Podcasting and Radio News

Discussion: Principles of Longer-Form Storytelling

Story arc: There should be a beginning, middle, and end to your story. In an episodic format, there are often mini narrative arcs within each episode and longer arcs that unfold over a whole series.

• Exposition: The introduction of background information, such as setting and backstories of characters
• Rising Action: Some sort of momentum is engaged. Conflict and motivations come into play.
• Climax: Turning point for the character(s), as the conflict comes to a head.
• Falling Action: Immediate fallout from climax.
• Resolution: Lessons learned, loose ends tied up.

 

Things to keep in mind:

Motivation: What does the character want?

Character development: How does the character change?

Pacing/Structure: Sometimes, stories don’t unfold chronologically. One storytelling device is to begin in the middle of things and use flashbacks to slowly help the exposition and backstory come into focus in an intriguing way.

Music: What is the theme for your podcast? How can you use it judiciously to enhance but not distract from your story?

How are these principles the same/different in journalistic storytelling compared to fiction?

As you’re planning your podcast episodes, it might help to have this to refer to. Here’s a typical structure for an episodic podcast:

Intro theme song.

Welcome from host.

Any announcements (live tapings, upcoming shows, ads/fundraisers, etc.)

Introduce episode/segment.

Play episode/segment.

Final comments from host: Credits, website, please rate and review on iTunes, etc.

Outro theme song.

It’s not required for this class, but if you intend to distribute your podcasts online, you’ll want to consider designing a graphic for your podcast. Something simple that captures the identity of your show, at a minimum size of 1400×1400.

You will also want to check out how to submit a podcast to iTunes.

In-Class Assignment: 

We’re going to resume listening to the first episode of S-Town. While we listen, I want you to take notes. We’re going to deconstruct the episode, essentially, and then talk about it together on Monday.

Storytelling like this sounds effortless when it’s done well, but if you really pay attention, it becomes clear just how much thought and intention goes into every element of a scripted podcast like this. So as we play the episode, mark down time codes of the different scenes and sections of the podcast and describe what is happening in terms of the storytelling elements we have discussed above. Like this:

0:00-0:30 Spotify ad.

0:30: “Chapter One.” Extended metaphor about antique clocks, and clockmakers who fix them. Intriguing music slowly builds. Angle/theme introduced.

“I’m told fixing an old clock can be maddening… you’re constantly wondering if you’ve just spent hours going down a path that will take you nowhere, and all you’ve got are these vague witness marks which might not even mean what you think they mean. So at every moment along the way you’ve got to decide if you’re wasting your time or not. Anyway, I only learned about all this because years ago an antique clock restorer contacted me, John B. Macklemore, and asked me to help him solve a murder.” Exposition: main characters (both Brian and John) and motivation introduced. John wants help solving this murder. Brian wants a good story. This request is the spark that sets into motion everything that follows.

2:15: Music changes abruptly. Becomes much more dramatic. We are teased with clips of John’s phone call saying something about how “something’s happened.” We also hear him reference this “shit town.” This is very important and intentional, timing-wise, because in just a few more seconds, that will be announced as the title of the whole podcast.

2:48: We finally get to the actual title. “From Serial and This American Life, I’m Brian Reed. This is Shit Town.” Dramatic music ends.

3:00-17:59: No music. Now we get to a pretty straightforward narrative where Brian tells us about reading the first email from John in 2012. He sets up the phone call with John and we hear the phone ring. There may be some editing, but for the next fifteen minutes or so it sounds as if the phone call more or less plays out as it unfolded in real time. John tells Brian about the town where he lives, why he thinks someone from an influential family in town is getting away with murder, and about himself. We hear about the maze he maintains on his land, his mother who he takes care of, and about his depression. These details are not directly relevant to the murder storyline but they tell us something about John, who is a complicated character.

17:59: 

Homework: For next class, listen to episodes 2 and 3 and come prepared to discuss them.

Immigrant treatment and policy has become a major topic throughout the nation with the current administration of the United States. On October 11^th the Democratic Society of America worked towards highlighting some issues around immigration by providing information on what’s happening globally regarding immigration and how big corporations are helping ICE. Freeni Aragones spoke with Louis (29 years old) an employee for the DSA immigrant justice working group, and one of the organizers Elisiah (26 years old) to get a better insight.

The Democratic Socialistic of America have been working together throughout the Unites States tackling multiple issues, recently they coordinated a protest at Bryant park to bring more awareness towards the nationwide camps made that hold immigrants and how ICE is putting them there.

DSA chapters are organizing all over the country through a mobilization primarily lead by coalition to close the concentration camps this weekend’s so organizations including lots of DSA chapters are organizing nationwide, that’s important because this is a federal agency we are fighting against. Then the other thing is fighting against ice on the local level, one of the biggest things we have been engaged in is ICE out of the courts campaign.

Yeah, we are trying to stop ICE from detaining immigrants at their court dates, it’s a big problem, they were being arrested going to court and inside. It was something that didn’t pass the way we wanted it to, but we are bringing it back for the next legislative session, and we hope to win. It’s also important to remember the camp are not just at the border, they are everywhere, ICE is in New York city, not just along the southern border. It’s a national mobilization, these mobilizations are happening globally like Elisiah was saying, and it’s just part of a much larger movement, and the DSA is just one organization.

