit it - ugly. With many weighing in at over 1,000 pounds, giant pumpkins maintain a variety of globular shapes and unusual colorings. At 1 o'clock, the judges announced the winner as the weight flashed on the digital screen: 1,347 pounds, a new Topsfield Fair record!

-Lindsey Larson, Radio Expeditions

Ann's Gift

2006-10-05T15:31:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Adeline interviewed Arlington resident Ann Kennedy about her grapheme-color synesthesia. Below is her account of what Ann calls her "gift":

* * *

On Sunday, I took my reporter's kit to Arlington to interview Ann Kennedy, a grapheme-color synesthete. Synesthesia is a medical condition in which a person's senses are crossed rather than separate from each other, so that they may taste colors, feel music, or smell sounds. The experiences aren't limited to the traditional "senses." Every time Ann sees a number or letter of the alphabet, it appears in her mind's eye as a specific, unchanging color. Some doctors see this as a syndrome. Ann sees it as a gift.

To illustrate what her mind sees, she took out a box of colored pencils and a pad of paper. Before I arrived, she had written my name not once but twice - the second time to get the color "right." The "d" in particular had been giving her trouble. The second one, she explained, was much more like "her" d.

Synesthetes on average have four different types of synesthesia, although some may be stronger than others. Ann insists that she's only a mild synesthete.

But as she and I conversed outside, a long, textured birdsong erupted from overhead, and she grinned, locking my eyes: "Silver!"

-Adeline Goss, Executive Producer of Intern Edition

10/4 Intern Edition Meeting

2006-10-05T08:49:00.000-04:00

For this week's Intern Edition meeting, we had guest speakers NPR Arts and Information reporter David Folkenflik and John Barth, managing director of PRX. David shared valuable information on interviewing people and how to deal with problems that might pop up. The most important things seemed to be 1) don't talk too much as the interviewer, 2) be prepared before you start an interview, 3) get comfortable with your equipment, 4) don't ask yes and no questions, and 5) really listen to what the person is saying.

Interns gather around to listen to
David's engrossing stories.

John Barth is the director of Public Radio Exchange, a website that is "a web-based marketplace for public radio pieces. Programmers find and air work from other stations, independent producers and international broadcasters. Producers - station-based or independent - license their work directly to stations." (Taken from the website at www.prx.org. For more information about PRX, please go to the website. )

John encourages the group to add their
own radio pieces onto PRX's site.

We would like to thank both David and John for taking some time out of their day to speak with us.

Bertina Yu, Washington Desk/IE Blog Editor

Borat Visits White Houses for to Make Invitation to Movie-Film

2006-09-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

This morning I was sitting at my computer, simultaneously watching the wires for updates on Terrell Owens’s alleged “suicide attempt” and debating whether or not to mention that I have eczema in my intern bio (verdict: affirmative), when I suddenly received a frantic message from my friend Cheddar Ted, a fledgling reporter at The Observer in New York:

“GET OUT OF THE OFFICE, GRITZ! Borat is in DC, call this number!”

Wasting only a little bit of time, I called the number and asked a publicist to give me the 411 on the whole sid-u-ation.

She said, “You’re from NPR? Hold on, let me drop everything else I’m doing to tell you about it.”

She returned and said, “16th St. and O, 1:30pm.”

Braving temperatures close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, I hiked over to the corner of 16th and O, where the Kazakhstan Embassy was located. A steady trickle of cameras, soundmen, and media types began congregating. Someone set up a podium with the Kazakh flag hanging proudly besides the Stars and Stripes, and Borat appeared down the block, dressed in his trademark gray suit and toting his clipboard. He then took to the podium. There he delivered a statement denying rumors that the Kazakh government was displeased with his portrayal of Kazakhstan in his forthcoming film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. He blamed these statements on Uzbek spies who were tampering with statements and spreading propaganda.

After failing to open the gate of the embassy, where he wanted to “make meeting with government,” he turned to the crowd and asked, “Please you can tell me where is the white houses?”

Someone replied, “Uhhh, the White House is that way,” and Borat started power walking down 16th.

One of the most amusing parts of the spectacle was watching all the TV people running down the street, knocking over innocent bystanders, and yelling into their Blackberries to coordinate crews to pick Borat up at the White House.

Once he arrived in front of the White House, Borat approached three policemen and asked, “Where is white houses?” to which they responded, “Right in front of you.”

