Saturday, July 08, 2006
Producers Just Wanna Have Fun
Talia gets police shootings, Darren gets community events and Marcus gets to interview celebrities with unique, um, talents.Me?
I get baby corn and 74-year-old chimpanzees.
Gotta love being a public radio producer.
Don't mistake this for sarcasm. I adore being a freelance producer for NPR, and these quirky stories are one of the main reasons why. After we've shoved hours of Iraq and political coverage into your eardrums, there has to be some way to lighten up the mood of the network's newsmagazines. And that's when the fun stuff comes in.
Like yesterday on All Things Considered, where someone came up with the unusual idea of having a pirate movie reviewed by a ninja. (Apparently, there's some generations-long feud between the two kinds of bandits.) Or when Joe Palca twisted his head in a knot trying to figure out the physics of spinning eggs. And I can't forget about Morning Edition host Renée Montange going the way of Ashanti and having her voice digitally tweaked.
Where do we get this stuff from? A lot of times, these pieces are the result of searching for answers to personal ponderances.
"Is baby corn really, like, immature corn, or is it genetically altered or something?" (Asked during a conversation about food in an editorial meeting gone completely off-track.)
As as people, public radio folk don't take ourselves too seriously.
So while I may have "print and new media tendencies" (thanks for pointing that out, Darren), as long as I get to call up people to talk about finding love in the aisles of Home Depot, non-profit broadcasting will be where my kooky little heart lives.
(Other favorites to check out: How a Man, a Rat and a Spider Learned to Fly by Robert Krulwich; Mole-Rats, Ants Making Science Headlines by John Nielsen; and 'Joggling' Adds Spice to Sport of Running, produced by yours truly.) continue...
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omg i need the television equivalent of public radio... i guess that would be pbs huh??? that really appeals to my inner psycho and i love it!! the baby corn discussion?? classic newsroom fancy!! love it!! LMAO!!!