Merging Traditional And Social Mediums To Better Serve An Audience

Photo courtesy Steve Inskeep’s Instagram account: @steve_inskeep.

 

There was a wonderful example of merging-the-mediums storytelling today, 2-4-16, with Steve Inskeep reporting from Tehran, Iran.

First, I got a “publicity” preview and teaser of what Inskeep and his NPR crew were up to in Iran from interesting photos of Tehran’s subway system on Inskeep’s Instagram account. I happen to be particularly intrigued by photos of subway stations and people using them, so the Instagrams caught my attention right away.

Framing his radio story around exploring Tehran’s economic realities on hand, Inskeep wove a fascinating tale of Tehran’s cultural and economic life, and the various divisions of such, through his more traditional radio medium on today’s NPR Morning Edition show. I’m glad I had the visual preview beforehand though, as then I could “go along” with them in a much more visually imaginative way.

I need visual prompts. I’ve never, despite years of work in visual mediums, been all that visually imaginative. I’m a text-oriented person who works (and writes) better with literal prompts and signs and messaging of a more graphical interpretation.

In other words, radio storytelling, especially in a culture and city as intriguing and vital as Tehran, has its limits despite even Inskeep’s mastery of the medium. And he’s nothing if not a visually-minded storyteller and reporter when he’s on the move. Snapping interesting, contextual photos for Instagram (or wherever) clearly was a perfectly natural response to his new geography.

Thus, social media served as a natural enhancement to and for traditional forms of broadcasting. Especially within a place I’ve long been intrigued by and had often heard stories about from relatives who’d lived there ages ago (Shah times). And hope to one day visit myself.

Reporting about a place and a people with an enhanced level of audience comprehension and service can only help forge a stronger, intriguing, and respectful relationship between two cultures.

Pledge To Call WABE And Ask… May I Have Some Better Programming, Please M’aam?

So WABE’s Fall Pledge Drive has begun. Thus I’m listening to Neal Boortz… for as long as I can take it, which should be about as long as I can take Pledge Drive blather. Then it’s on to Voice of the Arts 1690 WMLB, but that wonderful station is owned by Joe Weber, who taketh away with the other hand by polluting our AM airwaves daily with ‘wingnut, hate-monger shows on his other station, AM 1160 – Atlanta News Talk.

What’s a morning radio gal gonna do? Listen to Radio Paradise on the Internets is what I’m gonna go do. But in the meantime, please join the Facebook Group 6 Hours A Day = 6 Too Many to support a call-out to (again… public radio) WABE for more diverse public programming in the morning. Six hours a day of only classical is just way too damn much classical.

Tips and tricks for what to do and what to say when you call in to WABE during pledge drive are here. And pasted below. From an anonymous WABE insider:

After Morning Edition goes off the air and we start broadcasting classical music, our listenership numbers go into the toilet. But, ironically, it is these loyal few listeners who support the station. And in a BIG way. Unfortunately, until people start being more vocal with their demand for more news/current affairs programming, and making sure the management realizes the money attached, things will not change. Not supporting the station is the wrong thing to do. When pledge comes up, call in and donate–but donate a SMALL amount, even if just a few dollars. Be sure to say that if your voice was heard, and there was more news (local and NPR), you would gladly give more. Believe me, if even just a handful of people do this, the highers-up will take note.

We all do what we can. Right? Right.

Waking-Up To John McCain

I gotta tell you, waking-up to John McCain (on Morning Edition of course) was not half bad. Not that some Cheshire cat grin spread across my face with morning, uh, recall of the night before. But hearing his voice on the Renee Montagne interview talking about the situation in Russia/Georgia was a decent reassurance that we have a Republican out there with a strong brain wave on foreign policy. (McCain said we might be needing to readjust our relationships with Putin. Ya think?)

In other words, I didn’t lunge for the OFF button as I inevitability have over the last eight years… given the unfortunate circumstance, always a possibility, of waking-up to the idiot babble of George W. Bush on a morning news program.

Once McCain started talking about non-foreign policy though, he started regressing into utter bullshit, saying, when pressed by Montagne, that his campaign was surely NOT going negative over Obama. That’s just total crap, and McCain knows it, and he’s the worst bullshitter on the planet.

That’s why pointy-head NPR listeners (and reporters too) such as moi have always LIKED McCain. Because he was such a great non-bs’er. A sharp, silver-tongued, intelligent and humorous voice of reason… with some excellent banter served-up on the side.

Such as when he told the audience this morning to turn-off their computers for a minute and go outside and get some fresh air. Now that’s the old McCain we’ve grown to know and like over his many years of service; not afraid to tell his audience to go to hell and back, if that’s indeed where he feels they need to be directed.

But this New McCain makeover the RNC has given him, the one that has him spouting utter bs we don’t believe, such as ludicrous statements about how his campaign isn’t going negative, is moreorless botched plastic surgery, making him sound the way Priscilla Presley currently looks. Like, uh, not so great, eh?

What’s so freakin’ hard about letting McCain just be McCain, Repugs? When you take a genuine straight talker and have him all tied-up in bullshit and spin, guess what? We notice! And we’re reminded, yet one more time, about how we really don’t want to be in the same bedroom, bar, ktichen, hallway, boardroom, classroom, freeway, highway, war room… ANYWHERE… listening to, let alone voting for, a lying, phony Republican ever again.

Nor do I care to wake-up to one either. At least not a phony one who feels he’s so powerful and on-message and omnipotent, and that we the public are such dupe-able clueless sheep, that we’ll believe any line he tries out on us.

Listen here to McCain on Morning Edition.

Georgia’s On Everyone’s Mind

Between all the chatter about Sam Nunn being on the Obama Veep shortlist and Georgia becoming a serious battleground state, could we, like, gulp, be almost kindasortamaybe hot all of a sudden? Y’all make sure you sweep the dirt in the front yard all nice and smooth this morning, ‘ya hear. Company’s comin’!