Q&A: Radio Producer, Amanda Aronczyk
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 Service, Freakonomics, Reveal (a collaboration with the Center for Investigative Reporting), Studio 360, WNYC and others. She has also produced podcasts for the The New Yorker and Slate.
Amanda is currently working on The Cost of Crime, a multimedia investigation into the financial repercussions of imprisonment, as a Soros Justice Media Fellow. She studied communications at Concordia University in Montreal. Amanda teaches at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. You can follow her at @aronczyk.
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1. When you voice a story, who do you imagine you are speaking to and how does this affect the quality of your voice? Funny you should ask, I recently heard two stories that made me think about that. The first was from Kate Davidson, a public radio reporter in Washington, DC. She said that at the Marketplace bureau in D.C. they have photos of Bill Hader (the SNL guy with the big forehead) taped to the booth, so they can "talk" to him while recording their narration. Not sure exactly why him, but given the tongue-in-cheek tone Marketplace often takes, Hader seems like a fitting narration companion. The second story was about how Lou Reed thought about his singing–how intimate it was, and how he was singing to one person.
Both stories reminded me that narrating is an intentional, performative art for an audience. You do sound different when you can watch someone’s face respond to your words. I’ve forgotten that over the years, as I track by myself in a studio or occasionally in my pantry. Next time I'll be sure to drag someone into the booth with me or at least get a 2-D Bill Hader to talk to.
2. How has being a reporter affected who you are as a person? I would generally say very little, with one major exception. My first boss in American public radio was Dean Olsher, host of WNYC’s The Next Big Thing. Dean had come up through NPR where there are very strict rules for staff regarding activism, rallies, campaign donations, etc. At first, I didn’t understand and whined about not being allowed to attend a big protest for an unpopular war in the early 2000s (have I given it away?). But over time, I drank that Kool-Aid. Now I don’t belong to a political party, I don’t give campaign donations, I don’t rally or march and I don’t sign petitions, unless it’s for an F train express, but who wouldn’t want that? Sometimes I think my students at the CUNY J-school think I’ve wandered out of a time capsule from the land of Naiveté, but personally it has helped keep me open and honest. I legitimately don’t have a horse in the race.
Who would have expected that funding from "listeners like you" would be an enviable model?
3. How did you develop your area(s) of expertise? Were these beats you intentionally chased or grew into over time? My area of expertise is radio and I'm agnostic about content. I love it all and can happily deep dive into any subject or story. I remember when Studio 360 first assigned me an hour on Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, I thought I'd rather poke my eyes out rather than work on such a dry story (architecture? on the radio?). But I was so wrong. It was fascinating, especially how passionate people still are about their founding fathers (I’m from Toronto, and we Canadians are much more circumspect about our leaders).
In terms of beats, I have spent the most time reporting on business and lately on the business of prisons. Criminal justice reporting has proven to be some of the best stories with the worst access. You can barely record in the country's courtrooms and prisons. My sense now is that each beat has its challenges and quirks, but the advantage of spending a long time on one subject is undeniable.
4. How did you become a freelancer? What doors has it opened and what are the challenges to freelancing in radio? I became a freelancer when I had my first kid. I just needed more time and flexibility than a regular public radio job could offer. That was a brilliant idea in 2007, when work was plentiful, but less so in 2008 when the economy tanked. I've stuck with it though and don't regret it so far. I think I can best convey what I’ve learned in my latest, favorite format–the listicle:
DO have at least one gig that pays you every two weeks
DON’T say no to anything, ever (okay, this doesn’t always pan out)
DO mention on Facebook that you’re on the market
DON’T mention on Facebook that you’re actually spending your days watching Portlandia
DO be flexible, courteous and punctual with your editors
DON’T procrastinate on Twitter while keeping your editor, who is also on Twitter, waiting
DO enjoy the flexible schedule and long walks in the park, because you will die penniless and alone.
Okay, regarding that last line. Let’s be frank. Freelancing in public radio is not lucrative. And while I wouldn’t trade any of the truly fabulous gigs I’ve had the privilege to work on, I do lie awake at night worrying that I'll die penniless and alone under a stack of (organic cotton) tote bags. So you know. It's a trade off. But I don’t intend to freelance forever. In a perfect world, I’d continue to alternate between both–being a freelancer and a staffer.
5. How has the public radio landscape changed in recent years? What do you think it will look like going forward? Today, my cup is half full. Of champagne. So I predict that content will become king. Reporters and producers will inherit the airwaves and we will be paid handsomely to work on in-depth, super-long stories that everyone loves and does not tire of (even when they could have used a bit more editing). When not conducting breathlessly brilliant interviews, or discussing ideas that illuminate the human condition, or revealing shocking corruption (and ending it, natch) we will be celebrated for our tireless contributions to society and our (organic cotton) tote bags shall runneth over.
Seriously though, the industry has changed a tremendous amount over the past decade. The traditional gatekeepers, program directors and radio stations, can now be circumvented by anyone with a really good idea (think 99% Invisible and WTF with Marc Maron). That said, public radio has done a remarkable job staying current and relevant and now finds itself to be one of the last remaining "mass" media. Who would have expected that funding from "listeners like you" would be an enviable model? Some days the rate of change and the industry's uncertain financing makes me want to hide under my desk and read "It's Not Too Late To Become An Accountant," but most days I remain optimistic that making content is a fund-able skill and that, assuming our ears remain fixed to our heads, radio will live on.
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