He then asked, “How I make entrance, please?” The cops forlornly pointed towards the security gate.

The White Houses guards appeared unamused by Borat’s request: “Please I can come in? I like make invitation to Premier George Wilson Bush to see my movie-film. Afterward we have cocktail party where make discussion between our government.”

After passing along his message, Borat strolled into a waiting SUV and set off “to buy a coffees for my leader, and also an M and M.”

As the media crowd dispersed, I spied a Potbelly’s Sandwich Works across the street and bought a delicious sandwich. Then I went back to work.

This is literally what it’s like to be an NPR Intern.

- Chris Schonberger, Weekend Edition Saturday

*Disclaimer: British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen created the character of Borat and was in Washington D.C. to promote his upcoming film

The Celebrity Status

2006-09-29T09:33:00.000-04:00

Becoming an intern at NPR was an unexpected but pleasant surprise for me this fall. As a recent graduate with a master’s degree, I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands over the summer, and in between waiting for news from various jobs, I had a recurring idea: why not apply for an internship at NPR? It had always been something I wanted to do in college, but had always neglected to go through with—I think I was a little intimidated by the caliber of past interns in addition to having absolutely no background in journalism.

Of course, after getting the news that I had been accepted into NPR’s internship program, I immediately told everyone I knew. My family and my friends, all longtime NPR listeners, kept making me promise that I would update them with any interesting stories I had during my internship. So guys, this one’s for you.

Do you remember running into your teacher at the store and being so taken aback by the fact that they had actual lives outside of their job? In a sense, that is exactly how I felt the first time that Mara Liasson stopped by my desk. She was friendly and easygoing, although I’m sure she was wondering why I was mute for a good minute or so, but she was very gracious about it.

It never occurred to me that I would be on the exact same floor as people I had listened to or seen on television; that is I never really thought of what it’d be like to meet all of these famous people. Because of their “celebrity” status, it’s sometimes hard to remember that they too do normal things like shopping, or taking care of the kids. I used to think that it would be really intimidating to talk to someone who was famous, or that I would be seen as an annoying fan. But one thing I always keep in mind now, particularly after meeting Mara is that the celebrities here at NPR are extremely approachable and after getting past that moment of being starstruck, I learned that it was much easier getting to know them than I thought it would be. Plus, I’ve heard that an NPR reporter sees Karl Rove pretty regularly at his local grocery store, which once again reminds me that we all have lives outside of our jobs.

-Bertina Yu, Washington Desk/Intern Edition Blog Editor

Addie's Golden Rule

2006-09-29T08:40:00.000-04:00

Eight members of my family called this week to ask how things were going with the internship. This is heartwarming, since out of all my relatives - four parents, four grandmothers, and 30 cousins - only one person actually listens to NPR. But they've apparently realized over the years that my dream was to work in this building, and here I am. I'm not even paid, and I'm thrilled.
That's what I tell my grandmothers when they call me, and they're satisfied. But my friends from Brown, many of whom were virtually weaned on public radio, want to know more. Mostly they ask me if I eat in the same lunchroom as Robert Siegel.

And I say, "That's funny, actually. Because just the other day..."

Just the other day, I got back from shadowing Guy Raz on an interview and went up to the lunchroom. I stood in line behind a very well-dressed man and immediately thought something was up - people just don't dress like that in public radio. He turned around a moment later and asked my name.

"Addie Goss, what's yours?"

"Murblecose..." he answered, or something like that. I haven't yet developed the fundamental reporting skill of listening to people's names.

"So what do you do here?" he asked, and I explained that I'm an intern, that I'm the executive producer of Intern Edition, that I just graduated from Brown, that I biked across America this summer, the whole bio, rambling because this man was in a suit.

I finally gasped, "What do you do here?"

"I'm the President," he said. "Of NPR."

I fell in love with radio in middle school. But reporting for Brown Student Radio was something else - stressful, time-consuming, and never quite perfect. What kept me from jumping ship and taking the LSATs was that everyone in radio is so great. They're blindingly smart and creative. They're also humble and kind to stammering interns.

Kevin Klose kept me talking. We ordered and paid for lunch, then he picked up his soup and said, "Bye, Addie!"

That meant something. Remember people's names. If there's one thing I learn here, that's it.

-Adeline Goss, Executive Producer of Intern Edition