Three…Two…One…Go…
That is what Nick Eicher said to me as he signaled me to start speaking.
We sat in a makeshift radio studio in a back office of WORLD Magazine as I labored over my first recorded radio piece. I took a deep breath and began to read from my script–displayed awkwardly on my clunky laptop on my lap shifted to the left. The chair I rested in placed me square in front of a microphone that assuredly cost more money than I’d like to know.
I read aloud from my poorly written sentences into the mic. I got to the end and exhaled a chest full of tightly compressed air. It’s over, I made it.
On day four we did many things, one of which, the radio experience I just described. In the morning Warren Smith spoke to the group about the finer points of investigative reporting. I asked a lot of stupid questions and he graciously answered them. He told us about his experiences uncovering corruption and other ills of society. He told us how to interview, how to organize our information and how to get people to talk to you; and what to do when no one will. He gave a lot of great examples and expounded on his wealth of experience working for WORLD and other places. I learned a lot and he gave a great testimony of calling in the field of Journalism. He spoke about the grace of God and how his work fits into that. I appreciated his honesty and his sense of place in the world.
In the afternoon, Nick Eicher joined us for a radio crash course. He gave us great tips on how to write for radio and how it is different than print. He showed us wonderful examples of top-notch radio productions by NPR and even one from his daughter. He displayed the beauty of sound and told us to be “aurally” attentive to our surroundings. We sat in the room at one point with our eyes closed and just listened to the sounds around us.
After listening, we started speaking. We downloaded sound bites to use and wrote a script to tell a news story. Incorporating our own narration with a sound bite producing a piece of radio journalism. I had a great time and I’m looking forward to the craziness we have planned for tomorrow.
WORLD Journalism Institute 2015 Blog 