MIA LOBEL

Audio Producer | Journalist | Educator

[mialobel]

https://soundcloud.com/mialobel/the-happy-song-credits

[wfaelistenhere]

Maybe you were raised on public radio or maybe you found it later in life. For me, growing up in a house with one small TV that got turned off right after Mr. Rogers but a radio in every room, public radio was as regular a part of life as breakfast or time-out. But whether you were indoctrinated...

[reporthers]

AMANDA ARONCZYK is a public radio reporter and producer. She has been reporting for almost 15 years and has worked on staff at Radiolab, Marketplace, Weekend America and The Next Big Thing.

As a freelancer, she has reported and produced for a variety of programs, including the BBC World...

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[mialobel]

Jim Henson's letters to his kids and friends before he died.

Fascinating letters. Interesting correspondence.

[newyorker]

Are left-handed people smarter?

Maria Konnikova explores the psychology behind the creative edge and cognitive benefits of left-handedness: http://nyr.kr/1775yg3

“The explanation could also be a much more prosaic one: in 1989, a group of Connecticut College psychologists suggested that the creativity boost was a result of the environment, since left-handers had to constantly improvise to deal with a world designed for right-handers.”

[mialobel]

NPR Senior National Editor Steve Drummond shares his thoughts on making stories pop in this 30-minute chat with StateImpact reporters.

Among his tips:

Break up the routine. Make sure your stories don’t follow a template or map. Think in every piece, “How can I do something different?”

Don’t short shrift your host intros. They need to clearly tell the listener what the piece is about and grab their attention. Make sure they don’t just repeat the first few lines of your story. In fact, look at your intro and the beginning of your piece as a conversation.

The first piece of tape should be really good and should be close to the beginning of your piece. Leave some of the heavy listening (geography, time, etc.) further down.

Don’t lean on sound as a crutch or use it when it is gratuitous. If it doesn’t advance the story, scrap it.

Try to put something in every story that delights you. A funny response, a metaphor, something unexpected.

[celesteheadlee]

In the first part of this guide, I talked about how to construct questions and how to structure your interview. Those are the true essentials of this art and nothing else works if you haven’t mastered them. Do you know a host that consistently records 30-40 minute conversations that have to be...

[mialobel]

"This guide can probably be reduced to a couple simple points: 1) Do your homework, 2) Focus on the guest 3) Listen to what they’re telling you. If you at least start with those three things, you’re on the right path to a good interview."

But it's better to read the whole post. Good stuff here.

[celesteheadlee]

Normally, I wouldn’t publish a piece like this or make it available for general consumption. Generally, journalists try to avoid calling attention to the process of producing the news, partly because we try hard to make the finished product seem effortless. As in music, if it sounds difficult,...

[mialobel]

Hollow - an Interactive Documentary

Really creative use of multimedia.

Explore the rural communities of McDowell County, West Virginia through Hollow, an interactive documentary featuring the stories of over 30 residents who live there.

[mialobel]

How to pitch TAL. 

Here are four pitches for stories for our show. All of them made it onto the program.This first story was the anchor for show #385 Pro Se. Jon's been on the show before, is a veteran reporter and author, and reported the story himself.