Podcasting and Radio News

Author: n.marrero

Final Podcast Pitch

For my podcast, the series will be titled “Movie Recap Madness”. This podcast will take a comedic approach and provide hilarious recaps of blockbuster films. In Episode One, I could provide a comedic recap of the DC Extended Universe(Man of Steel, Batman V Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman) in build up to the Justice League film. Or I could provide a comedic recap for Star Wars in build up for The Last Jedi. I can also provide parody commercials to use in between recaps. I think this would be a fun concept to approach for film fanatics or people behind on the latest films looking for a quick recap.

One Woman’s Journey to Bring a Bookstore to The Bronx

I’m standing in front of Saks fifth avenue located at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center in The Bronx. Last year this used to be the location of a Barnes and Noble. In January 2017 The Bronx’s only major bookstore, Barnes and Noble shut down. After the shutdown nearly 1.4 million people in the Bronx lost the only bookstore in the area. Although one Bronx resident is striving to open an independent bookstore, called The Lit Bar, in the borough.

https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-marrero-833196051/the-lit-bar

Noëlle Santos, a Bronx native and resident is the owner of The Lit Bar, a bookstore featuring local indie authors, a wine bar and a community center. The name has a double meaning.

“So it’s Lit like literature. And it’s also a play on the using of the word Lit that’s associated with drinking and having fun and partying. You know being Lit”, Santos says.

The Lit Bar will not only operate as a bookstore but as a center for residents of the community. It’ll be the only bookstore in the Bronx. Noelle hope this inspires others to open bookstores in the area.

As Noelle describes, “So we’re going to sell books, we’ll have wine, it’ll have events. Like I want it to be a living room for the community. So we’re going to stock women’s interest. You know, it’ll be a general interest bookstore. We’re going to specialize in women’s interest and local interests. Whether or not that might be at the time”. She continued, “I really want it to be a community space. I want events happening every day. I want to build relationships with other schools and support them however we can”.

Saks OFF 5TH replaced the Barnes and Noble located at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center(Nicholas Marrero/Baruch College)

Noelle aims to differentiate the Lit Bar from chain bookstores by giving a voice and platform to independent and underground artists. For Harlem resident and independent writer Alexis Garcia, this is an opportunity to showcase her work.

“As someone who is fond of wine and writing I would to have my work showcased at The Lit Bar. Having my work showcased there would not only mean exposure of my work to others but exposure of others work to me. She continued, “I also believe that it’s important for a community to experience this type of creativity. As a young Hispanic woman I would love to be a part of a platform where there are others like myself. Showing people that it’s okay to follow your dreams and let your voice be heard”. 

Noelle’s fundraising campaign on Indiegogo called “Let’s Bring a Goddamn Bookstore to The Bronx”, raised over $150,000. The campaign’s success means The Lit Bar is one step closer to finding it’s home in The Bronx. Santos says there’s still work to be done and issues such as Real Estate have been an obstacle in her goal. Although this does not stop members of The Bronx community such as Brittany Holmes from looking forward from what’s to come with the lit bar.

“To have a place that represents our creativity and that helps nurtures the creativity of the people in The Bronx, I’m really happy about that. And I just can’t wait to see where it’s going to go. How many people are gonna benefit from having the support that they want like this for their talents”, states Brittany. “Having a place that brings so many people together it’s always the best thing to have in a community especially when it’s such a positive way of gathering people together. Like having this bookstore that has multi-different purposes. So I actually can’t wait for it to open so I can go there myself and be able to support my own community in that way”.

Noëlle Santos, owner of the Lit Bar, is aiming to open the bookstore in January 2018(The Lit Bar)

Noelle is currently in negotiations and working towards a lease and construction details. She is currently planning to open in January 2018.

Second Podcast Pitch

For the radio feature I intend to interview Noëlle Santos, a Bronx native and resident. I’ve reached out to Noëlle and we are scheduled to speak with one another. As I stated before, Noëlle is the owner of the Lit Bar, a bookstore featuring local indie authors, a wine bar and a community center. The Lit Bar is striving to open this Fall.  After the shutdown f the borough’s only major bookstore, Barnes and Noble nearly 1.4 million people in the Bronx lost the only bookstore in the area.I would ask her questions on how the store will operate and work within the Bronx community, specifying as to how she aims to bring a literary presence to the Bronx. I would also ask her as to how she aims to bring in independent artists within the borough.Also I would ask how she intends to differentiate the from established businesses such as Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. 

Although if for some reason Noëlle cancels at the list minute I do have two other ideas in mind for a radio story:

A) One idea is that I would be highly interested in covering the recent news of Toys R Us filing for bankruptcy, seeing as how much of an impact it will have on people of different generations. Although I am unsure as to who I would interview in particular for this topic. 

B) The second idea I have in mind is to interview Hannah Leshaw. Bronx Filmmakers Collective co-founder, Hannah Leshaw, is a writer and filmmaker based in The Bronx. 
 
Hannah’s work focuses on the nature of emotional intimacy in familial, romantic, and platonic relationships. Her first three short films were presented at a variety of film festivals and events including the Bronx International Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, and the Female Eye Film Festival. 
 
Her experience with directing and producing her short films provided Hannah the skillset needed to pursue her first feature.


Hannah’s first feature “Amara, 15” is currently in development. The film’s premise focuses on a 15-year old Bronx teenager struggling to escape her father’s sexual abuse without leaving her two little sisters behind. 
 
The film is inspired by Hannah’s friends and former clients who have survived sexual abuse. 

Podcast Pitch

I intend to interview Noëlle Santos, a Bronx native and resident. Noëlle is the owner of the Lit Bar, a bookstore featuring local indie authors, a wine bar and a community center. The Lit Bar is striving to open this Fall. I believe that this will be relevant and interesting to listeners due to the recent shutdown of the borough’s only major bookstore, Barnes and Noble. After the shutdown nearly 1.4 million people in the Bronx lost the only bookstore in the area.

I would ask her questions on how the store will operate and work within the Bronx community, specifying as to how she aims to bring a literary presence to the Bronx. I would also ask her as to how she aims to bring in independent artists within the borough.