The DSA is dealing with two issues at once and have to find a way to go about addressing both. On one side you have ICE who is imprisoning immigrants in camps separating numerous families, while on the other end you have large companies making substantial profits in aiding ICE towards their goals.

It needs to be two pronged because there is the government’s responsibility, that can be targeted through government actions, federal administrative action, but also through the corporate end, because these corporations have these contracts worth multi-million dollars, we should be doing things like public pressure, boycotts, and worker actions. Salesforce has had workers of salesforce try to get the company to end its contracts. All these things that you can do the end the corporate profiteering, but because we know the economic motivations are as strong as the politic will and we need to end both.

That’s an important point, economic motivations influence a lot of the decision’s companies make globally. They attempt to figure out what a consumer wants and shapes a product to that description. Ads online are ways companies target consumers and try to influence how we spend. However, if people begin to realize how much power they have as a consumer they can shape their own request by putting pressure to a company’s bottom line.

This was a simultaneous action between New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. We are trying to do things more in tandem. A lot of the chapters had been acting more autonomously, we are trying to do things more synchronized now. The idea is just to reach more people outside the organization, if people say for example, they would stop buying things from Amazon, the pressure would be enormous. These contracts are huge but the amount of money they make from the public in general dwarfs it, if we can get even a fractions of Amazons customers or salesforce contracts to either stop utilizing their service or threaten to, it can be hugely impactful.

The other thing is both Amazon and Saleforce , it’s about pointing out how all these companies are implicated and complicate in what ICE is doing, and highlighting that so that they can cut their contract and thus make more it difficult for ice and border patrol to do what they do.

Thank you for listening, from Baruch College to the world this is Freeni Aragones.

For the final radio story series I would like to do a feature of different hackers that reside in New York City. I think there is a stigma about hacking but I believe this may be because of the narrative that movies, TV-shows and the media often paint. I would like to present the story of a real-life person who identifies as a hacker and why they identify as hackers. I would like to ask them what being a hacker means to them and how has identifying as such hurt of harm their reputation or people’s perception of them in any way. I would also like to learn their philosophy behind what is ethical hacking and unethical hacking. I believe this would be an interesting story for people who would like to learn more about why these people do what they do, who they are and why they do what they do. Hopefully they can also teach listeners a few things about how to stay safe and void of being hacked.

Today in class: Pitch workshop

Important note: I’m changing the requirements of the length of your two episodes from 10-15 minutes to 8-12 minutes. This is because the extension on the last project means you’ll have less time to work on this one.

Upcoming dates:

Script edits on your first episode: Monday, Nov. 11

Episode #1 due: Wednesday, Nov. 20

I was thinking of doing a podcast based on sports conspiracies. This is inspired by a podcast I listened to called “Sports Criminals”. I wanted to get a sense of how people perceive the way sports are constructed and if they are biased. I think this will have an impact on betting odds and other components people think are important to the functioning of sports.

For my final project, I thought I could do research on the process of becoming a student at Baruch when the student comes from another country; what’s different from our application process, etc. For the assignment I want to do each episode on one international student and try and follow through what they went through to get to Baruch, why they chose to study here, and what their concerns are (especially with the current political climate).

For the Narrative Podcast I️ would like to go back to the Washington Business Improvement District.

For the first podcast I️ would like to interview the people that work there (I️ believe there’s around 4-5). I️ want to get more into the BID’s work ethic and the plans for Washington Heights.

For the second podcast, I’m not really sure what it’s going to be on. Hopefully when I️ go to get interviews it would lead me to another story. I️ know that there’s a website/facebook profile against the BID so maybe that can be the second but I’d have to investigate that further.

For years, evolutionary psychologists have questioned whether or not humans are meant to be in monogamous relationships. Some scientists look at both social and sexual monogamy in humans as more of a societal structure instead of a natural state.

For my final podcast, I wanted to create a character driven documentary-style series led by an individual who is polyamorous. Polyamorous is the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the consent of all partners involved. It has been described as “consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy.”

In episode one, I would base my podcast around her. She discovered she was polyamorous after finding her now (first) partner on Tinder, who is also poly.

In episode two, I would base my podcast around her relationship and the dynamic of it. (Hopefully) I will interview her partners. One of her partners wasn’t poly prior to their relationship, while her second partner has been poly for quite some time now.

For my final Narrative podcast, assignment i wanted to focus on Baruch’s Basketball team and hopefully interview their coach and maybe some players or former players of the team about their experience on the team and expectations for this years team.  And with their first home game in late November I wanted to talk to them again for a second part. about their progression so far and how the first home game went. and maybe interview someone who was at the home game to.  So for the first part I wanna focus on the teams past and expectation for the future. while in the second part focus on how they done so far in the first few games of the season.

A second idea for the final assignment I had was to interview people in charge of The knowledge House a organization that offers free technology courses. their focus is on technologists, entrepreneurs, and digital leaders, who will uplift their communities out of poverty. For the first part I wanted to interview someone in charge of the organization for they can tell us more information about it. and for the second part hopefully focus onone of the people taking the course and their thoughts on it etc..